Whatto do with 1452 lbs of battery lead?

[PatMarlin]

I'm changing out my solar system's batteries and holly cow that's a lot of lead.

I can't even sell em' to a recycler in these parts. Any ideas? .....:Fire: :coffee:

[PatMarlin]

oops... I ment to post this in shooters.com. soory.

[pa_guns]

Hi

Normally I make sure the guy who sells me the new ones will take back the old ones.

Yes it's a major hassle ....

Bob

[NVcurmudgeon]

Pat, those batteries could be "deep cycle" and MIGHT be of the older lead plate type. In that case, they could be a good source of pure lead. But what can be done to avoid contaminating your place and youself with acid? You would still have a considerable pile of plastic cases to get rid of. I think I'd demand that whoever you are buying the new batteries from dispose of them. Just my two cents worth after corroding the concrete floor of my station with twelve years worth of junk batteries awaiting the visit of the Exxon rep. to redeem my customer adustment money.

[PatMarlin]

THey are the huge Trojen L16 6 volt golf cart type of batteries.

May just be pure lead. I guess I could put one on the burn pile.. :mrgreen:

[PatMarlin]

Found this:



DEEP CYCLE lead acid batteries have thicker plates and lead-antimony support grids for years of over 50% deep cycle charge and discharge. Golf cart batteries, the "L-16" and the "L-16HC" industrial batteries are the most common. Surplus industrial batteries may be deep cycle lead-antimony, or pure lead, or may be shallow cycle lead calcium construction.



Auto batteries are shallow cycle only. Cat, automobile, and truck batteries are NOT deep cycle and will not last long in home power systems. These have thinner plates and lead-calcium grids designed for less than 20% discharge and immediate recharge. If an industrial lead-calcium battery is well oversized so that normal cycling uses only the top 20% of battery capacity, lead calcium cells can be used.*

[pa_guns]

Hi

Even if you have some lead in there, you will also have a bunch of other stuff. Separating the pure lead from the lead compounds may be a problem.

Bob

[Ghugly]

I was talking to the owner of the scrap yard in Tulare, CA last week. He said that he had sold all of his scrap lead to a guy for fifty cents a pound (two 55 gal drums full). And he said the same guy also took all of his batteries at a great price (no idea what a "great price" is but, judging from the grin on his face, it was more than he'd hoped for). So, I'd say that your batteries have value. I've no idea how much and to who.

[Ghugly]

I tried getting the lead out of a car battery once, and only once. It turned into a whole bunch of work, a great big mess, and not all that much lead. Deep cycle batteries might well be a different animal. If you decide to melt one down, I'd really like to hear about it.

[MT Gianni]

Pat, How many years use did you get out of them? Thanks, Gianni

[PatMarlin]

Pat, How many years use did you get out of them? Thanks, Gianni

I bought them new in 99' and they are just now starting on the down hill side. That's even with them setting in my shop for at least a year (uncharged), because the place didn't have an adequate room for the system, and it took me that long before I built an addition.

I'm happy with them. I know other people who don't get that long of a life.

One thing I believe in is direct to the battery bank DC charging.

Found an interesting website on some different batteries:

http://thesolar.biz/hup_solar_one_batteries.htm

[pumpguy]

You might try the local recycler to see if he would trade you 2:1 for WWs.

[shooter575]

I got to agree with Pumpguy on this one.See what kind of trade you can get.Just not worth your time,sweat or health issues

[georgeld]

Forty or more yrs ago I melted car battery lead down and got usable melt.
A couple yrs ago I tried it again with more recent batteries and experience--I thought!!

Didn't get anything except crappy, messy gray powder after at least an hour of hot fire and big flame's. It's not worth messing with I'll tell you that much.

Pat, far as those you have, I wish you the best with it. Please let us know what you discover.

[jjamna]

If you decide to take em apart, get lots of baking soda, Baking soda will neutralize the acid

[schutzen]

Pat,

Call your local fork truck/tow motor dealer. They should know where you can sell your batteries as junk. They do have some value if they can be rebuilt, so do not damage the case or posts. In my area, junk automotive batteries currently bring $2-3. About 10 years ago I sold 6 junk Hyster (small electric pallet lift) batteries for $15 each.

Good Luck

[PatMarlin]

I'm gonna do a trade at a scrap yard I believe. Not gonna do the burn pile thing

... :mrgreen:

[Bob Krack]

I'm gonna do a trade at a scrap yard I believe. Not gonna do the burn pile thing

Pat,
You MIGHT just try listing them on Craig's list or other for sale/trade board. Even seven year old Trojans still have some use left in them for someone unable to afford a new bank (pun intended) or for someone just getting starting and wanting to experiment.

Vic

[bearcove]

If the batteries are worn out don't bother trying to melt them. As batteries age the plates get covered with sulphates. The lead that is left is very hard to extract. I knew better but tried again with an oak fire stoked with a leaf blower, One 8d and 6 golf cart battery and a half days work gave about 10 pounds of lead. I'd rather give midway my money and spend my time in the woods!:Fire:

[bobthewelder]

Cast them into giant boobies. They will come, and you can charge admission!

[Ghugly]

Cast them into giant boobies. They will come, and you can charge admission!

Cast used Trojans into giant boobies? What the hell kind of thread is this?

[376Steyr]

For what its worth, I just saw a science show on commercial recycling of car batteries. After crushing the batteries to separate the plastic and acid from the plates, they did several chemical processing steps to get a lead paste that they scraped off big filters before smelting. All in all, it was way beyond even the most ambitious backyard smelter here. End result was pallets of maybe 50 lb ingots, a couple of dozen ingots per pallet. I think the pallets then went directly to the battery manufacturer that owned the plant. Darn!

[Crosshair]

I was talking to the owner of the scrap yard in Tulare, CA last week. He said that he had sold all of his scrap lead to a guy for fifty cents a pound (two 55 gal drums full).

Wow, I guess that the $.35 per pound that one place quoted me isn't that bad. One question. How much does a 55 gallon drum of WW weigh? IIRC one place quoted me for a 55 gallon drum of WW. (How I get it home is another matter by itself.)

[kellyj00]

Trade those batteries. Granted it sounds like a lot of fun to perform the experiment, but I'd be surprised if you'd get that much lead for your trouble.

IF I WERE DOING THIS, I would probably put on a face shield, smack the batteries open with an axe, dump the acid on the ground, and pour in lye (caustic soda, used to burn boils off of livestock... clear drains... make illegal drugs) which is extremely basic (opposite of acidic, you know...like alkaline) to neutralize whatever's left. You can make your own lye water from wood ashe, it's the old school way of making soap...and not too bad of an idea if you've got a lot of time on your hands or are a germaphobe. Just remember your rules about acid/water from high school chemistry and you should be fine...this stuff ain't any tougher than the hydrocloric that we played with.

Is you want it done fast, I'd call Chuck Norris. One swift roundhouse kick will seperate the lead from the battery in ingot form.

[GSPKurt]

Is you want it done fast, I'd call Chuck Norris. One swift roundhouse kick will seperate the lead from the battery in ingot form.

ROTFLMAO!!!!

[Crosshair]

Is you want it done fast, I'd call Chuck Norris. One swift roundhouse kick will seperate the lead from the battery in ingot form.

He will also take the battery acid home to drink when he gets up. Coffee doesn't have enough of a kick to get him going.

[Ricochet]

Even seven year old Trojans still have some use left in them
I think it's time to clean out your wallet!

:mrgreen:

[bobthewelder]

The Lyman book says not to use automotive type batteries for a source of lead?

[pa_guns]

The Lyman book says not to use automotive type batteries for a source of lead?

Hi

In modern car batteries there is very little pure lead left in them when they wear out. Pretty much all of what was once there is lead combined with one or another chemical. Unless you have an industrial level smelting setup, getting the lead back to pure form is not at all easy.

If you just toss a chunk of battery into your normal melt, the result is a real mess. Thus Lyman's warning.

Bob

[buck1]

Autozone takes old batteries in at no charge. FWIW....Buck

[Blackhawk Convertable]

And the salvage yard PAYS about $2 a piece for them!

