How Much Is Scrap Lead In Your Area?

[kend]

Just curious what it's going for.

[Ole]

I haven't bought any from a recycler in a while, but last time I did it was right around spot price if you were buying.

About 1/3rd of that price if you were selling.

[deepwater]

Just paid $00.50/# at scrap yard.

[kend]

I haven't bought any from a recycler in a while, but last time I did it was right around spot price if you were buying.

About 1/3rd of that price if you were selling.

What is "spot price"?

[jbelder]

The place I was getting it from won't sell to me anymore. But it was .80 a pound the last time they did. Almost getting cheaper to buy virgin. I'm in Colorado!

[alfloyd]

In northern Utah it is $0.80 per lb. for soft lead.
They will not sell me wheel wheights any more.

[fredj338]

I can't even find a recycler around SoCal that will sell scrap lead! Tire shops are stingy w/ the few remaining pounds of lead ww left, do to EPA regs. So I am reduced to mining the berm at my club a coupl times a year. OF course, I am always on the lookout for more cheap or free lead sources.

[BackWoods Billy]

Sounds like me.You would think it's gold now a days..Instead of picking up my brass,I dig for my lead..I am a miner at heart..LOL..

[smokemjoe]

Iowa, Paying about $.30 a pound, Selling for $.70 to $.80 a pound. we never had to pay that much before.

[bowfin]

I just got a quote from the junkyard here in Nebraska that said $1.00 per pound. However, I was able to intercept some sellers who sold me some for $0.30 a pound. I also have another guy who will sell me a bucket full of unsorted wheel weights for $35.00

[mold maker]

Last two trips out of town to a salvage yard, the recycler beat me by a couple hours. We stop on the way to a Dr. appointment, and today I changed the next date to Tuesday, a day before shipment date. Last I bought was .60/lb for 4" lead pipe in 2" lengths. It was pretty clean of trash, and they loaded it for me.
I'm still able to get some free WWs, and If the ground ever thaws, I'll mine the berms.
Lean times are here, and I won't miss a chance to increase my supply.

[John Boy]

NJ ... holding steady at 60 cents a pound. Any type of lead in the shed ... sheet to linotype

[jsizemore]

$.25/lb

[bbs70]

Last week at the recycler I paid .50 this week they want .80.

[fredj338]

Funny how prices are all over the place. You would think it would be more uniform. I would be happy to pay 60c/# all day every day. That's only $18/K for 200gr/45s.[smilie=w:

[Harter66]

I've got a scrapper buddy ,he collects and sells,I asked him to take a dime a pound ,he asked if I wanted to pick it up or have it delivered. Looks like I'm ripping him off.

[geargnasher]

I have had the word out to five local scrappers for over a year with no luck here in Texas, one came through the other day for 50 cents a pound for 164 lbs mixed WW, luckily only about five pounds of junk weights in there. He came back a few days later and sold me some battery cable ends, then complained that the salvage yard was PAYING 80 cents a pound and were planning to go up to 90. I checked and he wasn't bs-ing me, glad he sold me what he had. Guess I'll be buying more from Kathie and Sam.

Gear

[Charlie, AKA The Deacon]

The last scrap my wife picked up was last week! .83 cents a pound I about fell over the last I bought last summer was .43 cents a pound a year ago. but still it was a good find over 100 pounds of flashing still in a roll never used.

[pls1911]

Triple the casting volume of your ww -- free
Create low antimony alloys by mixing ww 10-50% with all of the following:
Find a friendly plumbing contrctor -- scrap shower pan material --free
Find a friendly roofing contractor -- scrap flashing.. (tons after hail storms)--free
Find a friendly radiator shop -- solder drippings -- free
Find a radiology clinic -- may have sheet lead from lining x-ray rooms --free
Find a closed range -- mine the burms; rain leaves lead laying on top!---free
Find Old house / building demolition -- lead pipe or window balance weights are dirty, but free.

My low antimony alloys cast around 10, water drop to 15-20, or heat treat to 22+ and retain plasticity instead of brittleness of high antimony alloy.
Free is good.

[gtivan]

Stopped by the only tire dealership willing to talk to me a couple of weeks ago. The owner said 0.25 per pound, but to come back in a couple of weeks since he was currently out. So i stopped by again, and his main guy said sure. We got a couple of buckets. Only 0.95 per pound.

I passed.

[bumpo628]

Here in CA, I'm lucky to get WW for $1 / lb.

[*Paladin*]

Last time I check with a local scrap yard it was selling for .70 cents per pound and buying for .30 cents per pound. It's a decent price considering what some are paying, but I am still finding it for less by looking around...

