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Does anyone know if old household appliances contain platinum?

ormandhormandh Posts: 3,111 ✭✭✭
in Precious Metals
I am just curious if there were any uses for platinum, gold, or silver in old appliances. I know that platinum was used in old spark plugs and catalytic converters in autos, but was not sure if these metals were used for household appliances. Thanks in advance for any feedback, if any. -Dan
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Comments

  • calleochocalleocho Posts: 1,569 ✭✭
    I heard once that old telephones had some silver and plat inside ...??

    Im fairly sure small electronics have some...cell phones cameras that sort of thing.

    "Women should be obscene and not heard. "
    Groucho Marx
  • secondrepublicsecondrepublic Posts: 2,619 ✭✭✭
    Doubt it. Platinum is used in cars' catalytic converters to reduce toxic emissions. I don't see a reason why it would be used in household appliances.
    "Men who had never shown any ability to make or increase fortunes for themselves abounded in brilliant plans for creating and increasing wealth for the country at large." Fiat Money Inflation in France, Andrew Dickson White (1912)
  • ormandhormandh Posts: 3,111 ✭✭✭
    Platinum has not always been so expensive. I want to say that maybe it was used in tubes in older televisions?
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  • CoulportCoulport Posts: 1,087 ✭✭✭
    Silver was used for contact points in electronics. So there could be some in 'old' appliances. The amount would be small though and most likely require more effort to reclaim it than it is worth.

    Platinum was used in vaccuum tubes back in the 50s. Thing is it was only a thin plating on nickel alloy wire. The filiments were then coated in zirconium and heated under vaccuum drawing out any impurities before being sealed. These special tubes were used in signal transmission and were quite expensive. Not something used in common household appliances.
    The most money I made are on coins I haven't sold.

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  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,122 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I imagine the quantities of PM's used in appliances and electronics is quite small. Is it even economically feasible to salvage these PM's?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 28,313 ✭✭✭✭✭
    i dont think so. maybe small phones have silver. one could always strip things out for the copper content
  • calleochocalleocho Posts: 1,569 ✭✭
    I think the japanese do it quite profitable...

    i guess if you have a few tons of the stuff it could work...perhaps some rare earth metals as well?

    "Women should be obscene and not heard. "
    Groucho Marx
  • AUandAGAUandAG Posts: 24,761 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Platinum was once cheaper than silver. I have heard that there are silver bars that were hollowed out
    and filled with cheaper platinum.
    Still looking!
    bob
    Registry: CC lowballs (boblindstrom), bobinvegas1989@yahoo.com
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,122 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Platinum was once cheaper than silver. I have heard that there are silver bars that were hollowed out
    and filled with cheaper platinum.
    Still looking!
    bob >>



    I've heard of gold coins that were hollowed out and filled with platinum and I've heard of silver bars that were hollowed out and filled with tungston or lead but I've never heard of silver bars being hollowed out and then filled with platinum.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • Steve27Steve27 Posts: 13,274 ✭✭✭
    The closest you can come to an "appliance" with platinum, gold, or silver in it, would be a computer. However, the amount of gold on the contacts of a computer card is so small, it is the equivalent of raw gold ore.
    "It's far easier to fight for principles, than to live up to them." Adlai Stevenson
  • Type2Type2 Posts: 13,985 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Silver was used for contact points in electronics. So there could be some in 'old' appliances. The amount would be small though and most likely require more effort to reclaim it than it is worth.

    Platinum was used in vaccuum tubes back in the 50s. Thing is it was only a thin plating on nickel alloy wire. The filiments were then coated in zirconium and heated under vaccuum drawing out any impurities before being sealed. These special tubes were used in signal transmission and were quite expensive. Not something used in common household appliances. >>


    Here is a block of copper with some silver contact's.

    image


    Hoard the keys.
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