[ozbornm]

I would make the guys that installed the new batteries take them. or usually you can take them to autozone for free. exide will buy them from them and recycle them. At least thats how its done here in MS.

[medic44]

It's not hard to crack open those battery cases. They break open easy if you run over them w/ a bulldozer:roll: Don't ask how I know:roll:

[fatnhappy]

It's not hard to crack open those battery cases. They break open easy if you run over them w/ a bulldozer:roll: Don't ask how I know:roll:

Hey Medic44, Where's the hammer mould? I've waited a pretty long time

[45nut]

Ya, Medic44,, where is the mold yu have been promising for 6 months + now?

[oneokie]

Inquiring minds would like to know when you will forward the mould to the next person on the list.

[HeavyMetal]

I work in an industry that use a lot of deep cycle batteries.

As such I get the whole "spiel" every year about disposal from our two source's, trojan and GNB battery.

A couple guys working for GNB cast! They say battery lead "Isn't" and hasn't been for 30 years! It has way to much other metal types included in the alloy, to help live longer and hold more juice, to be any good to a caster of bullets!

I won't even discuss the other hazards involved, I'm sure we're all smart enough to know what causes cancer!

my suggestions? 1 get out the business to business yellow pages and start looking for scrap yards. I don't care where you live if theres people there's scrap!

2 if you fail to contact or they are just to far away to be economically feasible contact your current battery supplier. A lot of people don't know it but he has to take them if you ask him to, particularly if he installed them for you.

Now I'm gonna suggest you go with number one because you might get a trade going for something you can use. However this is your problem and you'll need to resolve it to your satisfaction.

[clintsfolly]

or just have one big doorstop clint

[pa_guns]

Hi

Find a boat buoy that needs an anchor .....

Bob

[PatMarlin]

Ya mean like the Clinton Campaign?.. :mrgreen:

[pa_guns]

Ya mean like the Clinton Campaign?.. :mrgreen:

Hi

Give Hillary a call ....:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Bob

[timdco]

my local interstate battery story buys old batteries for $4 and up. might give that a try

[cvfl]

Even seven year old Trojans still have some use left in them for someone unable to afford a new bank (pun intended) or for someone just getting starting and wanting to experiment.
Vic
Seven year old Trojans?!?! You need some new pickup lines... [smilie=1:

[American]

Talked to a scrap guy the other day who said he was getting $8 each for old car batteries. I know that means they probably offer the average Joe $3 for them, but its something to maybe keep in mind if working a trade.

[dakotashooter2]

I noticed that a couple of years ago if you didn't have an old battery to trade for the new one they charged you an extra $5. I always understood it to be some sort of disposal fee (though if you don't give them the battery i don't know what there is to dispose of) Anyway lately they have not charged that fee so I suspect they have gone from having to pay to dispose of them to being paid.

[fornra]

Whatever amount of lead is in old battries is worth much more than a few ago, so this might explain why some aren't charging the disposal fee.
If Wal-Mart has stoped charging I would be suprised, although I think theirs was called a core charge. Here in Alabama we do not have an environmental tax but Wal-Mart charges one anyway, on any and all petrolum products! I've always wondered who got that money?lol

[TexasJeff]

So what about marine batteries?

I have four or five deep-cycle marine batteries in my boat hangar. Bass Pro doesn't charge an exchange/core fee for them, and half the time I now forget to bring the old batteries in when I buy new ones.

Anything different about the deep cycling batteries? I know dealing with regular auto batteries can be dangerous and a complete waste of time.

Thanks.

Jeff

[carpetman]

Learn how to bench press that 1425 pounds of lead and you could probably win gold in the olympics,silver for sure.

[Bad Water Bill]

I spent 25 years at Sears in the automotive dept. We were giving $5.00 for the trade in battery. Dont ever remember getting that back when the mfgr picked up the junks.I do remember that a Co came by every mo and pumped our used oil tank and gave us a check for the used oil. I think this HASMAT thing is just another way to get $ from us. Yes the old battery was taken apart, the acid and the lead were both recycled. As Carpetman said start pressing that 1542# for the 2016 Half Olympics in Chicago. No I do not think you will even WIN a Bronze medal as some politicians kid will probably take the top 3 places herself. Only in Chicago. BWB:castmine:

[PatMarlin]

Well hold on to your gunbelts...

