OLD battery lead?

[1894cfan]

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

[Malamute]

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

[junkbug]

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.

[JimT]

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.

[piller]

Not worth it.

[Catshooter]

Arsenic content is high and it doesn't take much to adjust your attitude.

[AJMD429]

.
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...

[1894cfan]

Thanks, guys. NOT gonna do it!

[Pisgah]

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 ...

[Hawkeye2]

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.

[rossim92]

.
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...

from experience comes wisdom!

[1894cfan]

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 ...

[piller]

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.

[piller]

If you don't have the proper safety equipment, some things are not a good idea.