Battery Acid Disposal

I need some acid to fill a battery and they only sell the acid in 6 quart packages. Obviosly I can't use all that and my dad doesn't just want battery acid lying around, so I need some way environmentally freindly to dispose of it.

Thanks for the suggestions,
Nate

take your battery to an auto parts store and let them fill it for you...some will do this

You need to call around and find 1 quart containers of battery acid. Most auto parts stores, hardware stores, lawn & garden stores carry acid.

Locally here, I can walk in several of the bigger home improvement stores and see 3-4 different sizes of battery acid on the shelf.

Do you mean six ounce packages? Lord man! A gallon and a half of sulfuric acid, you could fill twenty motorcycle batteries.
If you're talking about disposing of a few ounces of acid just carefully pour it in a toilet and flush. It'll be well diluted by the time it gets into your plumbing.

Another way to dispose of it is to pour it onto some concrete that you don't care about. It'll be consumed as it reacts with the alkline concrete. After it's cooked for a while just flush it away with cold water.

KZCSI

Post edited by: KZCSI, at: 2006/03/01 21:14

Baking soda will neutralize it. However, if you have that much I would look into dropping it off at your local Hazardous Household Waste Recycling Center.

You said home imporvement stores carry battery acid? What section of the store? Also yes the only size battery acid available at car quest and napa was 6 quarts. Of course both refused to fill it.

Thanks,
Nate

You mention needing acid to fill a battery. Are you filling a dry charged battery for the first time or are you trying to add acid to an older battery that needs replenishment?

If it is an older battery you never add acid to it. You only used distilled water. The only time you add acid is when you have a brand new battery that has never been filled.

If you have a battery that has been neglected and the electrolyte level has dropped down below the plates most likely the plates have began to sulfate and the battery is on it's way out.

Let us know what you are trying to do.

I was recently looking for battery acid, and was having some trouble. Pep Boys didn't carry it, CarQuest only carried 6-qt or 5gal containers.

My local Advance happened to sell it, in a reasonably-sized container (slightly larger than needed to fill a battery).

As far as disposal, pour a bunch of baking soda into a bucket, then slowly pour the battery acid in. It's not highly volatile -- I got plenty on my skin with no ill effects -- but you don't want to splash any into your eyes. And do it outside -- the stuff smells a bit.

But do call around first. Try local auto parts stores, I'd expect Parts America, Advance, or Auto Zone to carry it, Pep Boys will try to sell you distilled water, and CarQuest or NAPA will probably only have big containers, but call them all anyways just to be sure. You'll need a lot of baking soda to neutralize the leftovers from 6 quarts....

Sulfuric acid is the most pleasant to use for cleaning cement off brick and for etching concrete. If you can't find any smaller quantity, perhaps you could spiff things up around the house with the leftovers...It's also handy for cleaning up quarry or other porous tiles after grouting.

-Duck

Can you use battery acid to clean up concrete, like in oil stains? Because the parking area in the garage is looking pretty shabby...If it can dissolve concrete I wouldn't want to leave it on too long:whistle:

Hold on this could work out great! There is also some oil/brake fluid on the garage floor which my dad is upset about also. So maybe kill two birds with one stone!

It's not going to do you much good with oil. It's good for cleaning up excess cement because it reacts with the carbonate.
Bricks that have gotten the white mess on them while mortaring, porous tiles with mess from grouting, concrete that's gottne on other stuff.

For oil on concrete use your Zepp degreaser. If you have a pool, the powdered chlorine works great.

-Duck