OLD battery lead?
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Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
OLD battery lead?
Have access to an OLD motorcycle battery that's falling apart and was wondering about tearing it apart for the lead to make bullets. Anybody here have opinions on using it for that? TIA
Re: OLD battery lead?
I believe battery lead has poisonous elements embedded it it thats released as gasses when melted. Ill see if i can find the link on the cast boolit site about it.
Edit: Heres the info about batteries https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showth ... -Dangerous
Edit: Heres the info about batteries https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showth ... -Dangerous
Last edited by Malamute on Fri Oct 21, 2022 6:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt-
Isnt it amazing how many people post without reading the thread?
Isnt it amazing how many people post without reading the thread?
Re: OLD battery lead?
There are various threads about using batteries for lead on the Castboolit forum. It is almost universally considered a bad idea. Lead plates are not pure lead, they are a mixture with elements that will release poison gas when melted. I have access to many batteries, but will not try it.
Re: OLD battery lead?
Many years ago it was OK. Those days are gone.
The past is another country. They do things differently there.
Don't mess with the batteries.
The past is another country. They do things differently there.
Don't mess with the batteries.
Re: OLD battery lead?
Not worth it.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
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Re: OLD battery lead?
Arsenic content is high and it doesn't take much to adjust your attitude.
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Re: OLD battery lead?
.
As I understand it part of the issue is that once solubilized as a dissolved salt lead is absorbable and very toxic, unlike metallic lead.
The sulfuric acid that I believe is the solvent would probably therefore contain various lead sulfates or whatever.
Even more toxic would be organic lead compounds like the tetraethyl then that was added to gasoline many years ago. The reason for that is they are more fat soluble than the salts and once in the body remain there essentially forever. Theoretically those shouldn't be in a battery, but where there are batteries, there tend to have been solvents and fuels and oils, which are all organic.
Finally, the sulfuric acid itself, when concentrated, tends to be not only corrosive, but potentially explosive if in contact with other substances, including water.
However, having said all that there is no reason a commercial grade lead salvaging operation could not safely extract lead from pretty much anything, including lead-acid batteries.
So the fundamental question becomes is it going to be practical to set up a safe enough process to extract the lead yourself, versus pay a bit of money for someone else to do the job who has the equipment and experience and facilities to do it properly and safely. I would definitely choose the latter option.
Some things, like splitting firewood, don't require a whole lot of equipment or experience to do safely, and you can save quite a bit of money by doing it yourself.
Other things, like reloading ammunition, require some expertise and equipment to do safely, but if a person is motivated and finds it interesting, it may well be worth the money saved, for an end result of high quality ammunition.
But when it comes to salvaging lead from acidic batteries, certainly the lead is there, but you can get some money or credits at stores that will send the batteries to facilities where the lead will be extracted, then you can buy the lead from those facilities. In the end, you will be out a bit of money, just like you would be if you buy ammunition or firewood, but with firewood the trade off is you get some exercise, and with reloading the trade-off as you get to craft high quality ammunition that might otherwise be unaffordable. But when it comes to lead, the lead you by from a reloading supplier or scrap yard is going to be as good or better than what you could extract, and well worth the money versus the safety equipment you would have to buy and the risk you would be taking screwing around with lead-acid batteries.
I say this not because I'm chicken to do stupid stuff, because I've done plenty of that, including blowing myself up with metallic sodium as a teenager...
As I understand it part of the issue is that once solubilized as a dissolved salt lead is absorbable and very toxic, unlike metallic lead.
The sulfuric acid that I believe is the solvent would probably therefore contain various lead sulfates or whatever.
Even more toxic would be organic lead compounds like the tetraethyl then that was added to gasoline many years ago. The reason for that is they are more fat soluble than the salts and once in the body remain there essentially forever. Theoretically those shouldn't be in a battery, but where there are batteries, there tend to have been solvents and fuels and oils, which are all organic.
Finally, the sulfuric acid itself, when concentrated, tends to be not only corrosive, but potentially explosive if in contact with other substances, including water.
However, having said all that there is no reason a commercial grade lead salvaging operation could not safely extract lead from pretty much anything, including lead-acid batteries.
So the fundamental question becomes is it going to be practical to set up a safe enough process to extract the lead yourself, versus pay a bit of money for someone else to do the job who has the equipment and experience and facilities to do it properly and safely. I would definitely choose the latter option.
Some things, like splitting firewood, don't require a whole lot of equipment or experience to do safely, and you can save quite a bit of money by doing it yourself.
Other things, like reloading ammunition, require some expertise and equipment to do safely, but if a person is motivated and finds it interesting, it may well be worth the money saved, for an end result of high quality ammunition.
