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Rebuilding Lead Acid batteries - The street method
Gyro:
I just came across this video of a guy rebuilding Lead Acid batteries the 'hand crafted' way. I know that back in the 1920s it was common to hand rebuild batteries in the workshop, straighten buckled plates etc. but those were the days of glass jars, vulcanised rubber and molten pitch sealing, this guy is sitting at the side of the street, doing the same thing with modern (Chinese or mock japanese from the markings) plastic cased batteries.
It just seems wrong on so wrong on so many levels. The ones I spotted...
1. Zero protective equipment - no gloves, open sandals, no breathing protection (the fan can be seen spinning at one point, blowing fumes into the street).
2. Washing cell debris into an area of gravel. It doesn't show what happened to the bulk of the Sulphuric acid.
3. Solid plates, no grids and paste (can't see the construction of plates already in the envelopes)
4. No re-sealing of the partitions between the cells (no containment of explosive gasses to individual cells), just relying on electrolyte level for cell separation.
5. Interesting but dodgy looking forming of plate tabs
6. De-burring the edges of the plates with a simple file (more dust)
7. Uncontrolled open heating of molten Lead.
8. A very dodgy looking welder / soldering iron.
9. Very scary (sparky) charging method (especially with plugs out to facilitate rapid gassing!)
10. I guess the original internals will get recycled by similarly scary methods (high temperature melt-down back to pure-ish lead).
11. Packing out the gaps between the plates and cell walls with wadding.
12. [Edit: The re-sealing method]
13. I wonder what his life expectancy is! :scared:
This just seems to be such a sad flip side to of the levels of skill and pride going to the hand rewinding of those big motors that somebody posted the other week.
Terry Bites:
Thats the deveoping world where recycling and repurposing are the norm. H&S costs would probalbly make what he's doing pointless.
Feeding his family probably means a lot more to him than going crazy and dying from lead poisoning. Worrying bout the state of the planet is a luxury he can't afford.
Our junk is others lives, see the hell that is Agbogbloshie.
Gyro:
Yeah I know, it's all about providing for the family and survival. This one just struck me as particularly sad though, when contrasted with the pride that the guys obviously took in the motor rewinding ones, with equally primitive tools. Sorry, I should have linked that one... https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/132-kw-ac-motor-rewinding-by-hand-in-great-detail/
I guess everyone has to find a niche to fill.
bsfeechannel:
--- Quote from: Terry Bites on February 28, 2021, 02:25:56 pm ---Thats the deveoping world where recycling and repurposing are the norm.
--- End quote ---
Well, 99% of lead acid batteries in the US are recycled and repurposed.
However, the barrier to entry this business properly, considering all the health and safety precautions, is something this guy can't afford apparently.
SilverSolder:
There's a reason most car batteries cost north of $100 nowadays...
In a developing country, that just isn't realistic.
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