Striking out finding cells in the US

planepilot

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Feb 20, 2019
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I'm having the hardest time finding used laptop batteries. I have found a few at Homedepot, Lowes and Bestbuy (If they let me look). But all the PC shops have agreement with recycler's and will not sell old packs?I found one shop that will work with me but he only gets 1-2 packs a month. Who do you call or have the best luck with. When I google most recycler's in the area, it looks like big time companies and I don't think they will work with me. I'm in a larger city, is it better to find small shop in rural towns to work with? Appreciate any suggestions.
 
Stop looking for laptop packs and look for medical packs. Talk to hospital/clinic tech department. They have to replace the packs every 2 - 3 years regardless of use.
 
Are you offering money, or just looking for free?

At least at the recycling companies... money talks, just make sure not to over pay.
 
$1.25/lb is about as far as you wanna go. If you go much higher, it's just better to buy new
 
I've offered to pay at several companies and they tell me policies doesn't allow for them to sell to the public. For medical, do you find the IT department to ask?
 
At the customer service, or one even one of the staff, you'd ask where the department is that handles reclamation and equipment maintenance. That's what I did. Altho, now I can't remember what they were called. I'm sure each place has it's own name for that department.

IT just basically handles the computers, printers, network, etc. These other guys handle the equipment for saving lives.
 
Im good with about $1 per lb... $0.75 to $1.25 I find acceptable.

That said, I have had places try and charge me $2/lb for packs before too. I hate to admit but I did buy some at that price because I was itching to process more.

I used to run around chasing laptop packs, but its a ton of work, time, and the yield isn't always worth the efforts... depending on the size of your project, I would just buy new cells. If you have a large project, nothing beats EV cells. So much more quality, consistency, and much less work.

Its still a bunch of fun when you find good cells for next to nothing... so, there is that.
 
You could also post a craigslist ad for collecting the packs. Offer $0.75/lb for them. Make sure to post in several different sections, tho to get the most coverage.
That's actually how I got my first 800-ish cells and only paid about $300 for them in total.
 
Thanks for all the tips. I have gotten one call back on my Craigslist add. I will try the medical centers next and see what I find!
 
I wish you much success on this ...I thought I had a steady source for used Laptop and other batteries but the prices have really gotten out of line in my area. Which is why I just went for new ....and that is what I offer. Consider your time and effort ....LOTS OF IT finding batteries and then going through the process of testing for capacity and resistance. But obviously a lot of people on this forum find it to be worth the effort.
 
Interesting topic.

I have just recently retired from a long career In the Biomedical Field as a Senior Field Support Engineer for Cardinal Health, CareFusion and lastly Becton Dickinson

Previously to that I worked 5 years as a Biomedical technician. I have extensive knowledge on what becomes of used medical packs.

Do not try to get a hold of IT.., They will have no idea what your are talking about.

What you need to do is at the front information desk, is contact Biomed or Clinical Engineering. .


If you get past that point and get to talk to a biomed tech, You may be able to score something.

In my career( over 750 hospitals), i have noticed the staging area for used battery packs. Most are in an area for a recycler to pick up on a regular basis. They may or may not have a contract with a recycler.

There are many hospitals having to PAY to get rid of their used packs. So, you may score big time if you offer to take there packs for free.

Now, most of the used batteries are mostly NIMH and SLA's, there are a few packs of LI's. Dont expect a big score for lithium's.

Since I am building a NIMH Powerwall system, I have access to thousands of used IV Pump battery packs, all NIMH based. But then again, I have worked with these Biomeds for 12 years and have a great communication network in place.

If anyone needs help on this subject, please, be free to contact me and I can go more into detail on how to "Nicely" access the proper departments at a hospital. If its a hospital that I have done work at, my name can open lots of doors.

Regards,

Jim

NIMH Powerwall Build
 
Getting past the front desk is my problem with the medical places I contacted. Got the run around or said to talk with the manager that would have to call me back. Still waiting! I did have some luck contacting smaller computer repair shops about an hour away. I scored 2 boxes of about 100 used packs and they gave them to me to get rid of them! So double score!!
 
I just came across a crap ton of laptop batteries at the recycling center but decided to pass on it they were asking $1.50 per lb

I was thinking of processing and selling them but that is also a ton of work haha.
 
Planepilot, did you have any luck in your hospital search?
I am about to attempt the same avenue in the central MA, USA area.
Jim, are you in Boston area?
 
I run a PC shop. I'd gladly give you half a dozen laptop batteries at any given time. I don't harvest a quarter of the cells I could because I've got my batteries needs mostly met with 24v LifePo4 cells. So if you find yourself in Eugene Oregon hit me up.
 
JimU said:
Interesting topic.

I have just recently retired from a long career In the Biomedical Field as a Senior Field Support Engineer for Cardinal Health, CareFusion and lastly Becton Dickinson

Previously to that I worked 5 years as a Biomedical technician. I have extensive knowledge on what becomes of used medical packs.

Do not try to get a hold of IT.., They will have no idea what your are talking about.

What you need to do is at the front information desk, is contact Biomed or Clinical Engineering. .


If you get past that point and get to talk to a biomed tech, You may be able to score something.

In my career( over 750 hospitals), i have noticed the staging area for used battery packs. Most are in an area for a recycler to pick up on a regular basis. They may or may not have a contract with a recycler.

There are many hospitals having to PAY to get rid of their used packs. So, you may score big time if you offer to take there packs for free.

Now, most of the used batteries are mostly NIMH and SLA's, there are a few packs of LI's. Dont expect a big score for lithium's.

Since I am building a NIMH Powerwall system, I have access to thousands of used IV Pump battery packs, all NIMH based. But then again, I have worked with these Biomeds for 12 years and have a great communication network in place.

If anyone needs help on this subject, please, be free to contact me and I can go more into detail on how to "Nicely" access the proper departments at a hospital. If its a hospital that I have done work at, my name can open lots of doors.

Regards,

Jim

NIMH Powerwall Build

I just bought a couple Valence U1-12RT LiFePO4 batts from an ebayer. I am looking for some more. Can you tell me what type of hospital equipment uses those type batts so I can asked more informed questions?
 
If you live near a large university you can check EH&S, I have had luck doing this, if they have a med school, so much the better.

Be prepared to show you are competent though, because they worry about safety and liability issues, once I convinced the head of safety that I knew what I was doing, they were more than happy to help. Also, remember these people love the idea of reuse/recycling, and my biggest selling point, was that it is better to reuse something than to recycle it.
 
Shawndoe said:
If you live near a large university you can check EH&S, I have had luck doing this, if they have a med school, so much the better.

Be prepared to show you are competent though, because they worry about safety and liability issues, once I convinced the head of safety that I knew what I was doing, they were more than happy to help. Also, remember these people love the idea of reuse/recycling, and my biggest selling point, was that it is better to reuse something than to recycle
What is EH&S?
 
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