Looking for a mold to repair Pos and Neg terminals on automotive batteries

Like the title says, I am trying to locate some forms or molds to repair battery terminals.

These would be placed on the battery and molten lead would be poured into the form to repair the defective terminal.



These seem to be hard to locate. I could have some fabricated as an alternative, so i could also use some input on material suggestions that could be used, but would not allow the lead to stick.

Sort of like this, but I have seen molds available before.
http://www.toymods.org.au/forums/tech-conversions/47950-reparing-melted-battery-terminals-posts.html



Thanks

Is it a special battery that you cannot replace? It seems like it would be easier to buy a replacement battery than fix terminals on one.

Bruceter

Nothing special other than the price of the batteries. This is for my work. We have several 4D and 8D batteries that are just fine other than one of the terminals. The 4D are $275 and the 8D are $325 each ballpark.

Right now I have over $2k worth of batteries I could save, and we have several each year that I could fix going forward.


We have cobbled a patched together here and there in the past, but I want a proper tool for the job. Whether that is purchased or custom made is yet to be determined.

In the past, I have seen one website with these listed, but they where foreign, and never could find a local dealer. Now, I can't even find the USA site.

http://www.duoregen.com/

intresting thing you are trying to do.

whats wrong with the terminal? got a picture? is it totally destroyed, removed or partially there?

will the top of the battery withstand the heat? -most i have seen are plastic.. and they melt.

first thought is an larger version of the "pliers" people use/used to mold lead bullets in the old western cowboy style. (metal pliers with right shape mold for the led, clamp it over the rest of the terminal and then pour led.) but that is kinda too complicated to make.. more simple mold is better.. so..

second thought is an ceramic or heat resistant brick with right size hole drilled into it. and then an heat resistant cloth with the right sized hole for the terminal to pass but to cover the rest of top of the battery.. (lay the fabric first, then the heavy mold/brick on top of it then pour molten led and cool it then remove and see the results)

or some kind of 2 chunky pieces of metal, connected with screws to form a mold. (big chunk of metal. drill the hole in shape of the terminal, drill 2 or more screwholes from the side, then cut the mold into 2 pieces, check the size of terminal (might need to enlarge it a bit due cut away material) then tap the 2 screw holes add screws and you got an mold to use)

anyways.. both ideas kinda struggle with the molten led going where its not supposed to go. the heatresistant fabric (the kind they sell to put down flames at home/kitchen fires.. fireblankets or what they are called) might be best option limiting the heat damages and over flowing led.

---arent most battery terminals removable somehow (screw or nut or something?) can you drill a hole into the terminal and then tap it and add an screw or other terminal on it?

They range in condition from...

not so bad



To not much left. You can see this one was patched once before, but not correctly.



I have seen it done, but never myself. There is a fine line between the right heat, and too much.

Here is some more information, but no pictures. http://www.evdl.org/pages/battpost.html



I like the pliers idea, as I was thinking of using a two piece mold if I fabbed it locally. If I cut it in half(or just bold two pieces together) before I bore the tapered hole, it will be just right. I like the idea of a gasket of sorts on the under side, but what to use that will be re-useable and the lead won't stick to?


Pretty much all I have to fix are batteries like those in the pictures. You can see that the structure under the actual terminal is stepped and would lend itself to a snug fitting mold on the bottom, without much need for a gasket possibly.

fishing sinker molds are just mild steel. hardwood is good for 20 or so castings. plaster of paris also works but must be fully dry.

to get the new lead to stick to the old lead you have to heat the old lead up - whats in the battery is it horribly explosive ?
the battery has plastic top - molten lead melts plastic - whats in the battery is it horribly explosive ?


cheers

beerwax said:

whats in the battery is it horribly explosive ?

Click to expand...

Hydrogen
Norm

You can use mostly anything for your mold if you put a layer of aluminum foil between the lead and the mold.

You could cut off terminals from batteries to be recycled, then screw them on with a bolt in a tapped hole. No heat. No explosion. You could mold terminals in self-made molds, then screw them on with a bolt in a tapped hole. Open flames around a battery can cause an explosion! Be careful.

I'm pretty sure they are replaceable. You just need some new posts and a terminal puller.

they make side terminal to top terminal adapters you could easily buy one and drill and tap a hole and screw one right on there.
http://www.amazon.com/Pico-0893PT-Battery-Adapter-Package/dp/B00030CPC8/ref=pd_sim_auto_1

~

There is a good reason why old batteries are totally recycled ........

You can't pour "hot" molten lead onto a "cold" post of lead ,
and expect it to bond and flow together as one solid unit .
All the lead involved must be molten to harden as one strong unit.
The part that was added will soon just snap off , if not immediately.

This is similar to the principals of a "cold" solder joint & bad connection.

I don't think anything like this would be reliable for re-sale .

I think you are wasting your time and efforts to persue this . IMHO

~

Well, those are all good points, and the battery adapters seem to be the safest option, but I have concerns about the electrical connection when it is finished. These batteries see very high starting currents and are used in series.

About the hydrogen... I do realize that hydrogen is created when a battery is charged. But the batteries I would repair have not seen a charger for at least 6 months. So in my mind, the hydrogen would have dissipated - no?

If you could tap the lead properly and use light bulb grease when you screw in the adapter then the connection should be good enough for all but extreme current loads. what current loads do you need from the batteries?

What is causing these terminals to get destroyed?
Buy new batteries, then take a proactive approach to prevent this from happening in the future.
You may feel that you are saving the company a lot of money now, but playing around trying to save money by temporarily fixing something that is explosive & corrosive with electrical especially running in series can cause serious damage costing a lot more than what you are saving.
Contact a battery manufacturer on information regarding dangers and repairs.

~

Ah...Men ......... +1

Well said , FlashKat !

~

HotWire said:

You could cut off terminals from batteries to be recycled, then screw them on with a bolt in a tapped hole. No heat. No explosion. You could mold terminals in self-made molds, then screw them on with a bolt in a tapped hole. Open flames around a battery can cause an explosion! Be careful.

Click to expand...

This is what I was going to reccomend. You just need to change the battery cables end from a post connection to a (side) terminal connector. They are usually 5/16-18 N.C.. When cutting the old terminal off, just leave it raised about 3/16"-1/4". If in series this could be done to one of the straps between batteries.
GL

Got Lumens? said:

This is what I was going to reccomend. You just need to change the battery cables end from a post connection to a (side) terminal connector. They are usually 5/16-18 N.C.. When cutting the old terminal off, just leave it raised about 3/16"-1/4". If in series this could be done to one of the straps between batteries.
GL

Click to expand...

would be easier to screw in side terminal post adapters and use the original cables

Lynx_Arc said:

would be easier to screw in side terminal post adapters and use the original cables

Click to expand...

+1 You are right.
GL

Lynx_Arc said:

would be easier to screw in side terminal post adapters and use the original cables

Click to expand...

This option may not be possible for multi-battery arrays, as in some Hi-Lows and forklifts.