Total lead source bummer

[anothernewb]

Total bummer near me. They're dismantling a large complex near where I work. Massive mental treatment center built in 1890. had like 1700 people in it at one time. building covers more than an acre itself.
Long story short. they're working on it as of now. Yesterday, when i walked by. there was a pile of lead pipe and old lead roof sheeting - enough to fill a semi trailer. and they're not even 10% completed. But it's totally cordoned off and no one's allowed to get at anything. sucks. Talked to one of the workers. He couldn't let me at any of the lead, and they lock up the fence at night - but apparently it hasn't stopped people from swiping the copper wiring and other copper cladding.

Was just sad to watch the stuff get scooped up in bobcats and vanish. Don't know where it's going - already checked the local salvage yard. Likely it's contractred out to gwinner ND, or some recycling place I'm unaware of. The guy didn't know either. one company is working on teardown. another is doing the hauling.

[SyberShooter]

Get some magnetic company signs for your truck... "Enviro-Inspection Services" or some such.....

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Get some magnetic company signs for your truck... "Enviro-Inspection Services" or some such.....

LOL.... I can hear it now.

"I need a some hundred pound samples to test for contaminants"

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I assume you are talking about Kirkbride Asylum.

That is/was a cool looking building
https://www.twincities.com/2018/01/17/giving-up-on-reuse-fergus-falls-moves-to-demolish-old-state-mental-hospital/

[anothernewb]

yep that's it. I think the current plan is to keep the front part that's in all the pics, but the huge wings are all going to be removed.

[JBinMN]

Go up the "chain of command". Go talk to one of the job supervisors or even get in touch with a couple of the fellas /gals working there & buy them a few brews/sodas or bring them some pizza for lunch. If nothing else to try to find out who would be the one to talk to about getting some of it...

If ya keep asking , likely eventually you will find out who has the "pull" to let ya grab just a "lil bit"... ( "Lil bit" of a semi load or more. LOL ;) )
;)

G'Luck!
:)

P.S. - I just wish I had something like that going on near me that I knew about... I say, " Keep at it!", maybe you will find the end of the Lead rainbow....
;)

[lightman]

We all have a few stories about "the one that got away". As suggested, keep after them. I know, its hard to make time for this but I would be trying!

[bangerjim]

Most large commercial jobs like that are bid out for removal and no amount of brewskis and donuts will get you anything. Best bet is to find where they are hauling it to (local scrap yard) and buy it there for probably a buck a pound for pure Pb. That is the going rate, even though the yards normally pay 30 cents or so!

The Cu is what they are locking up! Thieves will rip lighting wires right out of the ground. A church I know has all the Cu a/c exchangers stolen last year. $100 of Cu and it cost >$12,000 to fix. Those guys should be strung up and horse whipped in the public square. Ah.......for the "goode olde daze"!

[jdfoxinc]

I approached the super on a hospital demolition job several years ago and offered to pay what the scrap yard was in cash. Netted over 1500 lb. The workers had a BBQ at end of job.

[Road_Clam]

Companies are now getting very saavy as to making money indirectly, even on demolition. Lead is becoming very valuable, and is also a serious EPA issue with demolition and removal. Gone are the days of lead being thrown out at the scrap yard. When my 175,000 sq ft industrial pump manufacturing company closed the doors we had previously accumulated several hundred thousand pounds of varied alloys and a private auction company who specializes in metals came in and put all our metals out for public bids.

[Mr_Sheesh]

I've read too many stories where some idiot stealing copper gets the "bright" idea to cut the cable on a light pole or the like, knock the pole down, and steal all that copper; Unfortunately since the power is still on, they experience "Instant Karma" & get electrocuted, typically fatally. Not the smartest thing to do...

Nice lead score if you can find a copacetic way to snag it!

[RogerDat]

you can either try to work your way up the chain by asking the trucker who hauls it where it goes and who it gets delivered to and so on until you get to someone that can make a deal OR you can find someone near the bottom that has the pull to just toss it in their truck and sell it to you cheap. Sometimes there is someone who can just say to the boss "can I have some of that?" and get a yes.

It sounds like 100% bulk wholesale operation. So it may be some can come your way at a better than retail price or there just won't be any possibility of finding someone that can approve you getting some. There is no way I would pay $1 a pound for raw lead pipe of flashing when I could buy it for that as ingots in swapping and selling forum. Has to be a better price for raw scrap than that paid for clean ingots or why bother. Unless you could get and needed a couple thousand pounds where the local source avoids shipping costs.

[anothernewb]

tracked it to a recycler. they want $1/# for it as it sits. thinking that's a little steep.

[JBinMN]

I am going to make a suggestion as I think they are a bit high as well. About 20-25 cents high as compared to around here...

The main thing though is that a lot of recycling/scrap yards are no longer selling to private individuals. ( I don't know why that is, btw).

So that brings up a couple of things that make me offer a suggestion(s).

If you "have" bought from them before, then a bit of haggling for a better price dependent on how much you have bought in the past & how much of this "lot" you intend to buy might have some bearing on them dropping the price a bit. If they stick with that price of $1/lb., then you either have to "bite the bullet" so to speak and buy at their price, or go elsewhere. ( You can get clean ingots for that price + shipping or close & be sure to tell them that & mention names they can look up on the internet. They are selling "dirty" stuff & you can get "clean & in ingot, for the same.)

