Can you melt brass?

[layusn1]

My recycling center is more than happy to take my shells that are no longer reloadable but they will not take them with the primers in them so I now have a very large collection of spent primers. From what I understand they are brass as well? Can I melt them down and make ingots out of them and take the ingots to the recycling center? It doesn't make sense to let that much good brass go into the trash bag. What do you guys think?

 

[glockman19]

Melting Temperatures of Brass

Admiralty Brass 1650 - 1720
Red Brass 1810 - 1880
Yellow Brass 1660 - 1710

 

[deadin]

You would probably use up more energy [gas, electricity, etc.]costs than you would recover in scrap value from the brass in a bunch of primers.

 

[RustyFN]

They should take the primers as long as they are not in the case. I have talked to people that got $35 for a one gallon bucket of primers not to long ago.
Rusty

 

[layusn1]

Maybe I should try taking them in separately and see what they say.

 

[Ian Sean]

Maybe try a different scrap dealer? If you have that many, it only makes sense to recycle them...no problems here with my scrap guys.

 

[layusn1]

I've only found one thats within reasonable driving distance. I don't mind making a trip a little out of the way as long as its worth it but not for a 20 or 30 buck recycle bucket.

 

[Uncle Don]

Been a long time since High School, but I seem to remember that some of us wanted to make our projects out of brass in metal shop and the instrutor told us we couldn't because the fumes were dangerous. Don't know if that is true or not, or if so, what is toxic about it, but I've never had the desire to try so far.

 

[DWARREN123]

The zinc in brass is whats nasty when melting it.

 

[Powderman]

Are the primer cups brass, or mild steel? I honestly have no idea.

 

[Rottweiler]

Grab a magnet off the fridge. If the primer cups stick to them they're steel, if not they aren't. My money's on they aren't.

If they were steel we'd be having more problems with light primer strikes than we care to count

 

[BBQJOE]

This is a good question. I had the same one myself concerning primers.
Some of my primers are clearly brass. But what a bout the silver colored ones?
Are they brass as well or something like aluminum or an alloy?

 

[ranger335v]

"White" primers are nickled brass.

 

[brickeyee]

"...the instrutor told us we couldn't because the fumes were dangerous. "

"The zinc in brass is whats nasty when melting it."

Unless you heat the alloy way past melting it will not separate.

 

[scrat]

clean them then smash them down with a hammer then take them in