Disposing of battery acid?

[SecondMonkey]

I have four old car batteries that I've been saving in my garage for future use as cores. Problem is they're all old and leaky and are making quite a mess. I want to dump the acid out of them so that it's not leaking all over my garage.

What the heck do I do with old battery acid?! Can I dump them into a plastic bucket, dilute with lots of water, and neutralize with baking soda? Then maybe dump it in the toilet? Neighbors lawn?

 

[paulo57509]

I'd forget about draining them and just take them to a household hazardous waste facility.

 

[fsskier]

You need 4 of them for cores??? Pick out the one that does not leak, shake some baking soda on everything, then take the three leakers to your local battery store for recycling. Your garage space is worth more that the batteries!!

 

[SecondMonkey]

No, I'm keepin' 'em.

I don't need them now, but surely I would as soon as I got rid of them. I can think of at least 3 new batteries I'll need in the coming months, but probably won't happen until spring. (my boat needs 2 and I want a second battery in my truck) I don't want to buy the new batteries now because they'll just sit around and get old for a few months...

 

[ionbeam22]

Always add acid to water, not water to acid.

Anywho, I would sprinkle lots of baking soda on everything. Modern batteries are built with sealed cells, so you shouldn't be able to get into them to drain them out without dissassembling the battery.

I would just turn them in to any autoparts store that accepts old batteries. These things are an accident waiting to happen.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: ionbeam22
Modern batteries are built with sealed cells


Most car batteries you'll find on the shelves in the USA have removable vent caps. Even AC Delco batteries now have removable vent caps.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: ionbeam22

I would just turn them in to any autoparts store that accepts old batteries. These things are an accident waiting to happen.


+1 you will have your cores on the batteries you are replacing. Get rid of all of them.

 

[Carbon]

Originally Posted By: ionbeam22
Always add acid to water, not water to acid.
That doesn't apply to lead-acid batteries -- especially discharged lead-acid batteries.

 

[StevieC]

Sewers have always worked well for us in the past.

(j/k)

Take it to your local Battery Recycler or to a hazardous waste place.

 

[brianl703]

Some drain cleaner actually is sulfuric acid.

The problem with batteries is that the sulfuric acid isn't pure, it will have some lead in it.

 

[Eddie]

+1 recycle at the local battery store. Old batteries are usually sulfated up so much as to be useless power wise. If you must, dig a 10+ inch deep hole in your yard and dump away. When finished, fill the hole with dirt.

 

[Vaca]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
Some drain cleaner actually is sulfuric acid.


I always thought drain cleaners were strong bases like sodium hydroxide, never heard of an acid-based drain cleaner. I would thin that would wreak havoc on a metal plumbing system.

 

[brianl703]

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/rooto-pro-drain-opener-sulfuric-acid-p-35481.html?ref=42

 

[benjamming]

sulfuric is not a degreaser though

 

[George7941]

This sulfuric acid is expensive! At $100+ for 4 gallons, somebody is making a lot of money.

I doubt this stuff is any more concentrated than battery acid at SG of 1.28. Last time I bought battery acid (admittedly 25 years ago) I paid $20 Canadian for 20 litres, which is over five US gallons.

 

[swalve]

I'm not sure what the mechanism of sulfuric acid as a drain cleaner is, but the lye that's normally used isn't really for its degreasing effect, but for its heat generation effect. The heat melts the goop, the caustic disintegrates the hair and other "material" and it all flows down and out.

Actually, here's the answer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drain_cleaner#Acid_liquid

 

[tom slick]

buy some cheap ammonia and mix it with the acid. It will neutralize it and you can dump it down the drain.

Degreaser cleaners are usually basic/caustic/alkaline, the opposite of acidic. Acids are used to remove mineral deposits such as urine salts. Acid or caustic really depends on the type of clog or cleaning action needed.