Quick easy way to salvage parts from old circuit boards.

I heat the solid on the back side of the PC boards with my work shop propane torch then blow the solder away with my air compressor air blower.

I move along pretty fast with the torch trying not to damage any parts. It is easy to miss a few places then I have to use my soldering gun to remove those parts I missed.

Most of the parts pull right off unless the wires are bent over. ICs always fall off easy but I have no use for those. I am only after certain parts like 1/2 watt resistors, power resistors, large capacitors, chokes, certain transformers, fuse blocks, heat sinks, mosfets, power transistors, steak on terminals.

I can get $300 worth of parts in 1 hours work. It takes longer to strip the PC board from the junk TV than it does to remove the parts from the PC board. There are lots of good wires and connectors I can reuse too.

Parts with bent over wires will need to be bent up straight with a tiny flat sharp end screw driver. Bending up 1 wire is enough to remove the part.

Transistor wires are always bent over. I don't often save these transistors I have no clue what they are and don't need them. Bargan packs of transistors are cheap so are 1/4 watt resistors and small capacitors.

I inspect the PC boards for parts I want if there are only a few I remove those then trash the board I don't waste time on things I don't need or things that are very time consuming to remove. It is rare to have damages parts even the diodes and transistors are still good. I test every thing before I use them, even new parts I buy sometimes parts are bad from the factory.

Watch the video. Click the link it should play.

You may want to consider my way. Keep the junk boards populated and pick the needed parts only, when needed.
Avoids dozens of bins and digging into them.
To remove components massively as you do, slamming into a bucket the board with solder melted by a blowtorch frees most of components, no compressor, faster, shorter thermal stress.

For years I removed parts from boards as they were needed but all those boards take up too much space in my shop. I need the space more than the boards. I don't see as well as I use to so I need the parts removed from the boards so I can read the writing on the sides.

I don't sort the parts so they don't take up much space. Resistors all go in one empty green bean can, small capacitors go in an empty can, large caps in another can, ceramic caps in a can an other items in their own can. Last night I needed 2 resistors both 220 ohms it took me about 20 seconds to find them both. I dumped the CAN on the work bench moved resistors with my finger and picked out the resistors each time I see one. Then rake all the resistors back in the can.

I tried heating boards with a torch then hitting them against a bucket of edge of table some parts do fly off but most don't. It takes longer to heat a small spot then hit it against the edge of the table over and over and over. Often parts are damaged form hitting them against the table.

All my old PC boards are gone now I have extra room for new stuff. Nice thing about having boards laying around if I need an item I would not normally salvage from a board I might find it on one of those old boards.

Gary350, you are a man after my own heart. Though I must admit I sort resistors by their first two digits, mix up the multiples though. Compartment box with 12 compartments for E12, then mixed occasional ones from E24, mixed presets, power, misc things like thermistors go in the other 4 compartments. Caps I sort by type, film, ceramic, electrolytic. Just shake them out onto a tray to find the ones I want. Semiconductors sorted by power trannys, small trannys, diodes, IC's, misc. Other stuff I put where I can. I've got lots of little drawers but half of them are empty - very very gradually sorting things into them.

I tried the "bang it down" method to remove SMD's. Didn't work. Leaving them on boards for now and remove if needed, but like you, I need the space. Heatgun and scraping them off with a knife works.

gary350 said:

I heat the solid on the back side of the PC boards with my work shop propane torch then blow the solder away with my air compressor air blower.

Click to expand...

Externet said:

To remove components <...> slamming into a bucket the board with solder melted by a blowtorch frees most of components, no compressor, faster, shorter thermal stress.

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Since most of my salvaged boards have lead-based solder, I wouldn't use either of those methods -- the whole workshop (garage) would be heavily contaminated by spatter. I use a vacuum-desoldering iron. Lots slower I know, but less stinky and no toxic contamination of the area.

Scotophor said:

Since most of my salvaged boards have lead-based solder, I wouldn't use either of those methods -- the whole workshop (garage) would be heavily contaminated by spatter. I use a vacuum-desoldering iron. Lots slower I know, but less stinky and no toxic contamination of the area.

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You can not get lead poisoning unless you eat lead or breathe lead. You can not get lead poisoning from 1 or 2 or a few exposures. Wash your dirty hands before you eat and you will never get lead poisoning. I worked in the lead industry for 20 years we made car battery part. There is a lot of propaganda out their about lead poisoning that is just not true. Lead poisoning is not as easy to get as some of the propaganda will lead you to believe. Lead poisoning is bad if you get it but it is very hard to get unless you worked in a lead mine or paint factory 30 years ago. Lead poisoning goes away very quick unless your exposed over and over many times for many years. Here is a link to some pretty good information about lead poisoning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning

Externet said:

You may want to consider my way. Keep the junk boards populated and pick the needed parts only, when needed.
Avoids dozens of bins and digging into them.
To remove components massively as you do, slamming into a bucket the board with solder melted by a blowtorch frees most of components, no compressor, faster, shorter thermal stress.

Click to expand...

gary350 said:

For years I removed parts from boards as they were needed but all those boards take up too much space in my shop. I need the space more than the boards. I don't see as well as I use to so I need the parts removed from the boards so I can read the writing on the sides.

I don't sort the parts so they don't take up much space. Resistors all go in one empty green bean can, small capacitors go in an empty can, large caps in another can, ceramic caps in a can an other items in their own can. Last night I needed 2 resistors both 220 ohms it took me about 20 seconds to find them both. I dumped the CAN on the work bench moved resistors with my finger and picked out the resistors each time I see one. Then rake all the resistors back in the can.

I tried heating boards with a torch then hitting them against a bucket of edge of table some parts do fly off but most don't. It takes longer to heat a small spot then hit it against the edge of the table over and over and over. Often parts are damaged form hitting them against the table.

All my old PC boards are gone now I have extra room for new stuff. Nice thing about having boards laying around if I need an item I would not normally salvage from a board I might find it on one of those old boards.

Click to expand...

I admit I currently keep all the boards and only remove components as needed. However, this really isn't a very good idea. When you've been collecting old PCBs as long as I have (and that hasn't even been all that long, compared to some other people I know!), they take up far more space than organized components would. I have been considering doing something like what gary350 suggests in the video just to condense and use up less space. An entire corner of my basement is packed with circuit boards from old TVs, radios, computers, vhs/dvd players, microwave ovens, and so on.

I am holding 100 resistors micrometer reads, .068 diameter, .132" long. Does any one know the watt rating of these tiny resistors?

Unresistable I picked them off a board with a tiny screw driver in just a few minutes. I can get 1000 resistors in a match box. I need a magnifier and bright light to read them. I have no clue what to use them for at the moment, I might need to create a project for them.

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gary350 said:

I am holding 100 resistors micrometer reads, .068 diameter, .132" long. Does any one know the watt rating of these tiny resistors?

Unresistable I picked them off a board with a tiny screw driver in just a few minutes. I can get 1000 resistors in a match box. I need a magnifier and bright light to read them. I have no clue what to use them for at the moment, I might need to create a project for them.

**broken link removed**

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I believe those are 1/8 watt.

Reading through this thread I feel a bit wasteful....... When I tidy my bench ( once in a blue moon ) I just sweep all the components, that I couldn't be bothered to sort and put back, right off the bench into the bin.....

Sometimes maybe 20~30 resistors..... It would take more time than they are worth sorting them out.... Its a shame really.

I should shove them in a bag and let someone, who could do with a few , have them.... Mainly main stream 1k, 10k, 470, 4.7k etc....

Yes, the resistors in that handful are 1/8 watt. But be careful, they might not all be resistors. Double-check any that have an unusual body color, or whose "waist" profile is different than the norm (i.e. much narrower-waisted, or not any narrower in the middle than at the ends). Those may be capacitors or inductors.

gary350 said:

You can not get lead poisoning unless you eat lead or breath[e] lead.

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Yes, and my garage is frequented by cats, who may eat anything they find on the floor, in addition to licking their paws. Also, even if your work area is not accessible to animals or children, what do you think happens to all that lead spatter? It will eventually get vacuumed or swept up, possibly into the trash or outdoors. Outdoors is a quick trip into the ground water. Into the trash means either to landfill and again eventually into the ground water, or to an incinerator and thus into the air.

I save all the used solder I collect, along with dead components, component lead trimmings, and stripped circuit boards, and they go to proper collection for recycling or hazardous disposal on e-waste pickup day.

I have a tarp set up like a parachute that catches all my lead splatter. The recycle truck comes every Thursday. It will all be in the recycle dumpster next week.

Look at the physical size of each resistor on this photo. I know resistor on left is 1/2 watt. What do you think about the others?

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I think both of the middle ones are 1/4 watt (different types and ages). The one on the right is 1/8 watt.

Hmm, interesting. I was thinking 1/2, 1/2, 1/4 and the last one looks more like a capacitor... - but assuming it's a resistor I'd go for 1/8 on that one.

I think you might be correct about the right one being a capacitor. I'm not really sure about the two on the left, but pretty sure the blue-bodied one is 1/4 watt. AFAIK, 1/8 watt is the smallest size made of through-hole resistors.

Check this out. I took a better picture with light so you guys can read the color bands.

The 1.5 k resistor 1/2 watt on the left reads 1.6 k on my meter.

The 2.2 k resistor reads 2.1 k on my meter.

The 1 k resistor reads 1.1 k on my meter.

The 2.7 k smallest resistor reads exactly 2.7 k on my meter.

I checked several more resistors the smallest ones ALL read exactly on the money they all must me 1% or less tolerance. The larger resistors all read according to color band tolerance + or - 10% and 20%. I am very surprised all these tiny resistors read exactly what the color bands say. I tested 18 of the tiny resistors with my digital meter what ever the color band say that is exactly what my meter reads. I think that is amazing.

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Tolerance also relates to variation with temperature, so don't assume that your 5% resistor which reads "exactly" what it should, will always be that way after you install it in a circuit. Hand-selection is no substitute for buying parts of the correct tolerance!

BTW, 3 of the 4 parts in the new photo are different than those in the original photo!

Scotophor said:

Tolerance also relates to variation with temperature, so don't assume that your 5% resistor which reads "exactly" what it should, will always be that way after you install it in a circuit. Hand-selection is no substitute for buying parts of the correct tolerance!

BTW, 3 of the 4 parts in the new photo are different than those in the original photo!

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YES. I threw the resistors back in the pile. Had no idea it made a different to anyone if I use a different resistor. The 1/2 watt resistor is the same.

gary350 said:

I have a tarp set up like a parachute that catches all my lead splatter. The recycle truck comes every Thursday. It will all be in the recycle dumpster next week.

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What??? That's not right at all! You're talking about the normal streetside recycling that picks up residential stuff? They're not at all equipped to handle lead, don't know what it is, and certainly won't dispose of it correctly! (Unless I'm misunderstanding you here.) That stuff's gonna end up in the landfill.

Lead in the environment IS a hazard, no matter what. That's why we no longer use leaded fuel.

I save lead scraps--solder bits, and even wheel weights that I pick up off the street--and eventually melt them down into "ingots" (basically big blobs cast in a small metal pan) that I bring to a local metal recycler who 1) disposes of it properly and 2) pays me for it.