Sources for free lead, I had an idea…

[Matthew Duncan]

Sources for free lead, I had an idea…

 

 

Season is winding down; I’ve got about only 400 rounds left.   I’m a bit on the conservative side so I’m looking for sources of free lead before Spring.

 

At work I’ve been tripping over an old car battery.  Been laying in the warehouse for about a year…hmmmm.

 

Now some Cowpokes caution against recycling car batteries because of hazardous materials like sulfuric acid.  Well Cowpokes shoot guns, handle lead bullets, smoke, drink alcoholic beverages and drive Fords which ain’t the safest ether, so why not recycle the lead from car batteries ask I?

 

So I hoisted that car battery up on Gray and took it back to the ranch.

 

Took the fill caps off the top and drained the sulfuric acid.  For proper disposal of sulfuric you will need to fill out Federal Environmental Protection Agency, State Board of Health, County Health forms and notify the local Fire and Police departments.  DO NOT DISPOSE SULFURIC ACID BY DUMPING ON THE GROUND!

 

The wife has been treating all the neighborhood stray cats for worms.  I’ve noticed that the worm medicine is so strong, that the grass dies where the cats recycle their food intake (poop).  And if you ignore my “DO NOT DISPOSE SULFURIC ACID BY DUMPING ON THE GROUND!” you will not be able to convince nobody (especially my wife) that it was the cat’s worm medicine poop that has killed off her flower garden and ate thru the steel water line to the house.  Trust me on this one.

 

Then using cold water (after water line is repaired) to flush any remaining sulfuric acid from the battery.  Contain all rinse water and dispose of per Federal Environmental Protection Agency, State Board of Health, County Health Fire and Police departments’ guidelines.  Dumping the rinse water into a ditch will kill most of the neighbor pets, all vegetation down stream for 2 miles and will also lead to a very difficult explanation to the arresting Officers.

 

After bonding out of the calaboose I used a hacksaw and tried to cut the plastic case off.  Don’t use you favorite hacksaw, better yet borrow one from an anti-gun neighbor because no matter how well your rinsed the sulfuric acid out of the battery, the hacksaw ain’t going to be worth much when done.

 

Using a butane torch to burn off the plastic case works but make sure you stand up wind.  Boiling sulfuric acid residual mixed with plastic case fumes all blowing down wind has the tendency to kill shrubbery and the rest of the neighborhood pets, including gold fish in indoor aquariums.  When the Federal Carpet Baggers arrived, suggesting that it was a terrorist act will keep your bond from being revoked.  Trust me on this one.

 

Fire up your outdoor melting pot and start throwing sections of the battery in.  After burning up a half tank of LP you will noticed that in between every 6 wafers is a substance that will not burn or melt and sucks up the heat.  Manually remove this substance.  After 6 hours (not counting jail time) I have ¼” of lead covered by a 1” of dross in the melting pot.   My cost breaks down to:

 

Butane torch fuel $2.

Refill LP tank $22.

Flower garden replacement: $247.13

Repair of water line:  $785.54

Bond Agent:  $500.

 

Total is $1,556.67 for about a pound of lead.  Cost does not include pending lawsuits or gold fish replacement.

 

My conclusion is using car batteries for a source of lead is viable.  I’ve got most of the remains of one battery left and if pressed I can leave it go for $2 or $3 thousand dollars.  I figure at that price I’d have enough to recoup my costs with some left over to skip the territory.

 

 

 

April Fools!

[John Kloehr]

There are reasons we ship this stuff to 3rd world countries for recycling, plus promoting economic growth in those places. This makes it a double win!

 

[John Kloehr]

But taking only a half serious look at this (a long time since introductory college chemistry classes and a few minutes of google....

 

Add Bicarbonate of Soda to the battery. Gas bi-product is CO2 and the sulfuric acid is converted to Na2SO4 and more water. This is a source of sulphur for plants if they are deficient but is a low-grade fertilizer. Then if mixed with KCl applying the Glaserite process (google this, I did not), the result is Potassium Sulphate, an excellent plant fertilizer.

 

Not sure where the Cl ions go, this might be important (might be very important) and this post does not consider any other bi-products of reaction or contaminants. But someone more skilled than I might put in a few days of serious study and have a safe process for using battery lead.

[Rip Snorter]

A number of decades back, between jobs I worked in the office / weigh station of a large scrap yard.  There was an employee with a sledgehammer who broke batteries and retrieved the lead.  Other than coveralls, gloves and a helmet (possibly plastic goggles), no protective gear. The acid just went into the soil, and on to him - new coveralls frequently.  Must have had value or they wouldn't have done it.  The building was a literal concrete fortress, in the center of a large fenced property.  The top floor the fanciest meeting room I have ever seen - I'm pretty sure there were "Associations" with the Mob.  As to Lead, there are companies that mine heavily used ranges for a portion of the lead and a payment.  I used to go to a couple of the ranges I belonged to off hours with a shovel, home made strainer and a bucket.  Quickly got more lead than I needed.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

A club member recently tried scooping off the top layers of the ground near our plates.  It was a chore and a half.  And the ratio of dirt to lead was very high.  I made a screen to wash the dirt off the lead, but that took a surprisingly huge amount of water to accomplish.  We're still thinking about how to do this and make it worth our while.

[Waimea]

I was offered "free" lead from an indoor range near me.

They had steel plates that needed to be moved. Then I could get to the lead.

