scrapping catalytic converters worth it?
dalladalla69
Posts: 61 ✭
Has anyone dealt with refining scrapping catalytic converters?
I see honeycombs like this and other catalytic converters available. Is it profitable to recycle these if I want to stack? How would I go about refining these? Do refineries take these if I want to flip them and use the profits to add to my stack?
Anyone has experience with this?
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im sitting on a pile of about 30 . I tried selling some on ebay a few years back and the listings got pulled and they gave me a 3 day ban
I got pissed and called ebay and said I'm looking at 50 listings right now exactly the same as the one you pulled please explain why those are ok and mine wasn't.
The rep said sellers report other sellers constantly . They don't like the competition . Its stupid because there was a time you could start the bidding at a penny and get full value in a real auction but no more.
Basically its illegal to put a used converter on a car so your listing can not reference any vehicle type or year or part number or you can get banned. Thousands of listings are up all the time that do just that but if you try it you will get smacked down.
If you have converters never open them up or you will get the lowest possible price for them. The honeycomb removed from the shell is nearly worthless , the problem is that its impossible to tell what it is from. There are replacement cats available that sell for less than 100 bucks new that will pass emission tests but no one will pay anything for them as scrap. If they see loose honeycomb they assume it came from those and pay like $5 for it.
If you are in New England , there is a place in manchester new hampshire I used to sell to , they had good prices but they wanted at least 10 or 20 not single converters. The name escapes me at the moment but google will probably turn it up.
If your looking at the possibility of refining the Platinum Metal Groups from Cats. I would say stay away. Once Pt and Pd are in a soluble form they are quite toxic. If you have enough exposure you may develop platinosus, a permanent condition. Even when I am refining I do all I can to stay away from forming platinum salts. I typically save that material for more specialized refiners. No amount money is worth your health.
I knew a guy at work had his CAT. cut off and stolen in front of his house at night. Honda. Cost him over $2000. I would have done the work my self and saved a grand. Converters are $$$$$$ in Caliunicorina.
100% Positive BST transactions
I cannot imagine bidding on such an auction... that 'stuff' could be anything - and likely is.....Looks like another scam to me. Cheers, RickO
Scrap metal guys pick them up at our shop all the time. Like posted above the cheap aftermarket cats sell for like $5. Larger factory cats sell for $25-50 as scrap. I’m guessing they get more when they sell. We have a few guys that drive from Ca with box trucks couple times a month.
My Ebay Store
Not worth your health or your time.
If you are wanting to stack, use your available money to purchase easy to handle 90% and silver rounds/bars as finances allow. Though it may start out slow... over time you may be surprised how it can add up. Forget the exotic stuff.
its a ebay world
If you have acquired cats hold onto them and whatever you do do not open them up.
They are not worth purchasing but its well worth burning up a sawzall blade here and there to remove them before throwing a car away
They are selling pretty well on ebay.
How can you tell though? In my case ebay pulled the plug on my listings all at once , some had just ended others were in the last few hours. That left me with a bunch of annoyed bidders , oddly enough the ones that had ended but weren't paid for the buyers were blocked from paying. The ones that had been paid for were memory holed completely . They erased all evidence of the sale and blocked all buyer to seller ebay messages so we couldn't even discuss what had happened . I had the buyers money though so I kept it and mailed them out and did not have to pay any fees for the sale or the paypal transaction.
The whole thing was bizarre , they put a hold on my seller account and said another attempt to list any cats could result in a longer , possibly permanent suspension.
There are still listings to this day that use the same search terms they told me I couldn't use and they allow them.
The only thing that ever happened like it was the time my paypal account was frozen over the sale of a few Cuban silver coins.
The word cuba in an ebay listing will turn you into an unperson in the blink of an eye. Try it some day if you feel bold.
Sorry, not my cup of tea !!!
I am looking at the listing posted and see 12 sold in the last 2 months.
from what they told me the cats should not even be in motors category unless they are brand new. I always posted as scrap in the industrial/machinery /metals category . It might not exist anymore.
The raw honeycomb is worthless , well its a pig in a poke situation you have no idea what it is. You can't resell it
look in this category
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2499334.m570.l1311.R1.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xcataly.TRS0&_nkw=catalytic+converter&_sacat=182919
Here is a what I'd call a small ford , its probably one of the front cats from a 6 cylinder explorer
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Scrap-catalytic-converter-5E214-2F12/283508468370?hash=item42026bea92:g:0KsAAOSwWkNc-U0-
Thats bid up much higher than I can sell it locally but first you have to not get it pulled , then ship it and pay fees . And at least where I live you are getting a 1099 from paypal
I'd sell that for $40 cash to a junkyard or if I had a small pile I'd meet a guy and get $50. I will say that Ford moved towards Palladium when platinum went way up so there may be a boost from that on these now
it sounds like it isn't even worth it to steal used cats off cars.
I finally found the name of the place in new hampshire
Enviro-Metals Recycling, , I think they have a lot of locations though around the country
Part of my job is dealing with catalysts that go in industrial ovens. The folks who I buy new catalysts from pay me $10 per pound for used catalysts. I guess they must be able to recover at least ~$30 worth of material, to make it worth their time.
The place that I use is Recore Trading they used to be in Derry, NH and have moved to Hudson. They take everything alloy wheels, brake calipers, alternators, starters, etc.
If you take the O2 sensor out of the converters they will give a couple of bucks for them.
They require ID and pay with a check, but pay more.
I don't about where you live but we have a big problem hear in NH. Heroin addicts cut them out of parked cars in parking lots and bring them to scrap yards and get enough $ for their next fix
If you have a spare 2 hours, a good chemical supply store, a fume hood and a lot of patience - you could make a buck or two.