Is there a market for used Wall Warts?

I saved my surplus wall warts for years and year, accumulating a pretty good pile.

Put them out at my friend's garage sale.

None of them sold.
Then they went out in the trash.

They won't sell. The thrift stores are loaded with them, BUT, when they have the one you need, whether it's for the brick or for the cord/plug, it is a valuable resource, and a bargain at usually just $0.99.

I've been saving them for years and they come in awfully handy for lighting projects and such. When the Radio Shack by me was selling out their inventory they had 3 boxes of them for $1 each.  I waded through them and found a number of AC and DC units that will work fine on the layout.

I stopped in a few days later and there was a pretty big dent in the boxes.  So apparently there was a market at $1 a piece.

Ed

ed

 Always test them and see what the real output is!

for dc ones, you can use them if you convert to LED lighting in you buildings and cities.

if AC 12V, power the TIU for AC, if it's a bigger output one.

 I save them all!  (yet I've only got 5 or 6? spares)

I just stripped a dead cordless phone base. I got the wall wart, a jack, some caps, and a bunch of screws that will work on trains.

I just toss them in a large box and keep them around for when a use comes up.  You'd be surprised how often you'll dig in that box for a suitable power supply.

Just be aware, that unless it is an expensive regulated supply, you will need to test it with something near its rated load to get an accurate voltage output reading. Unregulated 12v wall warts can easily put out 17-21 volts without a load.

Ditto.  The box gets darn heavy though.

FYI - If you are going to get rid of them, Best Buy has recycle bins for electronics.

Bob

With unregulated ones, you just have to use them where the voltage isn't that important.  Even if you test them at rated current, that only tells you what the voltage will be at rated current.  If the load doesn't draw that much, the voltage could be much more.

25 cents apiece at garage sales!!!

I keep them too, you never know when one in use will fail and you actually have a spare.  Happened to me with the Modem  Couldn't figure out what was up until I noticed lights not on (tucked in corner).  Turns out I had a spare from when an old modem failed.  G