Recycling electronics
 

I'm in the process of making an EV Motorcycle (see my other threads).

I have access to things such as computer power supplies, old UPS battery backup surge protectors, and old computers/servers. I am in need of a DC-DC converter. Maybe a stepdown converter from 72v to 12v. Is there a way I can recycle any of the old power supplies or UPS to make a DC/DC converter? What other uses could you see these parts being in an EV cycle?

72v dc to 12v dc? I know the computer power supplies are stack able and can be used for dc projects such as battery chargers and such. The 12 volt sla batteries used in the ups still have a usable life for ev projects even after they are no longer good for use as a back up power supply.

Some people connect the ups to a larger deep cycle battery for longer service when the power goes out. Of course I doubt any of this can help you with the project at hand.

If you are able to sell the servers you got a few people interested here, but thats another story. :D

We actually have a huge rack of small SLA bats and I brought about 15 of them home for testing my bike with. So I have those on the garage floor. After I'm done with them I'm giving 2 to a co-worker for a car jump pack.

I'm actually looking at keeping the SLA batteries and getting a solar setup. Use the UPS and batteries to power some electronics and solar charge the batteries.

As for the servers, those aren't sell-able. Sorry. I was just looking to re-use the stuff that was getting tossed in dumpsters or taken to recycling centers.

The UPS could be useful if it's battery pack voltage was the same as the motorcycle.

Server blowers are nice for keeping electronics cool.

Best bet is to get a hatchet, dremal, drill, soldering pen and salvage anything that looks useful. Might be able to sell some items on ebay, like large inductors and big heat sinks.
Scrap the rest. The better you can seperate the metals the more you will get. Generally scrap yards give 10 cents a pound for raw electronics waste. If you can seperate it out, you can get up to 15 cents a pound for steel, 50 to 60 cents for aluminum, $2 for copper.