silver score

[7th trump]

I coworker showed me what was inside some electrical contact equipment. I was amazed to see square pure silver contact pads the size of a nickel and as thick.
I just found three Square-D 3-phase motor start contacts having about 1/3 ounce of silver in them................all going in the trash heep. I pulled them out of the dumpster and opened one to see if these small contact switches had silver pads and sure enough it did. Also found 26 unused welding rods in perfect shape. Found about 50 rods the other week in the same dumpster.
I have about 1oz of silver for nothing and I have been watching these contact switches going to the scrap pile for the last 11 years.
I'll be watching from here on out every day!

Some of the larger contactors have silver pads 1 1/4 x 1 1/4 in size and about 3mm thick.................all going to the scrap pile....well almost all of them

I guy here has a stack of these bigger pads that just went for 800.00 on ebay.
Another has weighed his stack and came up with 6.8 ounces for an hours worth of dismantling on his break.
Holy crap!

[big country]

eBay will probably be your best bet to unload that, and I would do it ASAP. Most refineries that I know of will not accept silver electrical contacts...also my scrap and coin guy won't take it either. I would unload it on eBay as quickly as possible and convert it into an easily sold format if I were you.

From midwest refineries for example:




Silver we do not accept
Midwest Refineries does not accept silver-plated material.
We do not accept U.S. clad silver coinage (1965 to present).
We do not accept silver electrical contacts.
Midwest Refineries does not accept Silver brazing wire.
We do not accept any foreign coinage.
We do not accept nickels.
We do not accept nickel silver (nickel and zinc)
We do not accept any magnetic silver materials.

[Dogman]

Yep! Back in the day, not sure if all, now have silver but most still do. All relays, and anything that makes or breaks electrical circuits, for switching, had silver. The bigger the relay in current and voltage they handle, the bigger the contact size and the more silver in them. In use over time the silver gets flashed/vaporized off the pads and when it is gone, the relay is shot and needs replacement.

[chad]

why won't refineries take it? some nasty chemical on it or something?

[Dogman]

why won't refineries take it? some nasty chemical on it or something? Good question, maybe for the smaller relays it is more trouble than it is worth? Now larger industrial, super amperage relays , I would think that maybe another story. ?

Edit: Did some looking and it is likely not pure silver but a mix of silver and nickel.

[big country]

no idea why...just what I've seen in my research. Just thought I would pass it along. If eBay is an outlet for it, I would get it turned around asap if it was me...

[Sparky]

...
Most refineries that I know of will not accept silver electrical contacts...
...


Why is that?

[Spectrism]

Gotta be careful with these. Here is a possible reason they won't be accepted by refiners.

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_4/chpt_4/2.html

The conductive parts in a switch used to make and break the electrical connection are called contacts. Contacts are typically made of silver or silver-cadmium alloy, whose conductive properties are not significantly compromised by surface corrosion or oxidation. Gold contacts exhibit the best corrosion resistance, but are limited in current-carrying capacity and may "cold weld" if brought together with high mechanical force. Whatever the choice of metal, the switch contacts are guided by a mechanism ensuring square and even contact, for maximum reliability and minimum resistance.


Here is another source-
http://www.cmwinc.com/silver-contacts.php

CMW manufactures silver contacts from a variety of of silver alloy and silver composite materials. Commonly specified materials are Coin Silver, Silver Nickel, Silver Graphite, CMW® D54F and CMW® D55F Silver Cadmium Oxide alloys to mention only a few.
Coin Silver

CMW® Coin Silver (90% Ag / 10% Cu) and Elkonium®1 (75% Ag / 24.5% Cu / 0.5% Ni)
Coin Silver and Elkonium® 1 alloys are the most widely used materials of this group for electrical contacts. Elkonium® 1 material sold by CMW displays low transfer tendencies and high current switching capability in a number of automotive applications. Coin silver also has been used in a number of relays and switches because it is more economical than fine silver. It has been used in rotary switches and other sliding contact applications because it has good resistance to mechanical wear. Both coin silver and Elkonium® 1 materials are used in high contact force applications where fine silver has failed by mechanical wear or deformation due to its lower hardness.

[Neuro]

I don't think it not being pure Silver is a reason for a REFINERY to refuse these contacts.

Maybe because these are often stolen, and refineries feel the heat, risking losing licences, legal trouble etc...

[Twisted Titan]

Makes you appreciate what is means to hold a ounce of pure silver in your hand and the ridiculous price it can be obtain at.

[palani]

There really is no "found" property at any industrial plants. The risk of losing a paycheck far exceeds any possible benefits of liberating some scrap metal.