engineer2
Well-known member
Neighbor down the street set out a dual tank mini air compressor. Wondering if it's worth fixing it up. No idea what might be wrong with it, but he is a contractor, so who knows, but it looked like new.
Trash night finds
- Thread starter engineer2
- Start date
Fretters
Well-known member
Why isn't that now at your house having a photo taken of it to post on here? 
pendragon1998
Well-known member
Go get it! Might be nothing major wrong with it.
OK, I decided to snag it. Won't even turn on. It's an HDX 947282.
0.4 SCFM at 90 psi.
It's subject to a safety recall because it can electrocute you. Some find, huh?
Looks like I can get it fixed for free and the importer is local.
0.4 SCFM at 90 psi.
It's subject to a safety recall because it can electrocute you. Some find, huh?
Looks like I can get it fixed for free and the importer is local.
Fixed
Well-known member
I always just grab stuff, figure that if it's actually broken beyond repair I can just chuck it in the scrap bin, and at least I'm keeping it out of a landfill.
Not a habit that the gf finds endearing, although she tolerates it, lol.
Not a habit that the gf finds endearing, although she tolerates it, lol.
Modern Garage
Well-known member
You just made yourself a few bucks. I grabbed a dehumidifier from a garage sale last year and looked on line for some documentation before I used it. The first entry from a Google search was the CPSC recall notification. I jumped through the hoops and ultimately got a good sized check mailed to me for taking it out of service.
You can debate the ethics of accepting a check for many times more than I paid for the unit but I figure that I bought it in good faith.
Joe
You can debate the ethics of accepting a check for many times more than I paid for the unit but I figure that I bought it in good faith.
Joe
nutsnbolts
Well-known member
My latest hobby has been grabbing the unwanted furniture from our garbage alley, taking it apart and salvaging the good lumber from it. So long as I keep it in order and it doesn't get out of control Trina doesn't mind much.
Guys, the first time you save the gf/wife out of a jam using something you dug out of the trash will earn you big points.
My wife has stopped complaining about stuff I bring home to "fix up", because - on more than one occasion - I've been able to pull a repaired orphaned tool and fixed something that's broken on her unexpectantly. And I ask her how much it would have cost - and how much wasted time and inconvenience I just saved us by having such stuff in storage. Works every time!
My wife has stopped complaining about stuff I bring home to "fix up", because - on more than one occasion - I've been able to pull a repaired orphaned tool and fixed something that's broken on her unexpectantly. And I ask her how much it would have cost - and how much wasted time and inconvenience I just saved us by having such stuff in storage. Works every time!
bmxr4life87
Well-known member
After bringing enough gems home my wife has started to get a wandering eye around dumpsters herself
Over the years I've repaired dozens of mowers, edgers, weed wackers, and assorted other lawn equipment found while curb shopping. Made some decent pocket money on the resale. Couple of my highlights are a Coleman Lantern, Coleman Stove and a Poulan Pro Chainsaw. Still own these and the work great.
Scrapers seem to get the majority of it nowadays.
Scrapers seem to get the majority of it nowadays.
G_P
Well-known member
I've snagged tons of stuff left out for the garbage truck. Power tools, electronics, lumber etc.
My father used to be a salesman and drove constantly. He has well over a dozen circular saws that he found in the trash. Most were thrown away simply because the blade got dull or the cord got sawed in half.
My father used to be a salesman and drove constantly. He has well over a dozen circular saws that he found in the trash. Most were thrown away simply because the blade got dull or the cord got sawed in half.
landlord30
Well-known member
Good for you. You ****!
Curb shopping - I like that!
Found a window A/C unit dumped by the front door of a dealer. He didn't know anything about it, said take it if I wanted it. Bad bearing on blower motor. $50 parts and labor, now have spare A/C for the shop or home.
Now all I need to find is a fixable R-12 refrigerator.
woody 73
Well-known member
You got to love curb shopping every time I pick up cool items I then talk my neighbor into taking them for his man cave as mine is small and over flowing; poor man must have his packed from end to end...
It is a wonder he still talks too me!
It is a wonder he still talks too me!
reader2580
Well-known member
You never see anything sitting on the curb on trash day around my city because the trash folks won't take stuff that isn't in the can they provide.
The city of Minneapolis will take basically anything homeowners put out on the curb so there you see a lot of stuff on the curb. Scrappers and pickers generally go around and take anything good before the trash truck comes.
Local scrap yard has the walls decorated with all kinds of old stuff they pulled from the scrap piles.
The city of Minneapolis will take basically anything homeowners put out on the curb so there you see a lot of stuff on the curb. Scrappers and pickers generally go around and take anything good before the trash truck comes.
Local scrap yard has the walls decorated with all kinds of old stuff they pulled from the scrap piles.
With scrap prices low, they don't even come around anymore. They provide a valuable service to keep scrap metal out of landfills. Scrap steel just isn't worth hauling to the recycler and these guys would take anything.
One of the neighborhood busy-bodies wanted to stop them. I guess she couldn't stand the fact it wasn't government-regulated and scrappers were making money.
One of the neighborhood busy-bodies wanted to stop them. I guess she couldn't stand the fact it wasn't government-regulated and scrappers were making money.
kiatech
Well-known member
They have the big roll around bins around here that are picked up with a truck. I imagine a lot of good stuff is hiding in them but I'm not gonna go around opening lids. The neighborhood I used to live in was less than a mile from a scrapyard and trash night the neighborhood was filled with old v8 pick ups running on 4 cylinders with broken springs and the bumper dragging over every speed bump.
ilovevocs
Well-known member
I go out and help guys load scrap. You have to be a pretty shallow person to look at someone trying to make a few bucks and get upset about it.
I know one of my neighbors complains because most the guys that seem to scrap don't have mufflers on their vehicles and he gets sick of listening to them.
Some seem to think that because you scrap your a low class citizen and they don't care to have "that type of person" in the neighborhood. Fact is most of them are self centered, materialistic, superficial idiots passing judgment on some very nice hard working people.
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venturesomerite
Well-known member
If the compressor is trashed and you can't fix for cheap or free, remove the compressor part, add a plug and you have a dual tank portable air tank.
If it leaks, you have some back up regulators.
If the manifold is cracked, you have some scrap and free gauges and fittings
If nothing is any good, you have some scrap.
Hardly anything is truly garbage.
My favorite and strongest air gun (IR) was picked out of a scrap pile, I oiled it and I've been using for 5 years. I love garbage finds.
If it leaks, you have some back up regulators.
If the manifold is cracked, you have some scrap and free gauges and fittings
If nothing is any good, you have some scrap.
Hardly anything is truly garbage.
My favorite and strongest air gun (IR) was picked out of a scrap pile, I oiled it and I've been using for 5 years. I love garbage finds.
G_P
Well-known member
I've only encountered a few true scumbag scrappers. One was a meth addict who my former landlord stupidly paid in advance to take a truckload of junk to the landfill after he hauled off the scrap. Guy never came back.
The other was a guy who answered a "free scrap" ad I put on craigslist. He came and picked up the curbside pile and then later that night I hear a truck on the road behind my house and see him sneaking up into my yard. Flipped on the floodlights and yelled and he ran so fast I dont even think his feet hit the ground. Never seen him again.
The rest have been good people. Mostly people who are down on their luck and trying to supplement their income, or retired guys who just want to make a few bucks to spend on their hobbies.
I've got a pile forming again, but with prices so low its not even worth the trouble of listing it. Nobody is going to make a special trip to pick up less than 100lbs of light steel.
Jim Johnstone
Well-known member
Last spring a guy around the corner from me tossed a pancake compressor to the curb during spring clean up. I had the same model but it was leaking oil bad so I grabbed his to see of I could scavenge parts. Brought it home, plugged it in and then pressed the overload reset button and started using my new compressor.
slow
Well-known member
Moved in a new house and one of the garage door openers failed. Switched it with the other one and was trying to troubleshoot it. Turned out it needed a new circuit board $90 part and a 14 year old opener so I waited.
The next week a neighbor is throwing away the exact same opener. Cracked case but board was good. Grabbed it and fixed mine. Best treasure find that I can remember.
Ryan
The next week a neighbor is throwing away the exact same opener. Cracked case but board was good. Grabbed it and fixed mine. Best treasure find that I can remember.
Ryan
sucking chest wound
Well-known member
The crash of scrap prices really is amazing. 4 or 5 years ago, anything remotely resembling metal and on the curb would be gone in an instant. Maybe more, LOL. We had a few people busted in the neighborhood sneaking behind houses and stealing grills, old wheels, etc.
The scrappers knew the municipal trash pickup days and they'd start doing rounds 24 hours in advance. I live in a very quiet, out of the way neighborhood and it wasn't uncommon to see 3 or 4 totally different trucks start to do orbits a day before the pickup.
These guys would stop to pick up a coat hanger. I always found it amazing how overloaded and beat their trucks were, yet kept on trucking. Slamming a POS truck like that into park is probably costing them more than the coat hanger, but whatever, didn't matter. Almost always older Fords, interestingly.
Ironically just down the road is a for-profit scrap/recycler and the scrapper beater trucks would be lined up for the scale 25 deep every morning. Now its a ghost town. Just commercial trailers coming in.
The scrappers knew the municipal trash pickup days and they'd start doing rounds 24 hours in advance. I live in a very quiet, out of the way neighborhood and it wasn't uncommon to see 3 or 4 totally different trucks start to do orbits a day before the pickup.
These guys would stop to pick up a coat hanger. I always found it amazing how overloaded and beat their trucks were, yet kept on trucking. Slamming a POS truck like that into park is probably costing them more than the coat hanger, but whatever, didn't matter. Almost always older Fords, interestingly.
Ironically just down the road is a for-profit scrap/recycler and the scrapper beater trucks would be lined up for the scale 25 deep every morning. Now its a ghost town. Just commercial trailers coming in.
Jim Johnstone
Well-known member
Same here. When we moved in to this house 5 years ago, there would be trucks with landscape trailers rolling down the street every garbage night like clockwork. Sometimes they would wait at the end of my driveway as I was bringing stuff down. Now all I get is my weird *** neighbor riding his bicycle with a milk crate attached to it, taking the pop cans out of my recycling bin.
DemoFly
Well-known member
I used to make about $100 every trash day by simply cutting the power cords of of electronics. #2 copper and insulated copper used to go for a lot. A garbage can full was about $100.
venturesomerite
Well-known member
man who hasn't done that? lol. I have 3 of these "broken" gems at the moment. I'll throw some plugs in them and sell 'em when it gets warm, right about the time no body's lawn mower will start up. Then there will more on the curbs, and the cycle continues....
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Blame the Chinese !
Ever since their economy "stalled" scrap has gone down the toilet. Steel mills in China are still producing more than they can use and there is big concern about them "dumping" (selling below cost) on the open market.
While the US used to sell a lot of scrap iron to China, I don't think we bought a lot of "raw" steel from them. The automotive business still is the biggest consumer of steel, but for years they have required "better" grades of steel (high strength, low alloy) and/or with "special" coatings. The Chinese just could not manufacture these.
With the amount of aluminum in an average vehicle going up and up, I am surprised that aluminum scrap isn't going through the roof ! Also interesting is that the Detroit 3, don't do much (any ?) aluminum casting or forging.
Rarified27
Well-known member
Sounds like we could all be charter members of a curb shopper's support group.
"My name is Joe and I haven't brought anything home in a whole week!"
Last thing I found were to old hose reels. Plastic housing, but metal connectors. One was trash and the other is holding 100ft of hose in the front yard.
"My name is Joe and I haven't brought anything home in a whole week!"
Last thing I found were to old hose reels. Plastic housing, but metal connectors. One was trash and the other is holding 100ft of hose in the front yard.
PSYKO_Inc
Well-known member
I haven't found much lately, but haven't been really looking. In the past I've found a washing machine that needed a drainage pump ($20 part and I needed a washer at the time), used it for 3 or 4 years before the motor finally let go. Also found a set of Sony tower speakers down the street from me, work fine and using them in the garage now. Found an old computer that a neighbor threw out, everything was outdated but still was able to reuse the case and power supply. Also keep an eye out on Freecycle and the "free" section of Craigslist, got a complete working 1980's Delta model 10 table saw a few months back, just had to drive an hour away to pick it up and haul it away.
Apparently none of my neighbors are DIYers or care to donate unneeded stuff. If it breaks or they don't want it, it goes out to the curb.
In the last few years within a block of my house:
working desktop computer (snagged it)
Older Weber gas grill (gone within minutes)
Charbroil all stainless gas grill (gone within minutes)
New-looking single stage Craftsman snow blower (gone within minutes)
Electric guitar and amp (snagged it)
Half a dozen lawnmowers
The dead air compressor in this post (snagged it)
Couch and love seat in like-new condition (snagged it)
half a dozen plastic storage bins
Computer speakers with subwoofer
Richard Cranium
Well-known member
I used to love to dumpster dive when I was a kid, I had a regular route that I went every Friday after 5pm.
Two major trucking companies that threw out their over stock and damaged freight on Fridays. One of which the drivers would all sit out side the shop and drink beer after work on Fridays. So I would time it to get there after they left. Always got any where from 3 beers to a 6 pack that was left over. And found lots of good stuff in the dumpsters.
Two major trucking companies that threw out their over stock and damaged freight on Fridays. One of which the drivers would all sit out side the shop and drink beer after work on Fridays. So I would time it to get there after they left. Always got any where from 3 beers to a 6 pack that was left over. And found lots of good stuff in the dumpsters.