Magnetron ☣☣
Assume every ceramic part in a magnetron is beryllium oxide until proven otherwise. BeO is commonly pink or salmon, but white and off-white BeO exists, and ordinary alumina is also white — you cannot tell them apart by colour.
How to spot it
Heavy cylindrical finned aluminium block with two ferrite ring magnets, a ceramic-insulated antenna dome on one end, and a filament terminal box with a shield on the other.
Metal content
| Metal | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | 0.5–2 g per magnetron | 30–60% Ag braze on the copper anode vanes |
| Copper | 200–400 g per unit | the only real value |
| Base metal | ferrite magnets, aluminium fins |
At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $5.52 per pound of contained metal — Silver 1.5 g = $2.85, Copper 250 g = $2.67. A refiner paying $0.5 returns about 9% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.
Safe removal
Working temperature: Cold — unbolt only
Unbolt the whole magnetron from the waveguide and sell or dispose of it intact. Never cut, saw, hammer, drill, sandblast, torch or shred one. Discharge the microwave's HV capacitor first — it can deliver a lethal shock months after the oven was last plugged in.
Hazards
NEVER grind, sand, file, saw, drill, abrasive-cut, sandblast, hammer, crush, shred, torch, melt or incinerate anything that might contain BeO. Sell or dispose of suspect parts intact. Broken beryllium parts are worth nothing; your lungs are worth everything.
NEVER short a large capacitor with a screwdriver. It welds the tip, blasts molten metal at your face, and can rupture the can.
Before you scrap it
The common trap
Questions
How much gold is in magnetron ☣☣?
Silver: 0.5–2 g per magnetron. Copper: 200–400 g per unit. At current spot that is about $5.52 of contained metal per pound.
How do you identify magnetron ☣☣?
Assume every ceramic part in a magnetron is beryllium oxide until proven otherwise. BeO is commonly pink or salmon, but white and off-white BeO exists, and ordinary alumina is also white — you cannot tell them apart by colour.
How do you remove magnetron ☣☣ safely?
Unbolt the whole magnetron from the waveguide and sell or dispose of it intact. Never cut, saw, hammer, drill, sandblast, torch or shred one. Discharge the microwave's HV capacitor first — it can deliver a lethal shock months after the oven was last plugged in.
Is magnetron ☣☣ worth more working than as scrap?
Working magnetrons sell as appliance repair parts for $20–40 — far more than the metal.
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