reclaiming lead from car and motorcycle batteries

[Okie Hog]

Pick up roof vents.

Yes. See the local roofer for lead.

 

[Buffalorunner]

Don't do it. Your health isn't worth it..

 

[maillemaker]

This is the thread I was thinking of that talks about the dangers of trying to melt down lead-acid batteries:

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?138362-Why-Car-Batteries-Are-Dangerous

 

[springfield art]

I heard once that there was a way of extracting lead from sea water. Might be worth a try. Does anyone have any details?

Oh, come on! Can't be serious.

 

[sportster73hp]

There is a youtube video where the man reclaimed the lead and cleaned (?) the acid for other uses.
Not sure it’s worth the time. I can get reclaimed lead from our clubs indoor backstop for $1 a pound. Not exactly pure but my groups don’t improve with pure lead .

 

[Reno]

I will say this and hopefully not set the board on fire.

Look folks. Muzzleloaders are meant to use pure lead.
Harvesting bullets from a police range? Those are not pure lead. Maybe hardball but not pure lead.
Battery lead? Those are full of stuff you don’t need to handle or breathe.
Do your best to get pure lead.

I’m sure there are plenty who have shot this or that for years and don’t notice a difference.
Shoot pure lead, mold pure lead and enjoy your muzzleloader.

 

[tenngun]

Tie battery to a rope and haul it up a tree.

Place corn on ground under battery.

Deer eats corn.

Drop battery on deer.

Eat deer.

Wile E Coyote
Rope and trigger set up from Acme enterprise

 

[maillemaker]

Look folks. Muzzleloaders are meant to use pure lead.

I find my smoothbore musket does not mind shooting hard lead at all. I use wheel weight lead in it.

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

There are a lot of ways to get lead and pretty much all of them are easier than getting it out of batteries. Okay maybe batteries are easier than the seawater thing but that’s about it.

 

[The Appalachian]

Oh, come on! Can't be serious.

"Q ~ What is the concentration of lead in seawater?
A ~ Seawater contains trace amounts of lead (2-30 ppt)".

Ppt, that's parts per trillion.

1 part per 10 to the 12th power parts.

For reference, it would be in time, about 30 seconds out of every million years.

Not a very good return on investment

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

It's easy enough to stay safe melting battery lead. Bottom line is it's just flat not worth it.

 

[Mogadishu Meanderer]

"Q ~ What is the concentration of lead in seawater?
A ~ Seawater contains trace amounts of lead (2-30 ppt)".

Ppt, that's parts per trillion.

1 part per 10 to the 12th power parts.

For reference, it would be in time, about 30 seconds out of every million years.

Not a very good return on investment

What do you mean? Of course you can get lead out of sea water, as long as you use the same chemical process use to extract lead out of thin air!! Common Feral American, you got to recognize a troll when you see one!!

 

[springfield art]

There are a lot of ways to get lead and pretty much all of them are easier than getting it out of batteries. Okay maybe batteries are easier than the seawater thing but that’s about it.

That seawater thing was a troll. There's gold, platinum, etc., in seawater but it may as well be on Pluto.

 

[The Appalachian]

Y'all both need to recognize sarcasm and TIC when you see it, but, those are the factoids just incase somebody might take that silly chit seriously.

I would have figured the upside-down smiley face would have sufficed.

 

[Cvkotvkse]

Tie battery to a rope and haul it up a tree.

Place corn on ground under battery.

Deer eats corn.

Drop battery on deer.

Eat deer.

Just don't use a licking block as bait...
Wouldn't want to be charged w/ a salt and battery...

 

[Mark E. Prickett]

I get about 10 pounds of scrap lead a week from all the battery terminals I replace.

 

[necchi]

any idea whats up with t what ?

Truth?
If you want lead from a lead battery, you have to find one that's 30yrs old.
They haven't used lead in batteries for decades.
Wash your hand's, dig out the soil where you cracked open the battery case, take the remnants of the battery and the soil to your local haz-mat facility.

aka; it's not lead

 

[andy2175m4]

I recently came across 58 lbs of #8 shot, a life time supply of casting lead, NO MORE car batteries for me !

 

[andy2175m4]

I once applied for a job at a plant that recycled batteries. They would take old batteries apart and salvage all reclaimable material. The safety gear and procedures were extensive. Upon arriving at work, you had to change out of your street clothes and put on a HazMat suit. You had to wear eye and face protection as well as a respirator all of your working shift. Then, at the end of your shift you had to disrobe, turn in your safety equipment, shower and then get dressed. When I saw all of this, I was not interested in working in that environment. When I told them I was not interested in doing all of that they practically begged me to reconsider and please try the job. (They were having a very difficult time in getting and keeping employees.) I thanked them and once again politely declined. ----- My point being it was obviously a very hazardous job. Did you take any precautions before you took your battery apart?

after smoking Marlboros for 35 years, I dont think dismantling one battery is going to make it much worse.

 

[andy2175m4]

Truth?
If you want lead from a lead battery, you have to find one that's 30yrs old.
They haven't used lead in batteries for decades.
Wash your hand's, dig out the soil where you cracked open the battery case, take the remnants of the battery and the soil to your local haz-mat facility.

aka; it's not lead

yes, you are right, its not lead, it looks more like iron, the plates turn brown when heated, no lead appears when heated. the cell jumpers and terminals are lead, but not the plates.