Today I had a chance to get 6 big industrial wet cell batteries for free, I turned them
down because I'm not hard up for lead to mess with them. Then ran on a garage
sale. Got about 10lbs of plumbers ingots, a plumbers lead pot, a old iron ladle and
a bunch of old soldier molds. I didn't want toy soldier molds but was all boxed together. Maybe I'll sell them to somebody like Mel Gibson who makes his rifle balls
out of toy soldiers.
I thought battery lead was too dangerous to render!?!?!?!
Chris
Around these parts guys cut them open with a axe and sledge hammer, throw the plates in a
bottom section cut from a 33gal drum. They set this over a hot fire on a car wheel with rebar
legs. This is all done outside,and I know of nobody being harmed, they been doing it for years.
Done in enclosed area would not be to smart because of toxic fumes. Not good to melt any lead
without ventilation. They take lead sheathed cable and throw it right in fire, when fire goes out
they separate it from ash. It's dirty with embedded ash, they then remelt in drum head and
skim off the dirt. This is Appalachia, we don't know any better, but we getter done.
I traded the fella at the scrapyard a dead refrigerator for 42lbs of new stained glass came. Frig usually goes for $7.
get those lead connector bars they use to connect the industrial battery's.
they are about WW alloy and simple to melt.
Messing with any lead from batteries (inside OR outside) is not something you want to ever do. The Pb left over by simply melting it is still contaminated. Nasty stuff. Leave that to the battery recycling plants. Take them to the scrap yard get cast and buy lead! Batteries are what keeps our lead supply here in the US large and healthy!
Are battery cable ends OK?Originally Posted by bangerjim
I have worked in the forklift industry for 30 years. Melted and shot at least a couple thousand pounds of battery lead. The inter cell connectors are similar to wheel weights and absolutely non toxic.
Battery plates are a different story, they can contain cadmium and other less friendly elements. However, they can be smelted. Not something I would do.
Don
Yup, but I'd dip them in a baking soda solution before melting.
It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years (Abe Lincoln)
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government.” George Washington
I will get and melt all the battery cable ends I can find! They are good lead, unlike the plates that are INSIDE the battery.
Stick with the ends......leave the plates.
The problem is - - - many people cannot tell the difference between the inner connections and the plates! Go figure. Still, it is a rather dangerous job to tear into acid batteries (even when they are drained) to get that little bit of connector Pb.
Stick with the buss bars/end connectors on the top outside of the batteries.
But clean good Pb is not that hard to find. And not that expensive. Just avoid batteries. Free is many times NOT free!
banger
In post #6 you said any lead from batteries (inside OR outside). Guess I misunderstood.
"6 big industrial wet cell batteries for free "
hmmm, If I could easily handle/haul/deliver them, I'd cash them in at a metals recycler, maybe they'd trade for some alloy that's boolit suitable?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
"Inside or outside" refers to WHERE YOU RE-MELT the lead, not the physical construction of said batteries.
I have the impression that the danger from melting battery plates was the dross that is skimmed off when fluxing.The NRA had a warning in one of their cast bullet manuals.Exposing the dross to moisture in a trash can or similar causes stibine gas to form.Stibine gas works like nerve gas.Apparently fatalities have resulted.
That is just ONE of the MANY hazardous things about being cheap and trying to melt down battery lead plates.
Just do not do it. It only takes one time...................
Get your lead somewhere else. Take your batteries to the scrap yard and get $$ to spend on good lead. That is what I do.
The risk to reward ratio is way off for dealing with batteries. Scrap yard will pay you for the battery so it just makes sense to take that money and buy lead rather than try to recover the lead from the battery.
Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.
Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.
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