Gold and Other Valuable Metals Can Be Found in Electrical Switches
If you think there are a lot of electrical switches in your home – hundreds, probably, if not more – you would be amazed to learn how many switches can be found in a factory where any kind of manufacturing process is taking place. It doesn’t matter whether that plant is making mechanical components, chemicals, paints, solar panels, or much of anything else, you are going to find switches everywhere.
And what do those switches contain? Depending on how they work and what they do, you will almost certainly find copper and silver (both used in electrical connections), some gold (used because of its excellent ability to conduct electrical current), platinum (if the switch is used to measure, or is controlled by, chemical measurements) and on it goes.
Varieties of Switches You Should Know About
Reed Switches
Never seen a reed switch? Think again. If you have a home or office alarm system, chances are reed switches can be found all around you. They contain two contacts made of ferrous (iron-based) metals. When the switch is brought into contact with a magnet, those two contacts are drawn together, allowing electricity to flow through the switch.
Most of the time in alarms, the switch is left in constant contact with a magnet, completing a circuit. But when a window or door opens, the magnet is drawn away from the switch, the flow of current through the switch’s contacts stops, and the alarm is triggered. (You have seen this happen at home when your alarm goes off and a police cruiser pulls in front of your house.)
Large numbers of reed switches can be used in manufacturing processes, where they monitor mechanical motion on production lines and perform other essential functions. If you know of a factory that is shutting down a large production line, you could be in a position to collect a lot of them.
Pressure Switches
These are used in a number of production processes in industry. They have a little pipe that sticks out one side. That pipe is inserted and sealed into a tank or a pipe, where the switch is triggered when the pressure of gas or liquid falls below or exceeds a certain level.
Sometimes these switches are used for safety – when the pressure of gas rises too high in a tank, for example, the switch will shut off the process or open a pressure relief valve.
Again, a number of these switches can be found in processes where gas is being made, or where manufacturing must take place under pressure or under a vacuum.
Temperature Switches
These switches monitor temperature and can turn on or off the flow of current when the temperature becomes too high (or in some cases, too low). You can find them on production lines for chemicals and other products where temperatures must remain within a specified range.
Liquid Level Switches
When the level of a liquid in a tank goes either too high or too low, the switch is triggered and the manufacturing process can be shut down or adjusted.
Slide Switches, Pushbutton Switches, and Rotary Switches
These are electrical switches that are manually controlled by people, using their fingers. Slide switches and rotary switches can function as rheostats that increase or decrease the flow of electricity (think of sliding switches that turn up or turn down the lights in a room). Pushbutton switches, on the other hand, are “on/off” switches that either open or close (think of the classic on/off switches that turn the lights on and off in a room in your house).
Emergency Cutoff Switches
These are usually located on walls and other very visible places in factories, where a single push of them will shut down the production line. They are often made as “panic buttons” that can be manually triggered by workers when they notice that something dangerous is taking place – like a fire, a spill, a gas leak, or other mishap.
Gather Those Switches and Call Us Up – They’re Valuable
If you find a manufacturing facility that is closing or closed, you could be able to buy old switches. Or you could find old switches for sale as lots of industrial scrap. If you have a large quantity of the right kind of switches there might be money to be made recycling the precious metals.
Give our precious metal refiners a call at 800-426-2344. We are available to assess the metallic content of your switches, tell you what they are worth, and recycle them for you.
Give us a call! There could be money to be reclaimed from old switches.