Radiator shop floor sweepings (advice?)

[bld451]

Hey guys, I've been working on a local radiator shop for a while, and it finally paid off ( I think) Got about 300 pounds of sweepings off the solder floor and a verbal that he'd call me when he did the tanks (what I'm really after). Tried a little in my Lyman 10 lb steel pot on a burner just to see what I could get. Seems like 90 % damp dirt. I got a little puddle (maybe 3/8" deep) on the bottom of the pot. I still see little specks of solder in the mix, though. I can't seem to get it all in the puddle, and I don't want to skim off solder with the dirt. I have fluxed 4 times (2X wax, 2X sawdust) , and still see little solder balls in the mix. They just look like little shiny specks, but they don't seem to fall to the puddle. Any sure fire ways to settle the solder all out ?

Thanks in advance!

[captaint]

bld - If the solder is in specks that small, is it worth the trouble?? Not trying to be a bummer, but how much solder will you have if you get it all in one piece?? At a radiator shop near here, I stopped and asked - guy says "I take it all out of the tank and melt it back into bars again. "I just smiled. Guess we can't hate the guy for that. enjoy Mike

[zxcvbob]

How many buckets is 300#? That should tell you if it's worth it, or if it's mostly dirt.

You need a bigger pot to melt it in; a 2-quart steel saucepan with a lid will do it. Mix a little dirty motor oil (or Crisco) and some sawdust with it.

Shaking the pot will help the solder settle to the bottom.

[Longwood]

I agree with the bigger pot and lid.
I think you may have to get the stuff extra hot and extra dry.
You could pan it, or slues it, like gold if you had a way of dealing with the waste.

[Jailer]

I'd try sifting it through a fine screen before melting to separate out as much dirt as possible.

[Larry Gibson]

Very nasty stuff....did a 5 gal bucket recently with ckadavona....we got some solder out of it but the smoke, the smell and thre crud to sipose of made us agree not to do any more of that.

Larry Gibson

[clodhopper]

The screen might work, maybe try to sluice it with water. The solder is probably little beads and splatters.

[cf_coder]

Big pot, heavy lid, high heat. Burn that tin outta the junk. :-)

[GLL]

Forget the floor...go for the tank ! :) :)

http://www.fototime.com/7D15931F35477FE/medium800.jpg

Jerry

[bld451]

Yeah, that's what I'm after. Thought the tank was included this time. Says he'll call me when he gets it cleaned out. I think I'll follow up on that one.

I suspect the tin in the floor sweepings will be 25% or less of the volume in the buckets. They are barely over half full and 70 pounds each, so I think there is some there, but sure looks like dirt.

[imashooter2]

Perhaps you could winnow off a lot of the dirt before you put it into the pot?

[Jeffrey]

Perhaps you could winnow off a lot of the dirt before you put it into the pot?

I did just this when I got solder drippings mixed with drywall dust, paper, dirt... Swept off a man lift on a commercial construction project. Had the dust in a bag. Slowly poured it into a pan in front of a fan. Got a few pounds of 95/5 tin / copper free for a little work.

[ubetcha]

There are still copper and brass radiators out there? I thought most were aluminium by now.