Salvage questions. On topic?

Question

I asked a question about salvaging parts from used/junk equipment, and it was negatively received.

Many hobbyists cannot afford to buy new parts (such as pneumatic actuators, solenoids and stepper motors) so they often salvage them from equipment. I know I've desoldered plenty of relays and capacitors for re-use.

I realize all most many some shopping questions are off-topic, but is advice on how to acquire parts from used equipment similarly off-topic?

Edit:

Quantified the comment about shopping questions a bit better. :)

Answer 1

I'd say salvage questions are on topic. The main reason is because of the information value that could be present. It's a learning experience. Sure, we all know what a solenoid is, or a relay, or whatever.. but building a list of items that may have X or Y item inside them is pretty time-stable, IMO.

For example, printers will always have stepper motors, so it's not a transient question like shopping advice. Also, your point about people salvaging to save money is relevant to the weekend warrior electronics tinkerers and professionals putting around in their spare time at home. Learning how to source parts and sourcing them well is important as a hobbyist and as a professional.

tl;dr: salvaging parts questions seem entirely on topic and they will reasonably stand the test of time.

Answer 2

In a geography where the electronics component industry is extremely hobbyist-unfriendly (e.g. India), questions around salvaging parts, and any useful answers that result, are invaluable. I would dearly like to see the question referred to being reopened, as it is one that every electronics hobbyist in places like India should be directed to.

On a similar note, "if it doesn't have a datasheet, don't buy it" is equally unhelpful for an audience in my geography: Every week, I struggle to source datasheet-supported parts, without being able to meet the MOQs or shipping costs for international ordering. Locally, I am constrained to whatever my city's "electronics street" shops will sell, and what very limited and highly overpriced parts the few online stores offer. I would challenge anyone to source 5 red LEDs with a known part number and datasheet in India, let alone a solenoid such as you have asked for, with known parameters.

Either this site is a global resource, in which case salvaging and making do with sketchily supported or obsolete parts are crucial questions, or this is a very USA/Europe oriented resource, in which case someone needs to propose the equivalent of "Stack Overflow in Swahili" on Area51, for EE.SE too! (I certainly hope not!)

Answer 3

While a salvaging question could be on topic if asked just the right way, yours wasn't. Your actual question was, quoting directly, "What's the best old equipment from which to salvage solenoids?". There is simply no way to answer what is "best". There may be some opinions, but these type of survey questions aren't a good fit for this site. Note that when I did offer a opinion, your first response was "I disagree", even though I actually have harvested a solenoid from a old printer once.

There is no way to answer "best", and you disagree when someone floats a few ideas, which it seemed you were soliciting. You have left no option other than to close the question.

Answer 4

I would like to see more salvage questions but some sort of guideline needs to be set up. After reading this thread I posted a topic about salvaging LCDs and it was closed within a day. They cited it as "too localized" which was quite puzzling considering that I never mentioned where I am and devices which parts can be salvaged from can easily be shipped all over the world from sites like eBay. The short description of what "too localized" mean was equally unhelpful and the included link to the FAQ only repeated this verbatim without any further elaboration so it was worthless as well. At the moment I'm puzzled as to what would constitute a valid salvage question.