Batteries as ballast

[fudd]

Is it ok to use discharged batteries as ballast?

[WotEver]

I'd drain the electrolyte first just in case they fractured. Maybe rinse them a few times and fill them with water to make them denser.

[fudd]

Thanks. I've got a few old ones. I just thought they would be a bit kinder to my newly painted base plate.

Steve P.

[Arthur Brown]

All depends on how much ballast you want and what the alternatives are! A battery is a handleable lump so it's cuboid and not really very heavy, sometimes they fit a suitable place, sometimes a lower profile lump hides under the floorboards better.

 

If you need to use ugly bits of concrete etc then perhaps roofing felt would be a water resistant mat to stand the ballast on.

[gazza]

A 110ah battery will weigh around 25kg, not the most compact if ballasting solutions but if you have em and have space spare they are cost effective compared to shelling out upwards of £30 on eBay for an Avery type weight.

[OldGoat]

Methinks that 'over time' the casing will deteriorate and whatever acid and other corrosive materials will leak out and cause damage. So a cheap solution (apart from other considerations) may work out very expensive.

 

If the batteries are there to adjust balance then - if the position and access is controlled - well that's another story.

[Sea Dog]

Methinks that 'over time' the casing will deteriorate and whatever acid and other corrosive materials will leak out and cause damage.

Jeez, do you really think so? If that was the case, wouldn't there be lots of battery shaped holes dotted around from this problem in old vehicles? Surely the casing is impervious to the contents else there'd be a mandatory 'use by' date with a "make sure this thing is scrapped or somewhere safe before it all goes wrong in 2019" warning label on all lead acids (other than Chinese ones, obviously)?

[Murflynn]

or you could pour used AA cells into the bilges.

 

seriously, this type of ballast is very inefficient.

if you need a bit of ballast to move around to balance things up, how about a porous bag of gravel tied at the top? you can buy empty synthetic sandbags on ebay quite cheaply.

[Sea Dog]

or you could pour used AA cells into the bilges.

 

seriously, this type of ballast is very inefficient.

if you need a bit of ballast to move around to balance things up, how about a porous bag of gravel tied at the top? you can buy empty synthetic sandbags on ebay quite cheaply.

Well, they do contain a fair bit of lead which is pretty heavy stuff. I'd wager that a battery sized bag of gravel isn't as heavy as, well, a battery sized battery! A battery isn't a damp old sandbag either. Oh, and AA batteries corrode for a pastime, so I would expect both of your suggestions to have rotted their way out through the bottom of your boat faster than Fudd's old battery. Which still isn't to say that's a good idea, but there are worse ones!

[gazza]

Well, they do contain a fair bit of lead which is pretty heavy stuff. I'd wager that a battery sized bag of gravel isn't as heavy as, well, a battery sized battery! A battery isn't a damp old sandbag either. Oh, and AA batteries corrode for a pastime, so I would expect both of your suggestions to have rotted their way out through the bottom of your boat faster than Fudd's old battery. Which still isn't to say that's a good idea, but there are worse ones!

How to visualise the density of gravel v a battery.

 

Sit a 110ah battery next to a 25kg bag of gravel, stand back, contemplate the meaning of life then wonder how long it will take a MDPE bag to degrade compared to a HDPE battery case.

When your done with that nip down the pub for a well earned

[Claude]

I wouldn't use batteries and I wouldn't use bags of gravel either - they will act like a sponge if they get wet.

 

Whatever ballast is used ideally it should be supported a few mm above the baseplate on plastic spacers, etc. The old method of using bitumen soaked roofing felt directly under the ballast is a really bad idea in my opinion. On my boat it just traps any water that happens to get down there and makes drainage and drying out the bilges more difficult. The problem with many boat builders is that most don't own boats and have no idea about the practicalities.

How to visualise the density of gravel v a battery.

Sit a 110ah battery next to a 25kg bag of gravel, stand back, contemplate the meaning of life then wonder how long it will take a MDPE bag to degrade compared to a HDPE battery case.
When your done with that nip down the pub for a well earned

 

Agree with you there, but I don't really understand what the degradation of the respective polyethylene containers has to do with the density of their contents?

 

If you want to calculate density it's just mass/volume.

[Sea Dog]

I wouldn't use batteries and I wouldn't use bags of gravel either - they will act like a sponge if they get wet.

 

 

Sponge Bob Square Battery!

