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foxea
05-07-2008, 11:06 AM
I have almost used up my supply of free lead. After checking with a lot of local tire shops, no one will give it away anymore, the best I can do is $20 or $25 for a 5 gallon bucket of ww. Is that a good deal and how much lead can I get out of a 5 gallon bucket after melting it down to ingots?

docone31
05-07-2008, 11:19 AM
lead is getting pricey.
I would not balk at a 5 gallon bucket of weights.
That bucket is pretty heavy when full.

GabbyM
05-07-2008, 11:37 AM
$25 for five gallons is almost getting it for free. You should get around 70 pounds of ingots from a five gallon pail. That will vary widely of course.
If I could get them I'd buy a truck load at that price. Shops around hear prefer to sell them to a scrap yard for 25 cents than to me for 50. Then the yards want 95 cents for them. Plus a fee for loading your truck.

Cloudpeak
05-07-2008, 11:45 AM
A good buy on the wheel weights.

I just rendered a 5 gallon bucket of WW that weighed 140 lbs. I ended up with 104 lbs. of ingots which means I had 36 lbs or 26% waste material. In this waste material were: the steel clips, any weights that floated, "crust" and all stick-on weights.

Cloudpeak

kooz
05-07-2008, 11:46 AM
No more free ones around my neck of the woods either. I would buy all I could for $25/5gl bucket. The full 5gal pale's of clean WW's that I have weighed are about 140 lbs, and if that weight is all WW's and no garbage I would say atleast 80% usable lead ?

tding
05-07-2008, 12:26 PM
I'm paying $30.00 per 5 gal pail of "clean" WW in the Atlanta area, when I can get it.

Brownie
05-07-2008, 01:27 PM
wheelweights were $20.00 a five gallon pail around here for many years, now this year they are $30.00, but are getting hard to find because of the high price of scrap metal. I never weighed a pail of wheel weights but they are really heavy and seem to get heavier every year!:x

TAWILDCATT
05-07-2008, 03:35 PM
thelast buckets I got weighed 140 lbs + I dont think you can lift a 5 gallon bucket full.I do know 5 gallon bucket of range lead was around 350lbs.most of the buckets I see are 3 gallon.I need to look up lead futures,found gold but not lead.[smilie=b:

TAWILDCATT
05-07-2008, 03:49 PM
Lead Price On The London Market Is $1.17 Lb.
Price May Go Down As China Is Slacking Off.

Beaverhunter2
05-07-2008, 05:27 PM
I have trouble finding them- except at the scrap yard. Then it's $.60/lb. I'd be all over them at $25/bucket.

John

foxea
05-07-2008, 06:51 PM
Thanks everyone, I found several sources that will sell them to me for $25.00 for a 5 gallon pail. Sounds like its a good deal. Most places I went to will not sell to me because they told me they have to track it for gov regs how much of the lead they recycle. Stupid tree hugers. Word of advice in finding lead, visit small shop not the big ones.

Alchemist
05-07-2008, 07:03 PM
My last score was a five gallon bucket about 3/4 full...yield was 85 ingots after smelting. Not bad for free. BTW, it's a small shop, and I have bought tires from him in the past, and will in the future. Loyalty pays off.

Alchemist

Hipshot
05-07-2008, 09:14 PM
I get ALL my lead for free-----I just take it outa my A** where my wife says I have a lot of it !!!!!

Hipshot

Seriously----I fish also, but the price of sinkers went up LAST YEAR from 8 cents an oz to 22-24 cents an oz! Have to start using spark plugs like the wetbacks!

Tom Herman
05-07-2008, 10:32 PM
Hi Foxea,

I don't like to shell out money if I don't have to, either! What works for me at one place is that they have a BIG need for batteries. They get stuck for cores to recycle, but could care less about wheel weights, so I round up all the lead acid batteries I can, and swap them for wheelweights.
It's a win-win situation! No money changes hands, he gets what he desperately needs, and I get what I want.

Happy Shootin! -Tom



I have almost used up my supply of free lead. After checking with a lot of local tire shops, no one will give it away anymore, the best I can do is $20 or $25 for a 5 gallon bucket of ww. Is that a good deal and how much lead can I get out of a 5 gallon bucket after melting it down to ingots?