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Lead-acid battery price per pound or other uses for dead Trojan L16 batteries?

jimf909

jimf909

Electricity curious
Joined
Mar 12, 2023
Messages
186
Location
48N, 117W
Hello,

Does anyone have great tips on getting the best price per pound for used lead-acid batteries? I have 12 Trojan L16 batteries that are 14 years old and at the end-of-life. Local (Spokane, WA) scrap yards are offering 10 - 14 cents per pound so they'd fetch about $193 (.14 x 1,380 lbs).

Can I get more by disassembling the batteries and selling just the lead?

Any insights on what to do with old batteries will be appreciated (unfortunately, all my boats have anchors and my doors have doorstops).

Thanks.
 
FWIW, I sold 10 L16 batteries and got 14 cents per pound or $168 so close to $17 per battery. I was quoted everything from 8 cents/lb to 16 cents about a month ago. I couldn't get to town until now so the price was .14 at Interstate batteries in Spokane. Interstate consistently offers better prices than the scrappers. A year ago when I sold a pile of T-105s and got 12 cents a pound.
 
I wonder what the scrap market will be for LiFePo will be
jimf909 said:
Hello,

Does anyone have great tips on getting the best price per pound for used lead-acid batteries? I have 12 Trojan L16 batteries that are 14 years old and at the end-of-life. Local (Spokane, WA) scrap yards are offering 10 - 14 cents per pound so they'd fetch about $193 (.14 x 1,380 lbs).

Can I get more by disassembling the batteries and selling just the lead?

Any insights on what to do with old batteries will be appreciated (unfortunately, all my boats have anchors and my doors have doorstops).

Thanks.
Click to expand...
you ask the scrapper what his price was for lead?

The it’s just your time and hassle to maybe what double your money?
 
OffGridIdaho said:
$1.15/LB just the lead only. The scappers are screwing you.

www.recycleinme.com

Current Lead Prices - US Metal Prices

Get current US Metal Prices for Lead. RIM offers daily market information of US Metal Prices for Lead with historic Lead prices graph.
www.recycleinme.com
Click to expand...
I've got more batteries to sell. Please tell me where I can take the lead w/in 250 miles of N. Idaho to get $1.15/lb. Thank you.
 
jimf909 said:
I've got more batteries to sell. Please tell me where I can take the lead w/in 250 miles of N. Idaho to get $1.15/lb. Thank you.
Click to expand...
I just posted the lead prices for today. You are going to have to do the leg work unless you want to split it with me.
 
I figured so much. Today's lead price by the ton is meaningless in this thread. Who's screwing you today?
 
OffGridIdaho said:
$1.15/LB just the lead only. The scappers are screwing you.

www.recycleinme.com

Current Lead Prices - US Metal Prices

Get current US Metal Prices for Lead. RIM offers daily market information of US Metal Prices for Lead with historic Lead prices graph.
www.recycleinme.com
Click to expand...
are you suggesting taking the lead out of the batteries? how are they screwing us?
 
jimf909 said:
I figured so much. Today's lead price by the ton is meaningless in this thread. Who's screwing you today?
Click to expand...
Again if the scrap yard that gave you price for full cell/enclosures, they prob have a price for raw lead.

Be mindful lead acid batteries are the easiest thing to recycle (pretty big industry already set up an optimized) so don’t be surprised if raw lead scrap isn’t that much more.
 
If you figure out how to EASILY get the lead into a more pure state out of used batteries I would love to hear. I would make some solid plate DIY batteries
 
740GLE said:
Again if the scrap yard that gave you price for full cell/enclosures, they prob have a price for raw lead.

Be mindful lead acid batteries are the easiest thing to recycle (pretty big industry already set up an optimized) so don’t be surprised if raw lead scrap isn’t that much more.
Click to expand...

You understand this supply chain.

Every scrapper I talked to told me they would not take lead removed from a battery because it's a hazardous waste that they won't touch.

Complete lead-acid batteries are hazardous waste but can be reasonably shipped by local scrappers to recycling factories because shipping has been optimized and restrictions have been relaxed. That's not the case with the lead removed from a battery.

sunsurfer said:
If you figure out how to EASILY get the lead into a more pure state out of used batteries I would love to hear. I would make some solid plate DIY batteries
Click to expand...

Not just easily but safely (my guess is that you've got that under the easy heading). Recycling lead-acid batteries can be remarkably toxic. I'll leave that to the few factories that are set up to do it.
 
jimf909 said:
Interstate consistently offers better prices than the scrappers. A year ago when I sold a pile of T-105s and got 12 cents a pound.
Click to expand...

I learned that several of the local scrappers sell their batteries to Interstate who fills semis and ships the batteries to the recycle factory.
 
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