Brass And Bronze Metals: Knowing The Differences Before Recycling

• 11 May 2023
• by Melbourne Metal Recycling
• 0 Comments

There is a lot of money to be made in recycling metals, such as brass and bronze. If you are in need of some extra cash, then rounding up all of your scrap metal is definitely worth the effort. Years ago, selling scrap metal was not as lucrative as it is today, as the demand for metals such as brass and bronze, as well as copper, iron, steel, lead, and aluminium, have been on the steady rise, with no letup in sight.

Not surprising, most homes today have scrap metal laying around that could be recycled for money. While most types of metals are easy to identify, it’s common for many people to have difficulty distinguishing between brass and bronze metals. Knowing the difference before recycling will make the process of selling your metals easier, and will help you to determine how much the metal you gave is worth.

Knowing the Difference between Brass and Bronze Metals before Recycling

If you have a good amount of bronze, then you are in luck because bronze is worth a significant amount more than brass. However, under close examination you might discover that not all of what you have is bronze, some of it could be brass. Brass and bronze look a lot alike, and it is common for people to mistake one for the other.

In fact, most people who are unfamiliar with various kinds of metals often assume that all yellowish metals are brass. Interesting, some brass can actually contain bronze in it, which makes it more valuable.

Here is some information about brass and bronze to better help you to determine the difference between these two metals before recycling:

• Brass – it is a “non-ferrous” alloy metal, which means that there is no traces of iron present, so it does not have any magnetic abilities. Instead, it consists of between 60 to 80% copper, and 20 to 40% zinc. Combining copper and zinc makes a very strong metal that has a yellowish tent, and it is extensively used in plumbing applications, such as brass piping and fixtures. It is also commonly used to make musical instruments.
• Bronze – like brass, it is a non-ferrous alloy made from combining copper and zinc, which is why it can be a bit tricky to distinguish the difference between the two. In fact, the main difference is that bronze contains more copper than brass, and is heavier with a more reddish tint to it. Bronze is often used to created decorative objects such as statues.

If you can’t tell the difference between brass and bronze, no worries, at Melbourne Metal Recycling, we have an analyzer that can read your scrap metal’s content to make sure that you get top dollar payment.