It was a pretty good relationship until "THE INCIDENT".

The lead was mixed with all manner of other things. Dirt, wood and apparently a stray live shell would make its way.

Anyhow I was melting down some of this mess when a live shell went off in the pot.

I called the owner and said I wouldn't be back.

[Roland Thunder]

You need a range with a water snail trap or a bucket type trap.

[Three Foot Johnson]

The only time I ever had free lead was when I worked at a lead smelter for 23 years.  I had a pretty good score in 2021 when I was able to buy 2000 pounds for fifty cents a pound from a heavy equipment yard. The catch was it was in pretty big chunks, some of them well over a hundred pounds. Another source I had for awhile was scraps of mostly H section pure lead wire used by a local artist to make stained glass art. She just wanted to get rid of it and sold it to me for twenty cents a pound or somesuch - whatever the local recycling yard was paying, and she didn't have to load it up and haul it to them. 

 

 

[Warden Callaway]

Years ago before the world was civilized,  I recycled batteries here on the farm. We had our private dump area. I'd take a battery and wack it good with a sledge hammer to bust the case. I'd leave it go until it dried out.   Then bust the case away and let go again until nature washed it off. Then into a big cast iron pot on a wood fire. Then skimmed of into ingots.  Now batteries are worth trading in and there are better ways of getting lead.  We've cleaned up our dump.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

I have enough pure Lead to load the rest of my life , Probably and the rest of my Sons life ,  Maybe even my Grandsons life.

Bought much much much more then I will ever need a long long time ago ,  Cheap !

[Cusz M. Dutch SASS Life 55326]

Now you know the real reason the Lone Ranger shot silver bullets...

 

[Badlands Bob #61228]

Make friends with somebody at a tire shop.  Wheel weights work pretty good for our purpose if the price is right.

[Warden Callaway]

1 hour ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

Make friends with somebody at a tire shop.  Wheel weights work pretty good for our purpose if the price is right.

My tire shop place will sell a 5 gallon bucket for $35. But most look like zink or other materials. 

[ORNERY OAF]

Be careful ,a lot of wheel weights are no longer made of lead!!!!

Try a scrap yard, usually 2-3 bucks a pound, just gotta look

[Warden Callaway]

3 hours ago, ORNERY OAF said:

Be careful ,a lot of wheel weights are no longer made of lead!!!!

Try a scrap yard, usually 2-3 bucks a pound, just gotta look

My last score. Previously bought some from a recycling place.  Went back to get more and they had stopped selling to individuals. 

 

[Eyesa Horg]

My last batch looked like that! With 4 four inch brass floor drains with about six of lead attached. Barely made a small pile in the truck, but smelted down to 148 pounds🤠 I only cast 50 cal round balls, so probably good for a long while.

I've heard boat yards sometimes have scrap lead keels from sail boats. Check with roofers too for scrap flashing.

[Warden Callaway]

The scrap dealer literally rolled something off this tangled mess and pulled it out of the mud. It was 90lbs as I remember.   $50. Lost only a few lbs in meltdown.  The pipe was clean on inside.  I guessed it was gas line. 

[Waimea]

These are a few of the keels I used to use for bullets.

These were small, around 3500 lbs.

Last time I talked to my old landlord at the boatyard they had 250,000 lbs of keels.

He said he missed me processing the keels.

[Navy Davey]

My wife and I just screened and picked over 100 pounds of range lead in four hours.

[Tall John]

Indoor ranges are the best source.

[Warden Callaway]

I use lead traps here on the farm. Not perfect but recover maybe 50%.

 

 

[Tall John]

10 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

I use lead traps here on the farm. Not perfect but recover maybe 50%.

 

 

That’s just damn smart!

[Bison Bud]

I don't think anyone mentioned this yet, but I was always told that they mix calcium in with the battery lead and that this made it very difficult to cast.  Even if this isn't the case, recovering lead from old batteries is a losing and dangerous proposition and should be avoided in favor of other scrap sources out there.  Better off taking the old batteries to the recycle center and having them disposed of properly.  Good luck and good shooting to all.  

[Go West]

I've sifted dirt by hand at the range, but thought a rotary soil sifter would work more efficiently. Some use old bicycle rims while this one uses buckets. 

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

1 hour ago, Bison Bud said:

I don't think anyone mentioned this yet, but I was always told that they mix calcium in with the battery lead and that this made it very difficult to cast.  Even if this isn't the case, recovering lead from old batteries is a losing and dangerous proposition and should be avoided in favor of other scrap sources out there.  Better off taking the old batteries to the recycle center and having them disposed of properly.  Good luck and good shooting to all.  

You do realize he posted about the battery on April 1st as an April Fools post, Right?

[Bison Bud]

Apparently not, I guess I'm a bit slow these days.  Still good information to post for others that read this post.

[Tell Sackett SASS 18436]

Head on down to “The Hood” till you find a group of black men.

Yell N***** at the top of your lungs.

Your free lead will soon be heading your way!!

😉

Quote

 

 

[Three Foot Johnson]

I think Bruce Willis did that in one of his movies... 

[Tell Sackett SASS 18436]

1 hour ago, Three Foot Johnson said:

I think Bruce Willis did that in one of his movies... 

Not quite. Die Hard 3. But no shooting happened.

Similar gag in a movie- Maybe Kentucky Fried Movie?

Thrill seeker walked up to a crap game and yelled out, and the chase was on!!