I've got a whole new twist to this thread. I'm keeping the batteries, and the reason why is I found some folks that are truly bringing them back into service at various levels by using a magic chemical ingredient.

Many so called magic battery fixes have been around for decades, and most all are snake oil, till one day a guy found that the common food additive EDTA, chelates sulfides.

They were able to take an old worn out- abused L16, dump and flush the electrolyte and replace it with common over the counter EDTA powder and put the L16's back in service!

Some folks are getting good results without even changing out the batt fluid and adding it directly to the cells. It works like Drano. These are everyday folks like you and I, and are not selling a darn thang!

Not that there's anything wrong with selling a good product... . . . .:bigsmyl2:

[miestro_jerry]

To neutralize the acid use TSP, you can get it at the local hardware stores. I thought of tearing down batteries over the years, but now I live on afarm and don't want to contaminate the soil.

I have a back stop for shooting my lead boolits in to and when I get enough boolits in the back stop, I will burn it down and recover the lead. Then build a new backstop. Mine is scrap hard woods, fallen trees with some drilling pipe as a brace.

Jerry

[Ricochet]

What EDTA chelates is lead ions. Don't know exactly what it'd do that's beneficial to a battery. It's what they give you to treat lead poisoning.

[PatMarlin]

To neutralize the acid use TSP, you can get it at the local hardware stores. Jerry

The last thing you want to do to a battery is neutralize the acid!

I'm talking about RESTORING batteries here and putting them back into service.



If anyone would like more info on he subject, let me know.



....

[yodar]

I was talking to the owner of the scrap yard in Tulare, CA last week. He said that he had sold all of his scrap lead to a guy for fifty cents a pound (two 55 gal drums full). And he said the same guy also took all of his batteries at a great price (no idea what a "great price" is but, judging from the grin on his face, it was more than he'd hoped for). So, I'd say that your batteries have value. I've no idea how much and to who.

I work for an auto parts house and typically $5.00 a battery is what their battery supplier offers for batteries whose guts and cases are recycled

yodar

[Bad Water Bill]

Sounds like a good deal for Wally World etc. Now that we are used to HAZMAT they charge us a HAZMAT fee to get rid of that nasty lead and have the mfgrs standing in line to PAY them for the SILVER STREAM. How sweet it is NOT.BWB:castmine:

[PatMarlin]

At a cost of $320 EACH new, the value is putting them back into service.

[Denver]

There used to be a battery rejuvinator called VX-6 that was sold in nearly every gas station. I used it once on a battery with a dead cell and brought it back to good as new. Haven't seen it anywhere in years. I think JC Whitney may have something similar. Just bought a battery at Walmart a few days ago. Core charge was $9.00.

:castmine:

[truckjohn]

Yeah, smelting them down yourself is a bad idea -- for many various reasons...

Amongst others....

1. Lead gets super spongy from charge/discharge cycles.
2. Lead oxide smelts back down into lead at 2400F.
3. Hot acid is super corrosive
4. Battery plastic turns super gooey and smokey
5. AND MOST IMPORTANT -- Battery plate lead + WW (Antimonial lead) = toxic gases.

Thanks

John

[fiberoptik]

The last thing you want to do to a battery is neutralize the acid!

I'm talking about RESTORING batteries here and putting them back into service.



If anyone would like more info on he subject, let me know.



....

Let me know.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[skeettx]

PatMarlin,
Do you have an update for us?
Thank You
Mike

[kevin c]

Eleven years ago...

[Adam20]

Pat,

Did the magic battery juice restore to a working condition, did it last.

[Multigunner]

Get yourself a 37mm Me 1916 and cast yourself 1452 projectiles for it.

[fiberoptik]

Pat,

Did the magic battery juice restore to a working condition, did it last.

Care to share a little more info on ”magic battery[emoji367] juice [emoji3047]??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RED BEAR]

You couldn't give me battery lead. Last time i tried to cast with it almost didn't get out of my garage. Burnt my throat and couldn't breath.