Also, if you have "NOT" bought from them before, I suggest you still try to haggle using the prospect of your buying a lot of it as a selling point, etc., but not enough to annoy them. If the stick to that price after haggling... And here is the main thing to remember...Buy 25-50 or so pounds worth at their price grumble a bit about it & say ya may or not be back. Not too much grumbling or they can change their mind later...

Now the reason to buy, even though you think the price is high, is to establish that your ARE a buyer from them. Maybe go back in a couple weeks & buy some more while haggling again.

Then you are setting a precedent with them that you are a more of a "regular" customer/buyer. That may give you more influence in their eyes if they ever decide to NOT SELL to individuals. You have established a "name" with them by doing this, if ya have not already & it may be easier to maintain a relationship with them IF they change policy.

It is like hedging your bet against the future when you have a hard time getting lead & the scrap yards do not sell to individuals, which IS the case a lot around here.

So, Just a suggestion(s) & do as ya like. But I just told ya what I do & have done in the past & it has worked more than once for me in more than just a scrap yard....

Oh, and if you have friends that cast sinkers, bullets, or whatever... Maybe you can go in together for a large amount & you have more "haggling/dickering power" due to buying a lot in bulk from them as well...
;)

G'Luck! whatever ya decide!

:)

[RogerDat]

I think JBinMin is 100% correct in the idea of being a regular customer makes a difference. Also makes a difference if you can purchase large quantities. For yourself or for a group that pitch in together. I stop in to "check the bin" and ask the current price almost every week at some places.

I ask the price before I go looking and at $1.05 I'll comment prices are up huh. They will then tell me all about the scrap market volatility, and what is up and what is down. I'll look and generally won't see anything I'll pay that much for, so on the way out I'll comment that there was some decent lead sheeting, or pipe or whatever but I'll have to wait for the market to settle down a bit. Next week there is a good chance the lead will be $0.95 So I buy a decent stack. Or I'll see some solder bars or something especially good and buy it at $1.05 while paying for it I'll let them know I don't mind paying a bit more for some better lead. I think this helps get better lead set aside for me. I'll still give them the good price for good alloy even when the price is down.

That and the occasional sack of donuts or $6.00 pizza even if I don't buy anything. Business is often about relationships. I want the guys that will see a stack of foundry stamped ingots come in to have a good one with me. The difference between $0.95 and $1.05 is $10 on a hundred pounds. If being pleasant and a steady customer means I get 100# of extra good lead for only $10 more than the best price for nasty looking scrap... Like the man said "insurance policy".

[bangerjim]

tracked it to a recycler. they want $1/# for it as it sits. thinking that's a little steep.

If it is good clean sheet lead, that is a VERY decent price!!!!! Not much involved in re-melting into usable ingots. I have process many hundreds of pounds of clean Pb sheet and pipe purchased for a buck and it re-melts very fast. Forget all the fluxing and cleaning like with dirty old COWW's. Just melt and pour. Mabe a teeny bit of sawdust to get the surface shiny.

All that goes away if that Pb is dirty, scaly, paint-covered, white oxide-covered. A lot of work re-melting.

banger

[anothernewb]

If it is good clean sheet lead, that is a VERY decent price!!!!! Not much involved in re-melting into usable ingots. I have process many hundreds of pounds of clean Pb sheet and pipe purchased for a buck and it re-melts very fast. Forget all the fluxing and cleaning like with dirty old COWW's. Just melt and pour. Mabe a teeny bit of sawdust to get the surface shiny.

All that goes away if that Pb is dirty, scaly, paint-covered, white oxide-covered. A lot of work re-melting.

banger

it's buried lead pipe and roof sheeting/flashing with 120 years of dirt and wear on it. it's anything but clean.

I pretty much gave up on it. The local scrapyard (which I never thought to check before) will sell me scrap lead they get in for .65/# I just have to call every few days to see what they have. it's first come first serve and apparently there are a few others around that buy it too.

That, and to my knowledge, before I started working on improving it. No one in 40 years has ever cleaned lead out of our outdoor range. I'm going to be working on sifting the berms this summer as we rebuild them.

[Gewehr-Guy]

If the scrapyard doesn't sell lead to the public, perhaps you could tell them you will contribute to their after work beer fund if they will help you out with your lead fund.

[Bareen]

None of the scrap yards near me sell to individuals. And living in IL, there are no lead wheel weights to speak of. It makes it kind of hard to find a lead source, but I am lucky that my grandfather has a few hundred pounds left from when he used to cast and shoot a lot. His health isn't great anymore, so he doesn't cast much anymore, but I'm still looking for an actual source of lead. My next stop is the construction company I used to work for(left on good terms) and some of the roofing companies. :-|

[robert12345]

Get a set of bolt cutters, and a wheel barrow, then, late at night, cut your way in, fill up,,,

Then get the heck out ...

FAST !

And, hope there are no video cameras.
.
Maybe wear a Bill Clinton mask....

[Bareen]

There is an old hospital in my city that is currently being torn down. I drive past it at least twice a day, sometimes more. I just know there is lead, but all of the stuff gets put on trucks and sent somewhere. The demo company is out of St. Louis MO, so I'm guessing somewhere around there. I know how you feel anothernewb; it saddens me all that perfectly good lead being loaded up on trucks and taken away.

[megasupermagnum]

If you ever get permission, let me know if you need hired muscle. I will work for lead.:bigsmyl2: wheel weights are a joke around here.