[gazza]

I wouldn't use batteries and I wouldn't use bags of gravel either - they will act like a sponge if they get wet.

 

Whatever ballast is used ideally it should be supported a few mm above the baseplate on plastic spacers, etc. The old method of using bitumen soaked roofing felt directly under the ballast is a really bad idea in my opinion. On my boat it just traps any water that happens to get down there and makes drainage and drying out the bilges more difficult. The problem with many boat builders is that most don't own boats and have no idea about the practicalities.

 

 

Agree with you there, but I don't really understand what the degradation of the respective polyethylene containers has to do with the density of their contents?

 

If you want to calculate density it's just mass/volume.

absolutely nothing! The point is someone mentioned the potential for the battery to spill it's guts over time.

It won't but a bag will eventually turn to dust.

 

My method no tape or mafmatics is required

Edited April 23, 2016 by gazza

[Sea Dog]

The point is someone mentioned the potential for the battery to spill it's guts over time.

It won't but a bag will eventually turn to dust.

I liked your other idea better Gazza..... My round: another beer?

[WotEver]

I did suggest in post #2 that the battery should be rinsed out several times and refilled with water.

[gazza]

I liked your other idea better Gazza..... My round: another beer?

 

Wetherspoons is open, if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me

 

I did suggest in post #2 that the battery should be rinsed out several times and refilled with water.

Yes, that point was not lost on me, battery acid makes good concrete cleaner, needs rinsing away smartish though....

[WotEver]

... battery acid makes good concrete cleaner, needs rinsing away smartish though....

The grass ain't too keen on it though...

[Claude]

absolutely nothing! The point is someone mentioned the potential for the battery to spill it's guts over time.

It won't but a bag will eventually turn to dust.

 

My method no tape or mafmatics is required

 

Ok, but I still don't understand what it has to do with density? Never mind, perhaps it was lost on me.

 

Unfortunately you will need maths if you want to understand the relative density of objects.

[gazza]

The grass ain't too keen on it though...

That's true, can't be anything worse than dog piss though.

I remember John Cushnie replying to a woman on GQT who had asked for a recommendation as to what plants are resistant to dog pee.

He replied in his experience the only thing resistant to dog pee was a lamppost

 

Ok, but I still don't understand what it has to do with density? Never mind, perhaps it was lost on me.

 

Unfortunately you will need maths if you want to understand the relative density of objects.

Um, you are looking too deep me old China.

The mk1 eyeball will confirm a 25kg 110ah battery is smaller in size than a 25kg bag of gravel.

 

Here endth the lessons in density for today.

Edited April 23, 2016 by gazza

[WotEver]

That's true, can't be anything worse than dog piss though.

I remember John Cushnie replying to a woman on GQT who had asked for a recommendation as to what plants are resistant to dog pee.

He replied in his experience the only thing resistant to dog pee was a lamppost

.

We have several yellow circles in our lawn which would support that position.

[gazza]

We have several yellow circles in our lawn which would support that position.

Us too!

 

Another classic from the Cushnie vaults.

 

When asked what pests affect Leylandii he replied thus - The two-stroke chainsaw is about the best pest you can find. It makes a lot of noise, but it's very effective. And if you prune it at ground level it won't grow again!

[WotEver]

Love it!

[RLWP]

And if you prune it at ground level it won't grow again!

 

From observation, pruning a Leylandiii anywhere has more or less the same effect. Chopping the top out makes a funny shaped bush thing. Trimming the trunk produces a christmas tree up a pole, cutting back one side leaves a permanent dead, brown patch. No matter what you do, it looks terrible and you eventually do the right thing - chop it down

 

Richard

[Claude]

Um, you are looking too deep me old China.

The mk1 eyeball will confirm a 25kg 110ah battery is smaller in size than a 25kg bag of gravel.

 

Here endth the lessons in density for today.

 

Um. I guess that's what they call stating the bleedin' obvious.

 

So the mk1 eyeball confirms that one object is larger than the other and the mk1 brain calculates that the smaller object (of equal mass) has a greater density. However, it doesn't confirm what the density of either object is or the unit densities of other objects which may not of equal mass...

 

That's another lesson in density for you and it still has nothing to do with the degradation rates of plastics (me old China).

Edited April 23, 2016 by Claude

[gazza]

Claude, I have no idea why you are getting your knickers in a twist.

 

It seems humour along with wot evers suggestions of flushing the acid out is getting overlooked.