Skip Useful Finds
 

I am surprised by how many reports I see of people finding interesting and useful finds in skips.

I do not do much skip browsing but have never seen or found anything of real interest so far.

David

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

Hi not a skip find but put out for the dustman a pye pcr3 radio when i knocked to ask if i could take it away the householder said yes and do i want the loudspeaker as well glad i asked when tested (on reduced mains for a couple of houres) found it worked just fine , i have it in my collection Mick

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

Some people seem to be naturally lucky at finding stuff. Forum member Nickthedentist seems to come across interesting items whenever he leaves the house. I occasionally find things like DVD players and LiIon battery packs but that's about it - maybe I'm looking in the wrong skips.

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

I found a nearly new desk lamp in a skip near here a few years ago. Just needed a replacement bulb and is ideal as my workshop desk lamp for poking into the backs of valve tellies and radios as it isn't too big.

Many years ago I found a very nice 50's wooden cabinet Ferranti all electric radio (LW/MW/SW) on top a dustbin in Stroud. The chap was happy for me to take it and there wasn't anything wrong with it. He had bought it from new and didn't use it anymore and decided to dispose of it. It is still in my parents loft somewhere!

Christopher Capener

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A lot of the industrial skips are locked these days, and household ones tend to be full of rubbish! Supermarket WEEE bins can be useful if not also locked. Pot luck it seems.

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My daughter had a a large glitzy light fitting on the [low] ceiling of her room. Walking home I noticed a plain bowl fitting in a skip and said "That's what you want!". When I turned round again she'd dived in and got it! A perfect colour match to the room as well! In the seventies I read in PW about people moving into houses and finding [in one case] a whole stack of radio items in the attic. I thought "That doesn't happen really" but some time later, I was in Liverpool and saw someone filling a skip with radio items [there was one visible on top]. It was a business that had made PA systems and they were emptying the flat/store room above. I got my friend to quickly reverse his Citroen Dyane back down the street and helped myself! There is a chance factor as Paul said but apart from checking bins and skips it also helps to 'put yourself about a bit' as they say, also where you might be living could be significant. I 've said elsewhere that a chance remark at a boring party at New Year Eve 2019 meant I was presented with a Radio someone didn't want but couldn't throw away [it was mother's]. You never know really. A chap rang once from Rawtenstall. He had some gear left over from when he'd had a small electronics company, that he didn't want to just dump. His wife was a Vet but I could never work out quite how he came to contact me???

Dave

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

I got my hi fi amp (Akai AM2350) from the council tip. It was on the top of the electrical bin. I spoke to one of the men and said that I had one identical and could I have it for spares. To my surprise he told me to take it away.
I had to replace one of the thick film PA modules and its been working ever since.

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My Bardwell's amplifier is connected to a pair of Sony speakers that came out of a skip. The system they came with could well have been there as well but I didn't look as I didn't want it.

Most of what I get is scrap wood, short lengths of cable and electrical fittings.

In my neck of the woods you have to be quick as there are people who drive 'round salvaging metal. On the plus side the locals know about this and put junk out for them which I may get to first. Last year somebody put eight small aluminium drawers out which I bagged and made a cabinet for.

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

That just reminded me ,there was a big skip at are local B&Q nearly full of brand new light fittings , removed from the store , a chap stood guard over it to stop people grabbing something ,??? Mick.

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Our local cricket club was having a refurb with the skip outside, found four 250va toroidal 12v transformers complete with nice cabinets and fittings, probably going to build a nice low voltage psu or battery charger with one of them.
Greg.

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

I'm not sure if i'd feel comfortable disturbing someones skip, but round here people often leave items on the pavement for members of the community to take, or failing that, the patrolling scrap metal merchant will take items that suit them. These items are usually toys that their children have grown out of, I got a Casio keyboard that worked fine once I found a suitable PSU for it.

Several bicycles over the years, there's a nice one in the garage ready for my grandson when he's a bit bigger.

The best though, was an exercise treadmill that appeared to have been discarded because the motor had failed, it was partially seized, but when I dismantled it I found the armature had overheated and leached out some resin-like material. Cleaning it up with a file restored normal running , if you'll excuse the pun.

Oh, and an upright vacuum cleaner that just needed a belt, nothing special, a budget JMP brand, but it's been one of the best we've ever owned.

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Someone left an Amplicomms hearing aid attachment(mint condition) outside of their house for anyone to take. The specialist in the audiology dept. had said I should get one of these and I hadn't done anything about it so it was a good find for me(they cost £100plus).It does the trick.Les

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

My ethic with that is that if the skip is on the road it's fair game. If it's on somebody's property I'll ask first. I don't actually dive in and root; I remove things which are at the top so easy to spot and get at.

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

I obviously need to start looking at more skips :)

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Skips definitely took a dent from online sales platforms. Barely see anything that isn’t rubbish in them these days. I still look though out of habit.

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A Sansui DVD player from a skip in our road plus a Toshiba divers torch which I got working apart from the silvered reflector which just dissolved when water was applied (it was very far gone).The biggest torch I have ever seen. Masses of softwood and ply,you need to get there before a plasterer dumps their unused plaster/mortar etc all over the good stuff.Les

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

IME, the chances of finding anything useful in a skip varies according to the area.
Business districts in London, good chance of useful finds, but usually modernish rather than vintage.
Relatively poor residential districts, fewer skips, and little chance of finding anything desirable. The owners are more likely to flog it on eBay, or give it to a mate.
Affluent or middle class residential areas are IME best for vintage finds like old appliances.

When working in London, I found as many fluorescent light fittings as I wanted in skips, also UPS units, desk fans, and electric switchgear.

Re: Skip Useful Finds
 

I had some great things from the skip at my high school. The science department had a clearout and there were boxes and boxes of components. I am still making my way through them ten years on! I also found a complete 'Eagle' PA system, a gramophone horn which had been used as a prop in a school play, even loads of tinsel which had only been used one. Used it to decorate my bedroom for a few years :-)

The best find was this Grundig 97 which dad found in a skip. Sadly, the dial glass was smashed and it was sans valves. Otherwise it was in very good condition and still had it's two pin plug. As soon as I put a set of valves in it worked beautifully. It now lives on my bedside table!

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Schools and colleges are notorious for dumping large amounts of WEEE in skips, for a mixture of cultural and funding reasons. They are normally very strict about scavenging though.

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In the 80's and 90's I used to find useful stuff in skips all the time but nowadays, not so much.

I found a Trio KR6400 receiver in a skip on the day Michael Jackson died. Dragged a damp cloth over it and used it for 9 years. It needs work now.

A few years ago I found a pair of very good Philips mini system speakers in a skip. They were my last skip find.

Unfortunately for me, it seems that skips ain't what they used to be...

Regards,
Paul