[badbob454]

take some cold beer to your local tire shop @ 5 pm and ask to swap for wheel weights , much cheaper that way ...

[rockrat]

Here, they will pay you $0.10 for yours and want $1 for theirs

[thompsonm1a1]

here they are .25 cents a lb and the new ones are getting very expensive to purchase for the shops. i try to keep my stockpile at 400 lbs of clean 1lb bars as they are going to be expensive and hard to get in the future.

[Dman4321]

just came home with 300+ pounds for .20 cents a pound!

[LatheRunner]

The last time I bought from the scrapyard it was .50 cents a pound. A tire shop in town lets me have ww for $20.00 a 5 gallon bucket.

[mold maker]

In another year, you will kick your own butt, for passing up those bargin prices.

[yobohadi]

I just checked yesterday, the local recycling center is paying .25 cents per pound and selling for $1.25 per pound. Looks like I am in the wrong business.

[*Paladin*]

I just checked yesterday, the local recycling center is paying .25 cents per pound and selling for $1.25 per pound. Looks like I am in the wrong business.

Let me guess: Pacific.[smilie=1:

[Flip]

The local recycler is paying 45 cents a pound. Out of 6 local tire stores only one would sell WW to me so I took all he had. It cost me 40 cents per pound so I ended up with about 110 pounds. So far I've got about 60 pounds of it cleaned up and cast into ingots.

[oneokie]

Checked with one of the local scrap yards Wednesday and was quoted 80¢ lb for their lead.

[CLAYPOOL]

I gave $ 1.00 @ pound + didn't drive all over @ $ 3.15 a gallon for gas..

[bobthenailer]

just picked up 835 lbs of WW from 3 local tire shops where ive been buying it for years , around 100+ lbs free , from where i buy my tires ! and $0.25 a pound at the other 2 tire shops.

[Flip]

Where I buy my tires from they won't sell me any, corporate policy they say. They won't even give me back my old ones, they claim EPA regulations won't let them do it. Yea right, how much deeper can it get.

[onesonek]

I talked with a local auto scrapper here today,,,,he said he gets 85 cents/lb, and he had 3-400 lbs on hand he would sell me... I said I would pass. He looked kinda funny at me, and said it is rising in price. Well I said, I can buy smelted and cleaned ww's poured into ingots for a buck a pound shipped for elsewhere,,,,, He got a sour look and walked away. I'll deal with the vendors here first.

[Beagler]

Try and befriend a pluming contractor! I did and he gets me old lead pipe shower bottoms and drains out of old houses. all for the price of some deer jerky. Used to be a drywaller we used to rock up x-ray rooms and mainframe computer rooms with pure lead backed 4 by 8 sheets. the scrap was a gold mine of lead. Now since 2003 am now a maint mechanic at Deka Battery I know they say don't use car batterys for the lead because of the cal. in the alloy. But most of your deep cycle battery grids are made up of 3 or 4 percent antimony lead with no cal. or silver added.

[lwknight]

Where I buy my tires from they won't sell me any, corporate policy they say. They won't even give me back my old ones, they claim EPA regulations won't let them do it. Yea right, how much deeper can it get.

I would call the Freako out and let him know that he is a liar and a thief.
Your weights are your weights and there is no such EPA rule about people collecting WWs.

[wvmedic]

.50 cents a pound here for WW and sheet lead, they buy for .30 a pound.

Jeff

[kyswede]

Flip- I would stop a block away from the tire store and take the weights off before you get there.
kyswede

[merlin101]

I don't have much luck getting WW here in Rochester, out side the city it's so-so.
I went yesterday for tires on the camper I pulled all the weights before I went:bigsmyl2: Paid $187 per tire and they wouldn't give me a single WW:cry:
Last time I go there. I can buy lead from one recycler for $1 lb and sometime's cheaper depends if he needs his driveway plowed!

[Suo Gan]

.50 cents a pound for primo stuff, and .20 cents for ww's. Thats my ceiling and I do not start there, and move down the road to greener pastures if they think this is an insult. To them its all the same, linotype, solder, pure lead bars, do not let on you know more than they do. These guys are dickerers, you need to play the game. I have great luck in the south side of town, the Mexican and Black owned tire shops always want my money. Max $20 a full five gallon bucket. Now I am giving $10 because of the amount of zinc and sorting involved. When you buy in bulk, think smart, do not say 50 cents a pound, say I just paid $140 for 400 pounds over there, and it was all in one pound ingots all ready to go...Then say would you take $______ for the lot? Say, I am trying to make a little money on the side, I need to make a profit too...If you don't want to pay $1.25 a pound for scrap, you gotta do this.

[Suo Gan]

I don't have much luck getting WW here in Rochester, out side the city it's so-so.
I went yesterday for tires on the camper I pulled all the weights before I went:bigsmyl2: Paid $187 per tire and they wouldn't give me a single WW:cry:
Last time I go there. I can buy lead from one recycler for $1 lb and sometime's cheaper depends if he needs his driveway plowed!

Well, go back and ask to speak with the manager or owner, tell him you just spent $1000 there, and your wifes car will need tires soon, and that you are just getting started in casting your own fishing weights and bullets so you and your kids can shoot and fish and save some money, and you would like some used wheel weights. Tell them you would pay them $10 a bucket. If this can't be done, tell him man to man, that this is part of your business arrangement, those who give you wheelweights will be the ones putting tires on your car. Don't be a jerk. Be nice, talk with him about how expensive things are...this is a discretionary decision made by management, if he is half a salesman or business owner he will go for this. If he claims he cannot because it is set in stone, ask to speak with the top dog...if you are talking to the top dog and he is not giving in, move on and let him know you are not happy. If you are a whiny jerk about it, it will never happen, firm, polite, conversational.

My nephew was telling me that he goes clubbing with a wingman, or sometimes he is a wingman to pickup chicks. Perhaps the old hagglers among us should offer to do the ww pickups while the rookies are wingmen?

I am kind of embarrassed to lay it out there like this, but some of you seem to need some help.

If you do this kind of thing, you will have more lead than you will ever need in a year.

[geargnasher]

Flip- I would stop a block away from the tire store and take the weights off before you get there.
kyswede

I took mine off at the shop last tire change (wife's car), had it on the lift for an oil change, pulled the weights and drove across town to the tire shop. Picked up a 12-pz coffee cup full out of their parking lot and main entrance while I waited for the tires to be installed. Dadgum people put zinkers on there this time.:groner:

Gear

[GabbyM]

wiedners

[adrians]

at my local scrap yard i was quoted 62 cents a lb for plumbers pipe scrap( i believe its almost pure but not sure!):evil::confused::twisted:

[Mustangpalmer1911]

I get range scrap FREE(me happy) and WW 10 bucks a 5 gallon bucket. I find it hard to pay the 10 bucks a bucket for the WW.

[tackstrp]

sitting here reading this. and agreeing how hard it is to buy scrap lead, Think i will try Craigslist. for hundred pounds . see what happens. have been told by local fort worth junk yards as much as $1 a pound for used if they had any. Maybe craigslist for 50¢ would get all i wanted.

[bjeffv]

When they are trying to sell you scrap lead at a yard for .80/lb is that already melted down? cuz if not i need to start selling my lead for more! ha JK that is a terrible price if not already in ingot form.

Lead is getting difficult to come by here in MN, everybody wants at least .30 per/lb WW, and thats if they have it, and it will be mixed with Zn and Fe ones too.

[rockrat]

Went by the salvage yard yesterday. $0.85/lb

[bumpo628]

When they are trying to sell you scrap lead at a yard for .80/lb is that already melted down? cuz if not i need to start selling my lead for more! ha JK that is a terrible price if not already in ingot form.

Lead is getting difficult to come by here in MN, everybody wants at least .30 per/lb WW, and thats if they have it, and it will be mixed with Zn and Fe ones too.

The problem with buying unknown lead in ingot form is that anything (zinc) could be in there. It's better to buy in it's base form and do the work yourself.

[*Paladin*]

sitting here reading this. and agreeing how hard it is to buy scrap lead, Think i will try Craigslist. for hundred pounds . see what happens. have been told by local fort worth junk yards as much as $1 a pound for used if they had any. Maybe craigslist for 50¢ would get all i wanted.

Good luck with that. Hopefully it will pan out where you live. I tried it in this area and got a few responses, but all of them wanted at least $1 per pound...:sad:

[bjeffv]

I honestly sell the lead I get, and buy already cast boolits with the money. I can typically buy my 45 H&G 200gr wadcutters for around 8 cents a round ready to go.

Just couldn't justify getting all I needed to cast, and the time to do it. Would make sense if I shot a lot of larger weight rounds though.

I found I get more money for lead in ingot form, then in wheel weight form. Real serious casters probably prefer to control all the processes.

[AaronJ]

just got back from the scrapyard $.70 pr lb bought 116 lb and they let me sort it there so i didnt get any zinc or iron weights

[Doby45]

That sir, is a good deal..

[Lead Fred]

The commies have deemed what you can find in the wild to be hazardous.
All my sources have dried up.
Think Ill head down to the capital with my WW pliers

[AaronJ]

Best watch what you pluck fred. I checked my jeep the other day and all of em where zinc