Battery terminal clamp alloy?
- Thread starter Dick West
- Start date
JonB
Halcyon member
No doubt, hardness can vary with whatever mix of various different types of connectors. The batch of battery terms I got measured 15 BHN with the Lee hardness tester (measured boolits that were aged a few months).
Years back, when I pondered buying 3 pails full (5 gallon size) of battery terminals from the local auto-recycler for 30¢ per lb ...Ian told me to not hesitate buying them (he used different words
)...also, I did make out pretty well, when I sold the copper/brass leftovers from the smelt.
Today, I'd hesitate to buy them. Many of them had plastic insulation that was extremely difficult to remove before heating them to alloy melt temp. So you end up melting some plastic (burning on the melt). It's a stinky, messy endeavor, and I live in town (single family dwelling with average size lot) with close neighbors. Other alloys are available to me, so I'll pass on that work/mess. If there weren't other alloys readily available at a fair price, then yes, I'd buy and process battery terms.
That's mt 2¢
Years back, when I pondered buying 3 pails full (5 gallon size) of battery terminals from the local auto-recycler for 30¢ per lb ...Ian told me to not hesitate buying them (he used different words
)...also, I did make out pretty well, when I sold the copper/brass leftovers from the smelt.Today, I'd hesitate to buy them. Many of them had plastic insulation that was extremely difficult to remove before heating them to alloy melt temp. So you end up melting some plastic (burning on the melt). It's a stinky, messy endeavor, and I live in town (single family dwelling with average size lot) with close neighbors. Other alloys are available to me, so I'll pass on that work/mess. If there weren't other alloys readily available at a fair price, then yes, I'd buy and process battery terms.
That's mt 2¢
fiver
Well-Known Member
I knew they weren't pure but not really sure what's in them.
I have about a 2 gallon bucket full of them to melt down and will just distribute them in with the ww's.
I usually mix in some mish mash other stuff with the ww's too then blend it all together after I get it all ingoted up.
I have a 7 gallon bucket of some stick on ww's, some small isotope cores, some mixed sizes of shot, and some sorta soft but dunno lead all put together in ingots already.
it will get the blend treatment with the 5 buckets of clip on ww's and half bucket of range pickins at the next melt down run.
I figure about 600 lbs total.
that will all get blended together then mixed with the other 550-600 lbs of clip-stick on ww's already done this summer.
once that's all put away i'll probably be completely done cleaning scrap lead forever.
I have about a 2 gallon bucket full of them to melt down and will just distribute them in with the ww's.
I usually mix in some mish mash other stuff with the ww's too then blend it all together after I get it all ingoted up.
I have a 7 gallon bucket of some stick on ww's, some small isotope cores, some mixed sizes of shot, and some sorta soft but dunno lead all put together in ingots already.
it will get the blend treatment with the 5 buckets of clip on ww's and half bucket of range pickins at the next melt down run.
I figure about 600 lbs total.
that will all get blended together then mixed with the other 550-600 lbs of clip-stick on ww's already done this summer.
once that's all put away i'll probably be completely done cleaning scrap lead forever.
F
freebullet
Guest
I've tossed a few in the melt. Never seen buckets available. I'd proly melt them outside while I was not, & on a breezy day.
Ian
Notorious member
fiver
Well-Known Member
I remember the first time my F.I.L. come back after the monthly sweep [route we worked out] and had paid
5$ for a bucket of them.
I was pretty upset with him for paying.
it was bad enough I had to get all the garbage [valve stems, lug nuts, tire stickers] out of the buckets,, but to pay?
5$ for a bucket of them.
I was pretty upset with him for paying.
it was bad enough I had to get all the garbage [valve stems, lug nuts, tire stickers] out of the buckets,, but to pay?