Are these Microwave parts worth scrapping?

[mj74]

 

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[Shortstack]

If those are the Klystron tubes that create the microwave frequencies, I don't believe they have any rare metals in their construction.

 

[hyderconsulting]

I do not know if there is any resale value to tubes on ebay. Possibly so. The tubes do not contain any precious metals. What they do contain though is beryllium, a very toxic metal. It is in the form of beryllium oxide in the ceramic part of the tube. The ceramic is colored white or pink usually. It is much more toxic than lead. Do not break the ceramic creating dust which you could breath. Avoid handling the ceramic part also. As I understand this is why a lot of scrapyards are banning microwaves in their shreddable scrap piles. They don't want to be breathing beryllium dust. Now when microwaves first came out many years ago there was plug attached to the tubes which was coated in gold so if you scrap out one of these the tubes would be worth about 4 to 5 dollars apiece in gold! I haven't run across a real old microwave in a long time but I have scraped out several with the gold coated plugs in earlier years. Regards, Chris Hyder.