Pop top tabs tin?

[Trey45]

Just got back from a family shindig, my cousin was collecting the pop top tabs from canned drinks, claiming they had a high tin content and are worth more for recycling. Are pop top tabs another source of tin, or is he dead wrong and they're aluminum like the rest of the can?

[briang]

I'm 99% sure they are aluminum

[troy_mclure]

yep, just aluminium. saw it on how its made.

[jdgabbard]

Yeah, I think your cousin has some bad info. Probably some left over rumer from when tin cans were in fact tin.

[briang]

IIRC (and I have been known not to) tin cans were never made from tin, they were just soldered shut with it.

[pincherpartner]

Going back to the tabs, they are aluminum and usually collected for charity. Depending on who you believe they are rumored to be of a higher purity than the alloy of the aluminum pop can. Although other sources dispute the purity notion.

Here's the info from one charity group, but others collect them as well.
http://rmhc.org/how-you-can-help/other-ways-to-get-involved/pop-tab-collections/

[archmaker]

From one of my former clients the alloy used in pop top tabs is of a different alloy then the others. Higher tensile strength, but still aluminum.

[Down South]

Hmmmmmmmmm, I just saw a couple nice looking gals wearing dresses made from only aluminum Pop top tabs on TV a couple days ago. Maybe there is some value to them after all.

[468]

Everything on a "pop" can is aluminum. The body is 3004 alloy, the top and tab is a 5000 series alloy. The only time a pop tab is worth more than the UBC(used beverage can) is when it is rejected at the manufacturer before it ever makes it to the can.

5000 series aluminum alloys are high in Magnesium. No tin.

[Bob Krack]

IIRC (and I have been known not to) tin cans were never made from tin, they were just soldered shut with it.
Many many moons ago, "Tin" cans were made of tin plated sheet steel.

Bob

[Philngruvy]

Many many moons ago, "Tin" cans were made of tin plated sheet steel.

Bob

This is true. When I was in college, I co-oped for the Hillsborough County pollution control and we inspected a plant which recovered the tin from cans using an electrolysis process. It was quite an impressive sight to see pallets of tin ingots stacked similarly to some of the pics of lead ingots we see on this site. Of course, the tin ingots were much more valuable.

[sheepdog]

There is very little tin used today for anything other than solder or pewter. I tried candy wrappers and champagne seals and such. Really best place to get it is garage sale pewter.

[rhead]

In some older books you will see them correctly referred to as tinned cans. Somewhere along the line we shortened the term. No big loss unless you are out scrounging for tin.

[Ron]

Freemasons here in Victoria have been collecting the ringpulls from aluminum cans for a couple of years. Because of the high magnesium content, they are ideal for making artifical limbs. The ones we collect are made into lower legs and donated to people, usually kids, who have been injured by land mines.

[shotman]

They burn good hit one with a welding rod.Nice bright white flash

[d_striker]

There is very little tin used today for anything other than solder or pewter. I tried candy wrappers and champagne seals and such. Really best place to get it is garage sale pewter.

The capsules on decent scotch and grey goose and hanger one vodka are made of tin. Some wine bottles also use tin capsules although the majority of them are made of polylaminate. Polylam is a sandwich of aluminum with polymer on the inside. If you tear it you will see plastic.

I work in a restaurant and have been saving all of the tin capsules. It adds up quick but would be hard if I had to do all the drinking.