COWW scrap prices

[GlocksareGood]

5 gallon bucket of COWWs sorted runs 160-165lbs. I pay $0.30/lb for wheel weights and that was already sorted. I made just over a ton of wheel weight ingots this winter. I am about done buying. I have a source for free ones now at a dealership. They were just dumping them in the trash. Did not even bother to recylce them.

[Beagle333]

They were just dumping them in the trash. Did not even bother to recylce them.

What landfill were they taking them to? "Thar's Gold under them thar diapers and chicken bones!!!! Dig boy, dig!!!"

[mfraser264]

The first of the year the scrap yard said they were buying for .23/lb, 3 weeks ago it dropped to .17/lb. I have a source and to lock in the business I ad .15/lb. So for that system has landed 225 pounds and 21 pounds of it was a container with the dead soft lead stick on weights.

[62chevy]

62Chevy, you were right in my backyard!

Wonder what the deal is with the high price of COWW here in WV compared to other areas? A got a paper from Elkins Metal Recycling while I was there, and they are paying 15 cent per pound of lead, no mention what they pay for COWW. I should have asked what they were selling lead for.

Like you, it would be cheaper and easier to order my metal from sellers here.

I think enough people have paid the price so buyer beware type thing and get what you can when you can. It would be nice to buy at .15 cents and then sell at .45 cents you would never have stock left once word got out. That would force others to sell for less instead of gouging. If Elkins is selling cheap let me know, wouldn't mind making that trip.

[mikeym1a]

More than my sorry back can pick up, I think about 200-300lb depending on the size of WW.

The last 5gal bucket I was able to pick up, and it was full, weighed 120lbs. I've had health issues for the past 9 mos, and yesterday I got a 70lb box-o-lead from fleabay, and it was all I could do to pick it up and get it to the car. I could have sworn it was heavier than that, but, that's what the scales said, 70lbs. Once you get your bucket of WW's, expect to net about 60-75% of the gross weight, due to iron, Zinc, WW clips, and stuff you will take out of the mix. But, if you get them cheap enough, that's still more than you had before. I like the smelting aspect. I think it's neat to see IRON weights FLOAT! In water it sinks, but in lead it floats. Neat. I just think it's fun. Cheers!

[RogerDat]

Local scrap yard charges .75 for any lead. including WW lead. I hit them just to look for the good stuff that others have mentioned solder, type metal, and maybe a little plain. At that price wiping solder or lead Babbitt ingot looked very good.

The yard I frequent most often has a big pallet container of WW and "dirty" lead. The level in that box is going down not up so people are buying them.

I have a regular sweep I make of tire stores and pay .25 - .30 a lb. but I do that sweep on the way to visit kids and grandkids so gas is less of an issue. More of an issue is I'm not the only one stopping at these places so sometimes 25 lbs. is all I get from a store, or they just sold them a few days ago and I get nada. Suppose the guy that comes after me has the same experience.

Really getting close to what I feel will meet my needs for a very long time, lifetime who knows? But long enough that I won't worry if some other caster gets the full bucket and I get the 25 lbs. At this point I'm just maintaining a relationship with the shops.

My zinc and steel junk has been 1/2 to 2/3 of a 5 gal. bucket of junk in about 550 lbs. of COWW. Approx. 3 coffee cans of SOWW.

Concur about 165 lbs. in a full bucket. Which I can't pick up so I always carry some extra to split the load up.

Between the cost and sorting time plus hassle of payment and shipping it is hard to see how selling them makes much sense. Could see doing to help out a fellow forum member in one of those bad areas for WW lead but as a regular thing not really.

[triggerhappy243]

working on a deal here local for .65 cents a pound. but like someone here said, "When it is gone, it is gone".

[RogerDat]

working on a deal here local for .65 cents a pound. but like someone here said, "When it is gone, it is gone".

Yep the box pallet bin at local scrap yard level has dropped about 50% over the winter. The big chain tire stores will only deal with a licensed hazardous waste recycler so those will continue to go to the scrap yard. As long as there are lead WW coming in they will be available. General lead scrap coming in drops over the winter too. Big spike in general scrap coming in with the nice weather last weekend.

Wonder if loss of WW market will drive down retail price of lead in lead alloy ingots from RotoMetals?

[woodchuckc]

I hope the guys at my tire shop don't read this! I have never had to pay anything for the WW I have gotten from them, and my last bucket was still running about 80% COWW and 10% SOWW in my neck of the woods. Granted, I am not dealing with the huge volume that many on here do - I have only gotten 5 five gallon buckets of weights from him in the past 2 years.

[Whitespider]

I read this thread and count myself damn lucky... and wonder where this is all leading.

I get my WW's from the local new car dealer... free. The service manager gives me a call every 6-8 months or so and lets me know the bucket is overflowing again. I just sorted one of the most recent buckets last night, ended up with 2/3 bucket COWW, 1/4 bucket SOWW, and the rest were steel (maybe a dozen or so zinc). I've got 3 more buckets to sort, and 2 buckets plumb full of already sorted. Was thinkin' about turning them all into 10# bricks today... which should put me somewhere in the neighborhood of 4½ ton COWW metal stashed away... something over a ton of SOWW.

I figure it will come my way sooner or later and the "free" will be gone, I'm hoarding every ounce while I can. I even walk my back-yard range in the spring and pick up any snow-stopped lead laying on the ground... found over 10# this spring so far.

[sandman228]

I just picked up a bucket from a tire shop today he charged me 35$ I got it home it was 116 lbs I just dumped and sorted it on the tailgate when I got home before I even brought it down to the shed . I ended up with 90 lb of good wheel weights and 16 lb of steel and zinc.i think the scrap yard in my area is getting out of hand . I bought 100 lb from them last summer he charged me .65 a pound for sorted wheel weights or soft lead . I bought some over the winter he charged me .75 a pound . now 2 weeks ago I was there cashing in some brass, aluminum, and an old battery. he had a tub of lead pipe right there by the scale I asked about buying some while I was there , he said yea go ahead so I loaded 50lb on the scale made sure someone saw how much was there then threw it in my pickup I went up front to get my money for the scrap and pay him for the lead he charged me .80 a lb. now I wouldn't mind this so much if the scrap I was taking in was going up in price at the same pace but its down from last time. last time I cashed in brass it was 1.95 a pound now 1.65 , aluminum was down from last time too .I can get better deals from the tire shops for the most part .but ive ran into some of them that think they have gold instead of lead also .

[AggiePharmD]

My dad just picked me up 145 lbs of SOWW at $0.60/lb yesterday at a scrap yard in East Texas. I can get WW in my area for about the same and plan to check it out in a couple of weeks.

Not sure what I will or can do with that much "pure" lead but I bet I figure it out real quick!

[AggiePharmD]

I too figure I should buy all I can while the gettin' is good. I'll smelt it and be good to go for awhile.

[MrWolf]

It is getting harder to find. I just smelted six full buckets that I had sorted every piece wit side clips. Ended up with around 630 lbs or so on guesstimate. Total cost for the ww's was $70, some free some paid for. When I go to sell scrap I will ask about buying lead.