Callin' the Haul-Away guys...

[John Albert]

Hello all -

I'm in Western Connecticut. I have a bunch of junk appliances (and other items) that I need to get rid of.

Nearby, there is a privately-run (but city sponsored) recycling center that accepts things like appliances, tvs, etc. They have a "rate schedule" for individual items, such as: tv - $15 air conditioner - $25 washer or dryer - $20 You get the idea.

But I have several tvs, a large old freezer, couple of air conditioners, washer, dryer, dishwasher, and more. And no way to move the larger items by myself.

I probably need to call the "haul-away guys".

But I was wondering what they cost? Do they charge by the hour, by "the item"?

Will I pay $300? 600? $1,000? Plus the "disposal fees" on top of that?

Any other way I may be overlooking to get rid of old appliances?

Would it be more economical to rent a van, hire a friend, pay the recycle fees, and do the hauling myself?

Thanks,

- John

[gpsman]

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- gpsman

[Jon Danniken]

We can recycle TV's free at the municipal center here, and the local thrift store takes AC units for free (I'm guessing they scavenge out the metal from non-working units to make up the cost of processing them).

The county dump does charge for major appliances (washer/driers), but that is only due to their bulk (if you dismantle them and collapse/compress the exteriors, there is no fee).

If you are trying to save a few bucks you might try calling around; some of the thrift stores might even come and pick some of the items up.

Jon

[Vic Smith]

Around here, you can put any metal at the curb on trash day and it'll be gone in anywhere from 1 minute to an hour. Scrap metal is worth money, so you don't pay anybody to haul it away. It's not the same where you are? Seems odd to me.

[Doug Miller]

John Albert wrote in news:501bede7$0$14663$a8266bb1 @newsreader.readnews.com:

[...]

[...]

If any of them work (or can be easily restored to working order), call the St. Vincent de Paul Society and arrange to donate them. They will pick them up, and you'll get a tax deduction.

For the non-working ones, it probably makes sense to rent a pickup truck and haul them to a scrap metal dealer. Scrap steel is worth in the neighborhood of $180 a ton (nine cents a pound). You can rent pickup trucks at Lowe's or Home Depot for about $20 an hour, so if you have three or four hundred pounds of scrap steel in the non-working appliances, you'll approximately break even on that. Before renting one, though, ask your neighbors, friends, co-workers, or relatives. Chances are good that someone you know has a pickup truck -- and an investment of ten or fifteen bucks in a 12-pack of good beer will pay off handsomely here.

Non-working air conditioners and freezers, you're probably going to have to haul to a licensed hazmat scrapper. Especially if they're really old -- very few places have equipment to evacuate R12 any more, and nobody wants it. And don't even think about dumping them somewhere: that's not littering, that's illegal disposal of hazardous waste.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Any of this stuff work? If the freezer works, call CL & P to see if they still have the haul away program. If it was cold inside, they would pay you to take it away.

If the ACs work put a price tag on them at the curb and maybe someone will steal them for you.

Used to be while metal would bring enough that scrap haulers would take them away, but that may have changed as the market fluctuates.

I don't know why you have this stuff as most appliance dealers will haul the old one away as part of the deal. Save problems like this down the road.

[George]

Out of curiosity how did you end up with all of that stuff? Every time we have appliances like washers/dryers/refrigerators delivered they always include hauling the old ones away.

For TVs etc keep your eye open for electronic recycling events.

[Bill]

Yes! I would guess $300-500. I would rent a pick-up truck for a couple of hours. Make a ramp out of some lumber that you probably have laying around, and you should be good to go. Harbor Freight has "moving coasters" (4 wheel under a small board) cheap. I was almost in disbelief as two of my friends rolled a 1000+ pound truck of a tree into the back of a pickup recently. Good luck!

[Clean Machine]

Put them out by the street with a For Sale sign on them. They'll be gone in the morning. ;-)

[TomR]

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There's the answer to all or most of the OP's question, and it only took 10 minutes to get the answer.

Read the Craigslist ads and someone who advertises there will come and take all (or most) of it for free. They'll do all the work -- no lifting or moving on the OP's part.

[TomR]

That's another easy option. If the stuff is too heavy for the OP to move or lift, get a couple of high school or college kids to move the stuff and place it by the curb or in the OP's yard near the sidewalk and tape a couple of "free" signs on them. Probably 2 kids, 20 bucks each, would do it. It shouldn't take them more than about 30 minutes to do the whole thing, or maybe a hour at most..

[dennisgauge]

Just be aware that some of these ads are made by people who will arrive on = site, thump you on the head, and take everything of value from your home.

They may be using the junk pickup to case your property for anything of val= ue, so they can come back later and clean it out for you while you're away.

When you call these people, show them as little of your property as possibl= e so as to give them as little reason as possible for thumping you on the h= ead. Ideally, pile all the junk in your front driveway so all they have to = do is back up, load it, and leave.

[HeyBub]

Yep. Fortunately, I live on a moderately busy street and stuff put to the curb doesn't last long.

I think the record was a 4' tall painting of a Spanish castanet dancer. I didn't time it, but on the way back to the garage, I heard a car stop. Turning around I saw two messicans loading the picture in their station wagon already packed with at least sixteen other countrymen (and women) (not counting the children). Couldn't have been more than fifteen seconds.

Nothing has lasted on my curb for longer than 24 hours.

Alternative #2 is to leave the stuff on an elementary school playground during the dark of the moon. Next "dark moon" is on August 17th. If you can't wait 'til then, beginning August 9th, the moon doesn't rise until after midnight.

[HeyBub]

Yep. As long as you're buying HF's economical furniture dolly ($25, #38970), pick up an equally economical (small) "rope hoist". Seven bucks, Rated at

500 lbs., for doing the Egyptian up the ramp.

[Stormin Mormon]

You can position them to look like a garage sale, tag each item with a price. Go away for a day or two, and come back to find them all stolen. Or, money stuffed in your mail slot if there is anyone honest out there.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

.

I'm in Western Connecticut. I have a bunch of junk appliances (and other items) that I need to get rid of.

Nearby, there is a privately-run (but city sponsored) recycling center that accepts things like appliances, tvs, etc. They have a "rate schedule" for individual items, such as: tv - $15 air conditioner - $25 washer or dryer - $20 You get the idea.

But I have several tvs, a large old freezer, couple of air conditioners, washer, dryer, dishwasher, and more. And no way to move the larger items by myself.

I probably need to call the "haul-away guys".

But I was wondering what they cost? Do they charge by the hour, by "the item"?

Will I pay $300? 600? $1,000? Plus the "disposal fees" on top of that?

Any other way I may be overlooking to get rid of old appliances?

Would it be more economical to rent a van, hire a friend, pay the recycle fees, and do the hauling myself?

Thanks,

- John

[bob haller]

call a scrapper, they will come and haul away all the metal for free.

last time i checked scrap yards around here are paying about 12 bucks per hundred pounds

[Bill]

If? You're honest, aren't you?

Bill

[Bob(but not THAT Bob)]

Are you kidding?

HS kids haven't done manual labor since the '50s.

[Stormin Mormon]

I'm honest, but I'm here. The guy with the appliances is there. I'm not sure if there's anyone honest out there, where he is.

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

.

If? You're honest, aren't you?

Bill

[John Albert]

hazardous waste.

Original poster here again.

This is pretty much the condition of what I have -- old (20+ years old or older) and non-working, particularly the air conditioners.

I've read the above postings. Absolutely not interested in "opening up" my place to unknowns from craigslist. To be perfectly honest, I'd rather pay.