Wheel weight question

Brother_Love

Well-Known Member
I received three 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights today. I will have to sort them for zinc. What is the best way to determine which ones are zinc. As you can tell the last WW I sorted was before the introduction of zinc weights.
Thank you
 
F

freebullet

Guest
Lead is soft in a pair of dikes zinc ain't.

No need to sort if you control the melt temp cuz zinc melts much higher than lead so they float on top o the melt as do steel.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
I snip them with wire cutters, don't need to try to cut them in half, just snip them and you'll know instantly if it's lead or not.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I don't trust the melt thing anymore. Zamak alloy melts just a little higher than WW and if you start from a cold pot full of weights, hot spots on the bottom can get a few zinkers melted in there before you realize it or they get a chance to float. Checking each one with dikes as mentioned is the safest bet. There is zero doubt when you bite a zinker with them.
 

Rcmaveric

Active Member
I have a rod in my hand as i sort. The sound it makes when tapping lead or zinc is distinct indication. Sharp ring is zinc and high and low thuds are lead. Harder leads will have a higher pitched thud but still distinctively different than steel or zinc. You can also take vice grips to it and smash it. If it smashes its lead. If you hurt your wrist before the weight distorts then its anything but lead.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
many of them are marked Zn.
I just drag the ones I doubt on the cement, the lead digs in and is grabby zinc scraped over the top just kind of scoots along.
I go through them pretty quickly and I don't have an aneurism if I miss one or two zinc ww's.

I toss the for sure ones in a bucket and set the maybe's off to the side, then go through the maybe's a little closer after I'm done.
 

USSR

Finger Lakes Region of NY
Pair of pliers with side cutters on them. The side cutter will put a dent in the lead, won't touch the zinc. I am presently going thru a batch of wheel weights at my local scrap yard. Oh, and you guys will love this; $0.40 a pound.

Don
 

uncle jimbo

Well-Known Member
I found that after you get started, you can tell most zn weights from their looks and like fiver said, many are marked. For the soww, I have a big magnet. Works well. And yes, I do have a pair of wire cutters close by.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
I might use sidecutters or a little hammer. Tap tap, they don't sound the same. Zinc or steel will ring, lead is a dull thud.
 

Rally Hess

Well-Known Member
Don
Is.40 the going rate where you're from? Just curious what other folks are paying for ww.
 
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Rcmaveric

Active Member
Scrap yard lady sells me mixed for .60 cents a pound then buys back the left overs for .10 a pound. I think she makes a mean profit off me and i do all the work and pay her to do it. Its always 3/4 lead so it works out to about .80 a pound. There are few other scrap and salvage yards i need to call. As long as i can get the WWs for less than a 1.25 a pound i am happy. Once it gets to that i will start ordering it off line. Once you add that $1 a pound to shipping your paying 1.25 a pound.
 

USSR

Finger Lakes Region of NY
Don
Is.40 the going rate where you're from? Just curious what other folks are paying for ww.

At the scrap yard I use, they buy wheel weights for $0.15 a pound and sell them for $0.40 a pound. Just plain lead (lead pipe, lead sheathing, etc.) they sell for $0.80 a pound. Don't know what price they get at any other scrap yard in my area.

Don
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
Don't have any yards here . The new home has a history of whatever lead they have going for $0.30/lb . Steel buy back was around $80/ton I think . At the time it didn't occur to quiz about clean zinc .
 

Rally Hess

Well-Known Member
RBHarter,
My markets are about like the prices you have. I've never paid over .25 for wheel weights. I recently heard steel prices have gone up some. Have a buddy in Canada is getting .30 for zinc, but getting it across the border would be a pain. My local yard doesn't even know what zinc is and has been sitting on several tons of lead he can't get rid of at .50 lb. Most of the tire and box stores are on contract for their batteries and wheel weights.
 

Rally Hess

Well-Known Member
Sorry for the drift Brother Love. I use a 10" pair of lineman pliers and pinch/ cut them all. The ten inch pliers help with hand fatigue. These new zinc weights are almost identical to the old lead weights in appearance. Some are marked with ZN but not all. Seems anymore the really pretty clean weights are all zn because they are harder and don't mar or scratch as easily.