Advice on these batteries found in salvage yard

[society]

Hey all -

Wondering if anyone has some sage wisdom on these batteries I found in my local salvage yard. They're brand new, thinking they might be a good battery for my solar water pump. (Grundfos SQ flex series pump # SQF-3)

Its $100/pc, should I do it?

Thanks!
GS_battery.jpg

[Mike90250]

Telecom batteries = design for 6 years of float service and then 12 hours of discharge. Then you toss and buy new replacements.

These are not designed for daily cycle use, they are emergency backup use.

If they are new, how in the heck did they get into a salvage yard?

[society]

They were design for 6 years of float ? and then 12hours hours of discharge? Not sure what that means.

I bought one, used a trickle charger to fill it and it seems fine. What would happen if I use it as a daily cycle battery?

They ended up there, because it costs more to dispose of them properly than give them away for free. (CA) Salvage yard is non-profit, so it's also a tax break.

[azdave]

Telcom batteries are only designed for rare discharge emergency use like once a year or less, not daily discharge cycles. They are very dependable for sitting on a trickle charger for many years and then working that rare time they are called into use. They do poorly at providing daily charge/discharge cycles like most solar users want and don't last long under those conditions. We would all be buying them if they were a great deal for solar storage. They aren't.

[Sunking]

I bought one, used a trickle charger to fill it and it seems fine. What would happen if I use it as a daily cycle battery?

They ended up there, because it costs more to dispose of them properly than give them away for free. (CA) Salvage yard is non-profit, so it's also a tax break.

So in about a year those batteries are going to be your problem to dispose of.

I work in telecom, and we take a liability like outdated battery, and either sell them for a little cash for or give them away. You sign a receipt that keeps the Employment Prevention Agency off our backs by making disposal your problem.

[chrisski]

So in about a year those batteries are going to be your problem to dispose of.

I work in telecom, and we take a liability like outdated battery, and either sell them for a little cash for or give them away. You sign a receipt that keeps the Employment Prevention Agency off our backs by making disposal your problem.

What would it take for the average Joe to dispose of these batteries? It's got to be harder than either a free battery swap or a few dollars at a recycling center like the normal car batteries I'm used to.

[Mike90250]

If you only have a couple, or are buying new ones, you can use the dud batteries as the Core Deposit for the new ones.
Sometimes you can get $5 each at the scrap yard for a couple, but if you have a truckload of them, you may have to pay hazmat fees to dispose of them.

[chrisski]

If you only have a couple, or are buying new ones, you can use the dud batteries as the Core Deposit for the new ones.
Sometimes you can get $5 each at the scrap yard for a couple, but if you have a truckload of them, you may have to pay hazmat fees to dispose of them.

I guess at what point do these batteries become a HAZMAT issue requiring special disposal?

Let's say I'm so impressed with my 4 battery 12 Volt RV system after its built, that I plan on taking the big Leap and going off grid with a much bigger 48 Volt system so I can power a 4000 watt inverter so I can run a small Fridge, My washer, TV, and Desktop Computer. I'll use natural gas where I can such as heating and refrigeration, not use air conditioning, etc. Let's say this system has 20 batteries, or even 40 batteries. Is it now an issue?

I got a couple steps I'm looking at after this RV solar is finished. First is to make the RV 24 volts to power a bigger inverter, and that will have its challenges, mostly because a lot of the wired DC power such as brakes and lights are already 12 Volts. How I'd love to take the lessons learned from both of these projects and turn it into a weekend cabin or small house that is off grid. If this is going to become a project where I'm dealing with things like HAZMAT battery disposal 10 years down the road, best to find out earlier rather than later.

[Mike90250]

no problem as long as you use the batteries for the recycle/core offset when you buy new ones. But if you have more than a couple, the recycle folks will often charge you to take them.

[BobBaty]

I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area. I pick up and recycle lead acid batteries for free and can even pay up to $5 for each battery. If I can help someone dispose of lead acid batteries, let me know

[littleharbor]

I must have gotten lucky to get $38.00 a piece for my 6 year old bank of 8 telecom batteries ($304.00) last year. I did get this at a battery recycling plant I deal with, not a battery dealer.

[BobBaty]

In the Hayward Area, the larger recycling yards pay around 15 cents per pound if you bring them in yourself. I've found places that pay higher, but nothing close to 50 cents per pound you received. One place in Stockton pays $5 cash for car and truck batteries. When I contacted the local Interstate Battery outlet, I was told that they didn't pay for batteries. I think the national average is around 20 cents per pound. You were lucky.

[SunEagle]

In the Hayward Area, the larger recycling yards pay around 15 cents per pound if you bring them in yourself. I've found places that pay higher, but nothing close to 50 cents per pound you received. One place in Stockton pays $5 cash for car and truck batteries. When I contacted the local Interstate Battery outlet, I was told that they didn't pay for batteries. I think the national average is around 20 cents per pound. You were lucky.

That is funny coming from Interstate Battery. When I purchase a pair for my RV they charged me $25 more unless I return the old cores. So they do get some money for turning in old batteries or that $25 covers the disposal costs.

[BobBaty]

I suppose it depends on the location. The Concord location is offering up to $10 per car or truck battery. Which averages out to about 25 cents per pound.

[littleharbor]

[QUOTE=BobBaty;n421446]I I've found places that pay higher, but nothing close to 50 cents per pound you received.




These were 105 pound batteries so as I was quoted 38 cents per pound.