But when it comes to salvaging lead from acidic batteries, certainly the lead is there, but you can get some money or credits at stores that will send the batteries to facilities where the lead will be extracted, then you can buy the lead from those facilities. In the end, you will be out a bit of money, just like you would be if you buy ammunition or firewood, but with firewood the trade off is you get some exercise, and with reloading the trade-off as you get to craft high quality ammunition that might otherwise be unaffordable. But when it comes to lead, the lead you by from a reloading supplier or scrap yard is going to be as good or better than what you could extract, and well worth the money versus the safety equipment you would have to buy and the risk you would be taking screwing around with lead-acid batteries.
I say this not because I'm chicken to do stupid stuff, because I've done plenty of that, including blowing myself up with metallic sodium as a teenager...
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"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
Re: OLD battery lead?
Thanks, guys. NOT gonna do it!
Re: OLD battery lead?
Darn it! Now, right there was this forum's chance to post someone in the annual Darwin Awards, and you guys blew it.
Quick, somebody else ask a question ...
Quick, somebody else ask a question ...
Re: OLD battery lead?
1971, I was shop foreman for a motorcycle/snowmobile dealer. I took a number of batteries, stacked them out back of the shop and lit a fire (they were plastic even back then). I don't remember how long it took for them to burn or what I had to do to keep them burning but when it was over I gathered up all the lead and came to the realization that it wasn't worth the time or effort to reclaim it and let's not even go there about the quality of the lead.
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Re: OLD battery lead?
from experience comes wisdom!AJMD429 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 21, 2022 9:34 pm .
As I understand it part of the issue is that once solubilized as a dissolved salt lead is absorbable and very toxic, unlike metallic lead.
The sulfuric acid that I believe is the solvent would probably therefore contain various lead sulfates or whatever.
Even more toxic would be organic lead compounds like the tetraethyl then that was added to gasoline many years ago. The reason for that is they are more fat soluble than the salts and once in the body remain there essentially forever. Theoretically those shouldn't be in a battery, but where there are batteries, there tend to have been solvents and fuels and oils, which are all organic.
Finally, the sulfuric acid itself, when concentrated, tends to be not only corrosive, but potentially explosive if in contact with other substances, including water.
However, having said all that there is no reason a commercial grade lead salvaging operation could not safely extract lead from pretty much anything, including lead-acid batteries.
So the fundamental question becomes is it going to be practical to set up a safe enough process to extract the lead yourself, versus pay a bit of money for someone else to do the job who has the equipment and experience and facilities to do it properly and safely. I would definitely choose the latter option.
Some things, like splitting firewood, don't require a whole lot of equipment or experience to do safely, and you can save quite a bit of money by doing it yourself.
Other things, like reloading ammunition, require some expertise and equipment to do safely, but if a person is motivated and finds it interesting, it may well be worth the money saved, for an end result of high quality ammunition.
But when it comes to salvaging lead from acidic batteries, certainly the lead is there, but you can get some money or credits at stores that will send the batteries to facilities where the lead will be extracted, then you can buy the lead from those facilities. In the end, you will be out a bit of money, just like you would be if you buy ammunition or firewood, but with firewood the trade off is you get some exercise, and with reloading the trade-off as you get to craft high quality ammunition that might otherwise be unaffordable. But when it comes to lead, the lead you by from a reloading supplier or scrap yard is going to be as good or better than what you could extract, and well worth the money versus the safety equipment you would have to buy and the risk you would be taking screwing around with lead-acid batteries.
I say this not because I'm chicken to do stupid stuff, because I've done plenty of that, including blowing myself up with metallic sodium as a teenager...
Rossi 92 .357 lever , and a cz pcr 9mm
Henry .22 lever, Remington speedmaster 552 .22 lr
Marlin Glenfield .22 boltaction
gforce 12ga semi
Taylor's Tactical 1911 A1 FS in .45acp
winchester 1873 44.40
Marlin 336W .30.30
beeman sportsman rs2 dual caliber pellet rifle
henry .22 magnum pumpaction/octagon barrel
stag 5.56 m4 with reddot
Henry .22 lever, Remington speedmaster 552 .22 lr
Marlin Glenfield .22 boltaction
gforce 12ga semi
Taylor's Tactical 1911 A1 FS in .45acp
winchester 1873 44.40
Marlin 336W .30.30
beeman sportsman rs2 dual caliber pellet rifle
henry .22 magnum pumpaction/octagon barrel
stag 5.56 m4 with reddot
Re: OLD battery lead?
Metallic sodium can be fun. In Chem-2, a student flicked a bit of extra sodium metal into the sink instead of putting it back under the oil. Blew the sink to pieces. She ended up failing the class.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Re: OLD battery lead?
If you don't have the proper safety equipment, some things are not a good idea.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost