What to do with scrap lead

Roberto

Roberto

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I'll be soon replacing my old batteries, I was thinking to recycle the lead, a lot of instructions can be found online about cleaning the elements, baking soda, precautions to be taken with fumes, etc.
In all I reckon I could recover 100-120kg; given the price of lead ingots maybe sell them; any ideas as to what one could do with smaller quantities?
2-3 kg already planned for a new sounding weight :)
 
Having done this recently...

In the UK at least no need to clean it up, just take the batteries to a scrap merchant that takes them. They do it by weight. I got ~£10 for each of my 110Ah batteries. The only hassle was that as a precaution against dodgy metal thieves they take your name and bank details and pay you that way rather than cash.

EDIT: In answer to your last question...paint them gold and use them in some complicated confidence trick. Probably not strictly necessary but might also help if you hired a team of ex-cons and ex-special forces including a driver, a locksmith, a computer expert etc.
 
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laika said:
Having done this recently...

In the UK at least no need to clean it up, just take the batteries to a scrap merchant that takes them. They do it by weight. I got ~£10 for each of my 110Ah batteries. The only hassle was that as a precaution against dodgy metal thieves they take your name and bank details and pay you that way rather than cash.
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That's interesting, I didn't know they did that. Seems a good idea.

Still, I won't be taking any batteries to a scrap yard. Risking a recurrence of my back injury for £10 doesn't seem worth it. :D
 
Poignard said:
Still, I won't be taking any batteries to a scrap yard. Risking a recurrence of my back injury for £10 doesn't seem worth it. :D
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I confess that the day after taking 4x110Ah batteries off the boat, onto a trolley, up the ramp at the marina (wondering why high tide wasn’t at a more convenient time), into a car, out of the car and down the road from where I was parked to the scrap dealer I certainly felt like I’d had some exercise
 
Roberto said:
I'll be soon replacing my old batteries, I was thinking to recycle the lead, a lot of instructions can be found online about cleaning the elements, baking soda, precautions to be taken with fumes, etc.
In all I reckon I could recover 100-120kg; given the price of lead ingots maybe sell them; any ideas as to what one could do with smaller quantities?
2-3 kg already planned for a new sounding weight :)
Click to expand...
I had a muck out of my garage a month or so ago. A last minute addition to the scrapyard pile was an old 12v Triumph Bonneville battery. It wasnt very big, they paid me £2.50 for it. So a 110 amp hr battery will be up in the mid £20s I would imagine?
 
Beneteau381 said:
I had a muck out of my garage a month or so ago. A last minute addition to the scrapyard pile was an old 12v Triumph Bonneville battery. It wasnt very big, they paid me £2.50 for it. So a 110 amp hr battery will be up in the mid £20s I would imagine?
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The idea of recycling battery lead came while I was looking for some lead ingots to melt for other purposes, I found that over here they are sold at around 4-6 euro/kg, depending on quantities.
I have three 170Ah at about 50-60kg each, say 100-120kg lead? Such weight recycled ingots sold at half price would pay for a half-ish of new plain vanilla equivalent batteries. Ok there is all the butane, NaHco3 neutralizing etc in the middle, but still..
 
Interesting thread. I’m planning to replace my domestic bank, 4x110 Ahr, in the Spring. One of my sailing pals has offered to take them to the scrap man as he already holds an account with one.

Debating if it’s worth driving them 250 miles. I may see if there’s a scrap merchant nearby my boat.
 
Poignard said:
True but will they come and lift them out of the boat, take them to the car, lift them into the boot?

Frankly, if someone would come and remove them and get rid of them I would be happy to pay him £10.
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Amazing

Here - the local battery distributor will deliver your new batteries to the boat, in a dinghy; lift the old ones from their location in the yacht, replace with the new ones, take your old batteries in his dinghy to 'over the horizon' - presumably he monetises them. They also re-cycle EPIRBs etc. We do live in a 'boaty' area (like Lake Solent :) - but without the crowds).

I was unaware of this service and I can confirm that 200amp/hr batteries are heavy (and 2 of them - twice as heavy :). ).

Jonathan
 
Local recycling scrappy: Drive your car onto the weighbridge, wait for the girl to signal, then lift out the batteries into the mini skip by the bridge (don't have to even get off) and reweigh, go to office for cheque. Last time I got €60 for some deep cycle. Have enough littering up the w/shop to do it again.
As for all the tyre weights, bits of pipe etc, Going into a keel for the new mini cruiser, got slightly over the 200kg that I need.
 
DownWest said:
Local recycling scrappy: Drive your car onto the weighbridge, wait for the girl to signal, then lift out the batteries into the mini skip by the bridge (don't have to even get off) and reweigh, go to office for cheque. Last time I got €60 for some deep cycle. Have enough littering up the w/shop to do it again.
As for all the tyre weights, bits of pipe etc, Going into a keel for the new mini cruiser, got slightly over the 200kg that I need.
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clean copper is now over £5000 a ton, even cable with the plastic on is £1500
 
I melt mine down and make diving weights with it.
An old aluminium milk pan, a pair of mole grips and a weight mould, using the chiminea at the end of the evening...
always goes a treat passing slightly discounted weights around the club (y)
 
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