Catalytic converters are an abode of different metals that can be recycled. You can make a decent amount of money if you put your scrap catalytic converter out for sale. However, most of the times one is unable to fetch the correct price for their catalytic converters. This guide helps you understand catalytic converter recycling prices and the various parameters that can help you fetch a reasonable price. Most of the times people tend to feel that they are selling at an undervalued price because we blindly trust our purchaser. Once, one gets an understanding of what’s inside your catalytic converter, their prices and how one can try for a bargain, getting a good price for a catalytic converter is guaranteed.
Getting Inside a Catalytic Converter
Before we look inside a catalytic converter, let us first understand what metals are used to build a catalytic converter because catalytic converter recycling prices are heavily influenced prices by the base metal.
There are a few metals which are primarily used for making a catalytic converter. They are as follows:
● Platinum: Platinum is one of the most commonly used metals for making a catalytic converter. It is considered as one of the best metals since it helps boost the overall performance of the converter. It helps in reducing pollution and minimize the adverse effects of burning the fuel inside your vehicle. When the pollution that comes from your car’s engine comes with a contact in Platinum before it reaches the exhaust, it causes a reaction between different ions. This reaction reduces the detrimental effect that the burning of fuel can have on the environment.
● Palladium: It is one of the most expensive metals that is used in a catalytic converter. This is the reason why it is mostly used in high-end and luxury cars. It is often considered as a luxurious item for your catalytic converter.
● Rhodium: It utilizes a component which induces a reduction reaction in the catalytic converter, which helps to significantly reduce the fumes that may arise out of the combustion. It is often paired with Palladium, as it forms a better alloy which enhances the rate of reaction. This can eliminate more toxins when compared to only Rhodium.
● Ceramic/Metal Foil: Underneath the layer of precious metals, a honeycomb structure comprising of ceramic or metal foil is placed. This creates more opening and spaces which helps capture more toxins by allowing more exhaust to pass over it through the additional area.
● Metal Shield: Although metal shields are generally placed on the outside, the magnetic type shields assist in reducing the pollution level. The material of construction is usually magnetic stainless steel or 303/304 stainless steel.
Catalytic Converters Versus Copper Wire
Copper wires are generally found abundantly in scrap articles, and you may even have a fair idea of how the pricing is structured. It also gives you a fair idea of what the scrap market is and what the recovery cost. If we compare a catalytic converter with a basic copper wire, say for instance THHN wire. The cost of scrap depends upon the copper content of the wire.
This is the case with catalytic converter as well. The price depends upon the actual metal content. If the price of copper is around $1, and you have 100 pounds of wire. Suppose that the wire contains about 60 percent copper, which means that there is 60 pound of copper in your wire. If you sell 100 pounds of wire, you will obtain around $60 which means that your wire is worth the same.
However, it is not the same when it comes to a catalytic converter. Since catalytic converter recycling prices depend upon the content of metal as well, it is essential that you determine the actual content of precious metals in your catalytic converter. It is an arduous task to determine the content of metal in your catalytic converter, and it becomes almost impossible to determine the correct percentage of metal content with the desired accuracy. Hence, one has to settle with whatever price they are offered.
Determining Prices of the Recovery Metal From a Catalytic Converter
The price of a catalytic converter can be determined after you have a fair idea of the metal content. But the task gets more stringent as there are various grades of catalytic converters available and each has a different content of metal. Since you might have to assess different types of converters each day, you might require segregation of converters into separate lots of similar types.
Let us take an example, suppose you receive a catalytic converter rich in platinum. The price of Platinum is around $100, so you might want to use a process that lets you recover Platinum completely from a converter. Since you want to use an accurate method, it will add to the cost. If you recover 0.5 pounds of Platinum from the same, the standard pricing would be around $50. But you cannot price it at $50 since you also have to take into consideration, the cost involved in the extraction of metal, the delay in payments and the amount of profit that you wish to earn from the transaction.
How to Find the True Price of a Catalytic Converter
The only sure shot method to determine the correct price of a catalytic converter is to sort them into smaller groups for finding the actual percentage of metal. Catalytic converter recycling prices are determined by scrap dealers and purchases as they obtain a fair idea after purchasing thousands of catalytic converters each day.
The value of a catalytic converter can only be determined after assessment of a large number of converters, what metals can be found inside it and what recovery method would be the best suited for it. The formula is also largely dependent on the current market prices of precious metals. Only then the marked price is decided.
Since Platinum and Palladium are two of the largest indicators of the market scenario, keeping a close watch on the current market trends and pricing of these two metals are the best indicator of the pricing. You can compare the current prices with the prices of the past 12 or 24 months, to understand the fluctuations in the market. Once, you get an idea of pricing structure, you can decide the right time for recycling your catalytic converter.