Forklift Batteries

[jnutz19]

Thread drift
We are taking about INGOTS made from forklift batteries
ALREADY melted and formed by the vendor
BNE chemical test already performed on another batch from the vendor.
What is the danger from using these ingots?

Thank you! Yes these are already made into ingots.


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[Tom W.]

I used to get 60 pound ingots from Sanders lead in Troy, Alabama. All of those were made from recycled batteries. They've been doing it for years, nothing wrong with the ingots.
I would not attempt it as a backyard project ever.
If you're lucky you'll end up dead. If you're not lucky you can end up with internal chemical burns and other things that can make your life miserable, to say the least.

[marek313]

I understand that smelting batteries is very dangerous but once in ingot form its not any more dangerous then any other lead just dont lick it and you'll be fine

[RED BEAR]

The older batteries from back when i was young are different than today's the chemical inside is more dangerous. If not mistaken there is a sticky on this subject.

[jnutz19]

The older batteries from back when i was young are different than today's the chemical inside is more dangerous. If not mistaken there is a sticky on this subject.

I don’t doubt that but again I’m not smelting down the lead directly from the batteries that’s already been done. I purchased the ingots from the lead cells that someone else smelted.


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[rancher1913]

there is no more danger in using these ingots than there is using the ingots made from isotope containers. remember they all contain lead-----which is know to the state of california to be bad for you

[jnutz19]

there is no more danger in using these ingots than there is using the ingots made from isotope containers. remember they all contain lead-----which is know to the state of california to be bad for you

Yea but California also said plastic drinking straws were bad for use so who knows now!

[Buzzard II]

Better you than me.

[jnutz19]

Better you than me.

Thanks for your informative contribution to this thread


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[Tom W.]

The ingots will work just fine. Check the softness and add COWW or whatever if they are dead soft. I blended mine with COWW and some Ni Babbitt to get them a bit harder. But alas, that was when I had access to the ingots for free from the distributor...maybe ten or more years ago. I still have a plastic milk crate more than half full of ingots and a big container of COWW that I need to get up here and smelt.

[RogerDat]

The admonishments on using batteries are mostly because a hobbyist lacks the right set up to safely recapture the lead into ingots. However once a professional outfit has done that dangerous part of the operation I see no reason to avoid the lead. Further once a xrf scan has been done on the resulting ingots to confirm the metal isn't laced with "dangerous" alloys I can't see why one wouldn't consider them safe to use.

My guess based on how gold scrap is processed is that the battery lead is processed to remove the other probably more valuable metals from the lead. Gold the silver, nickel, copper, tin, etc. is processed out so that it can be sold as separate metals and the gold is left as nearly pure gold post processing. Just a guess but I think cadmium, selenium, or tin of the battery would be worth more removed from the lead and sold as a separate item if there was any practical process to pull those out of the alloy. Thus one could see where the final lead product from a commercial operation would probably be just lead.

Also there was mention of the "tops" this could be the posts and portions of the plate that are solid to connect plates and not in solution. Rather than the plates intended to be submerged, thus could be manufactured without the additional alloys. Fork lift batteries are huge. And due to the motion and vibration need to be as solid as possible. I can see the top portions being a stronger lead alloy than the submerged plates with their more toxic alloys.

I have taken back batteries to the scrap yard. I don't figure they were collecting them just to recycle the plastic case, so I suspect the lead is reclaimed and used in other lead products. Other lead products that I might well already be melting.

I would by no means suggest any one EVER try to recycle the lead from batteries, however buying lead that a commercial entity has reclaimed is a different situation. Post xrf testing with nothing bad found I would use the ingots without concern.

[Tom W.]

Are you saying that isotope containers don't glow in the dark?

[RogerDat]

Are you saying that isotope containers don't glow in the dark?

10,000 comedians out of work and here you are trying to break into the business.

[MaryB]

The lead used in a deep cycle battery is different than car battery lead. Closer to pure than anything. Plus the bus bar internal to the batteries are pure lead... but I would still stay clear of doing this yourself due to the acid that will create nasty fumes that can kill...

[darttip]

I spent 20 + years in the industrial battery industry, in coal mines, mills, power plants ,warehousing. the fork lift truck batteries are safe as long as you use the inter cell connectors only

[Terrence Clarke]

Have been using recycled battery lead for nearly 50 years and is good lead at the right price

[kevin c]

So the take home lesson is that salvaging lead from battery plates is very hazardous, but buying the same lead from a commercial recycler is safe since that even done the dirty work. Lead battery terminals are safe it seems.

//drift on//My main lead source these days is isotope containers. I got so tired of only half joking questions about them being radioactive now I always explain that they're cold by the time I get them. We have night shots, though, and I have been tempted to tell people that I plan on using "hot" boolits for those ;^D. //drift off//