Lotsa junk in the last WW bucket

[DanM]

The last bucket of wheel weights I bought had more unusable junk in it than I am used to. I usually see only a handful of zinc weights per bucket. After sorting the junk I had only about one third good lead left. New to me were all the cast iron WWs. The cast iron weights were all painted silver, so not hard to pick out, just more junk. The number of zinc weights was high also. The garage manager only asked $25 for the bucket, which is half what I might have paid, but still disappointing. This was from a new source, so hopefully just a fluke. Are we all seeing this much junk when buying WWs?

[Gtek]

At least you still have that opportunity to be disappointed. I had given up long ago here in Florida and when asked they all have a "Dealer or someone that handles".

[Pawpaw757]

Getting hard to find them in my neck of the woods too. I work at a car dealership, so I have lots of contacts, but only 1 or 2 are willing to give them up. The larger tire stores are trading them in for credit on future wheel weights.

[jimb16]

These days you are doing well to get 1/3 of the weights. More and more steel, plastic and zinc weights are being used. Even the scrap yards around here are only paying steel prices on wheel weights these days because so little is lead.

[Ring3]

Local scrap man won't even buy them anymore from the tire shops. "Too much junk in them". I still have a few sources but dwindling. Keeping what I find now for boolits.

[308Jeff]

I've been seeing about 60% Steel and Zinc in the buckets I've been getting.

[anothernewb]

I got about 16# out of the last full 5 gallon pail from the local sources.

[lightman]

I guess I'm lucky! The yield is still holding up pretty good around here. I am seeing more stick-on weights than in the past.

[Beerd]

seems like after smelting the clips weigh almost as much as the lead.
..

[Patrick L]

Here in NYS, I'm lucky to get 20% out of a bucket. And I do mean lucky, as I've had them go as bad as maybe 10% lead, the rest zinc and steel. That's why I won't pay $$ for wheelweights anymore. I'll still give a dozen donuts or a six pack, especially to my regulars, but I won't pay cash.

[Shiloh]

Been my experience with what I've seen in the last several years.

SHiloh

[Pee Wee]

I have stopped buying wheel weights from the shops where they would even sell or give to me. (To much junk in them for the cost and time to separate.) Which was the small independent shops. The box store tire stores have corporate contracts that they have to follow. I have mined the berm at our club (with permission) and now have a life time of lead and glade I don't have to worry about it any longer.

[ioon44]

My last buy had 140 lb Fe, 18 lb Zn and 270 lb coww & soww. This had a lot of new types of Zn weights that are hard to spot.

[TexasGrunt]

California, Washington, Maine, Illinois, New York and Vermont were the first states to ban lead wheel weights.


Here's your clue gentlemen. If you live in one of these states, or close to the border of one of these states you're screwed, blued, and tattooed.

[dverna]

The good old days are gone. I decided the cost of finding them and "rewards" for the shop: added to the hassle of sorting, getting rid of the junk ones, then smelting them was not worth it to me.

I bought 2000 lbs of 92-2-6 from Mayco for $1.62/lb delivered a few years ago and buy processed range lead on this site for a bit over $1lb delivered. It is not cheap but better than buying commercial bullets.

I hope to build a bullet trap (have my own range) to reclaim some but we like shooting reactive targets so there will be significant loss.

I see range lead as our main source moving forward.

[fredj338]

It is location specific, but in Kalif, been like that for 5-6yrs now. I don't even bother trying ww anymore. I would rather spend an hour berm mining & get 100# of usable alloy than sorting **** out of a bucket of ww to get like 20# of something I can use.

[BrutalAB]

This was my experience last time i bought ww. Decided i was done buying ww at the same time.

[scotner]

I had a considerable change with my recent purchase as compared from the last haul from the same shop. Probably 40% or less lead. Out of three 5 gallon buckets, I took about 1.5 to the scrap yard (176 pounds of steel and zinc). I did luck out while I was there. There was a couple unloading some lead pipe from the back of their truck. It weighed 135 pounds and the yard offered 20 cents per pound for it. I offered them $30 and got it.

[Forrest r]

In my area it's been running around 30% junk. There's a local scrap yard that was selling lead for $.25 a # last week. I cleaned them out of everything except the 55 gallon drum full of ww's. That's roughly 30# a gallon or 1650# of ww's and tossing 500# ($125) of junk. I hate to even think of the hours it would take to sort thru it all.

[alamogunr]

It has been about 3 years since I got any WW. The last buckets were split about evenly between COWW, SOWW and other(zinc, FE). Ive got enough to last me and whoever gets my stash for several years. At least it would take someone that casts much more than I do to use it up.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I also have stopped getting WW`s from my friends auto dealership, and they were free to take! Mostly the pails were turning into non lead weights and other junk. My health also had alot to do with my stopping getting weights, beside the fact I think I am set for the forseeable time I`ll be here.Robert

[wrench man]

California, Washington, Maine, Illinois, New York and Vermont were the first states to ban lead wheel weights.


Here's your clue gentlemen. If you live in one of these states, or close to the border of one of these states you're screwed, blued, and tattooed.


Yep, here in Oregon Les Schwab, the nations third largest tire seller based here has gotten on the band wagon and has only been selling "eco friendly" weights for several years now.
At work I'm seeing about 60-70% junk weights these days.

[Patrick L]

I'll continue to do it, but like I said I won't pay cash. I have about 6 steady sources, truth is I enjoy the friendly relationship I've built up with them. They are definitely the guys that get my business when I need tires or a repair too. And I think they appreciate the donuts.

I'm actually pretty small scale. If I sort 10 buckets a year now that's a lot. I'll generally hit these guys twice a year. It gets me maybe a bucket total of good lead to add to my stash.

[DanM]

I used to cast frame weights for a buddy that has a race car fabrication business. They are short track and dirt track cars that need the lead weights for handling or just to meet minimum weight specs. He owes me two buckets of WWs and I have been letting him slide since my shoulder surgery has delayed my casting efforts. Now that I am better, I need to collect.

[scottfire1957]

I need to cast some fishing weights for a dealer, but I am afraid he is gonna give me more lead. I have not melted all the last batch.

This question gets asked almost weekly.

Lead wheelweights will be around for a long time. I still see new ones in the shops I visit. New, as in never used. You may or may not be lucky in your locale.