>> Any books on battery recycling you know of? How might I learn to do
> this?
 
I guess there might be some out there somewhere but I haven't ever
seen any.
 
> This is a pretty hazardous setup you're describing here...
 
It can have it's enlightening moments from time to time just to
keep things interesting. (8-)
 
> What you describe here is typical of what we call a "series charger",
 
That's exactly what it is.
 
> except that most of those that I've seen included a transformer (for
 
> This is a bit much.
 
Works well for me.
 
> BB> If you don't get any or you get a significantly lower reading
> BB> then you need to disconnect the positive power lead and start
> BB> moving down the line of batteries until you get a connection
> BB> and a reading. You need to move down the line until you are
> BB> getting at least a 15 to 20 amp reading on the Amprobe. Then
> BB> you move back towards the positive end of the line until you
> BB> get all the batteries charging at least 12 to 15 amps.
 
> This is _really_ a bit much.  The problem with this setup here is that
> there's no real current limiting,  and any poor connection anywhere along
> the line is going to have the potential to spark,  which could really be
> a problem if there's any hydrogen gas generated at that point in time.
> BOOM!
 
Yep. That's for sure. Happens once in a while, but you need to do this
high amperage charging at the very beginning before the hydrogen gas
gets to bubbling out big time. If you are running too much current
later when the batteries are bubbling pretty good then you are asking
for an explosion and it almost always happens.
 
> You need to be more specific here.  Units that bubble are okay,
> particularly when you're pushing them as hard as you say here.  Units
> that make other noises may or may not be okay.
 
The ones with the noises I am talking about are a lot louder than
just the normal bubbling of the batterie during charging.
 
> BB> Then with all 11 batteries in line and charging you should be
> BB> down to about 5 to 7 amps.
 
> This is still a little high.  (See above.)
 
Again, it works real well for me. Not so much that it cooks the
batteries too hard but it does give them an aggressive charge. If you
get down much below the 5 to 7 amps then you are going to have to
charge them for 3 or 4 days or more and in a production setup, that's
not all that acceptable.
 
> Yes.  There needs to be some sort of current limiting in this
> arrangement, or you're asking for trouble.
 
Only if a diode shorts out. That happens on rare occasions, but
never had it happen to me. I've seen cases were a whole bank of
batteries were turned to nothing more than melted blobs of casing
and lead. Heck of a mess.
 
> BB> After about 10 to 15 hours of charging, you need to disconnect
> BB> and check the reading of each battery with the Snapon and it
> BB> should show a good reading. Next, check the individual voltages
> BB> with the digital again. No battery should be considered charged
> BB> if it shows less than 12.76 volts.
 
> You're going to be looking at surface charge,  which will typically be
> somewhat higher,  as high as 13.5 or maybe even more,  which will go away
> after an hour or more.  Unless you load it with something briefly...
 
That's what the Snapon battery checker does. It puts a heavy load on
them for 10 to 15 seconds and those that hold up under the load are
considered good. Those that don't are considered bad.
 
> Actually,  a hydrometer check is probably a good thing to do before you
 
The instructions sheets on your hydrometer should tell you that it is
impossible to get an accurate reading unless the battery is well charged
up.
 
> Chance isn't really a good way to do this,  although at the low price you
> mentioned,  there really isn't any basis for complaint.
 
Especially since I guarantee the battery for as long as my customer
has the battery on his car lot no matter how long that might be.
 
> The right way is to put a load tester on it and see what the battery
> is capable of kicking out. But those aren't cheap...
 
New Snapons that do this are $150 each but usually available in pawn
shops for about 30 to 35 bucks each.
 
> All in all,  this sort of endeavor isn't really something that I'd
> recommend for people to get into on a casual basis.  There aren't that
> many batteries out there to be had,  anyway,  as lead is considered
> "hazardous waste" these days and almost everywhere you go to buy one
> needs to get one in return as a "trade-in" or "core" or they charge you
> extra.
 
Nope. You have to be serious about doing it and you have to do it on
a volume basis. I generally keep 66 to 77 batteries or more charging
all the time as my daily sales volume demands it. I do have problems
with getting enough cores even when all sales are "plus exchange"
and we are moving 50 to 100 or more batteries daily. Most of our
sales are to car lots who buy them in quantities of 10 to 40 units
at a time for $15 plus exchange. I manage to sell another 10 to 20
units most days to individuals at $25 each plus exchange.
 
You do have to be serious, but as you can see from the figures,
the income is pretty decent and the expenses not all that great.
 
Bill Bauer
--- DB 1.58/004358
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