$2 USD per pound for lead?

I found a local supplier for lead bar or ingots (to correct a port list). Quoted me about $2.00 per pound for 500 lbs of 60 lb bars.

Good price?

Airstream345 said:

I found a local supplier for lead bar or ingots (to correct a port list). Quoted me about $2.00 per pound for 500 lbs of 60 lb bars.

Good price?

Click to expand...

Seems like money better spent on lead --- floating in electrolyte --- and increasing the house bank. Why not put the added weight to use?

8D batteries go for about $1.50 per lb.

I have not bought lead for ballast for about 10 years, but that seems to be a reasonable price. I understand the comment about adding batteries, but on our previous boat there was room for ballast and not room for an equivalent weight in batteries, besides I had enough batteries in that boat anyway. Make sure you glass the lead in so it won’t move around underway.

On the commodities mkt it is selling for $1.20, so he and and the middleman are making .80 cents a pound. Seems not to far out of line. The stuff is heavy!

My boat was in California at the time and lead in CA was about $4 a pound. I lived in Tucson and was able to pick it up in Yuma for about $1.50 on my way through. Had to carry about 800 pounds over the mountains to San Diego but it was still a big savings.

This place has it for about $1.40/pound. Even with $300 in shipping costs you might save a few hundred bucks.

Ballast Weight Lead Ingot (500 LB)

Thanks all for the responses.

Go crawl on the outboard side of the low side of the boat. More than once I have been on boats that had lead on BOTH sides!!!

Airstream345 said:

I found a local supplier for lead bar or ingots (to correct a port list). Quoted me about $2.00 per pound for 500 lbs of 60 lb bars.

Good price?

Click to expand...

Call Jeff at Sailboat Wrecking Yard up in Lynden. His primary business is recycling keels for the lead. I can assure you that if you're willing to drive up to Lynden he'll give you a much better price on 500 lbs. Call him in advance to ask about availability and ask about a cash discount.

Jeff can be reached at 360-739-8748.

Benthic2 said:

This place has it for about $1.40/pound. Even with $300 in shipping costs you might save a few hundred bucks.

Ballast Weight Lead Ingot (500 LB)

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My math was way off here....sorry......the $300 in shipping was for 1000 pounds......

Lead = $700
shipping-150
Total $850

Total Cost/Pound = 850/500 =$1.70/lb

Ski in NC said:

Go crawl on the outboard side of the low side of the boat. More than once I have been on boats that had lead on BOTH sides!!!

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I did exactly that last weekend pulling ever panel and accessing what I could. I was looking for trapped water or ballast. Other than about a gallon or rainwater in the laz(due to a clogged hatch drain) neither was found.

Sabre602 said:

Call Jeff at Sailboat Wrecking Yard up in Lynden. His primary business is recycling keels for the lead. I can assure you that if you're willing to drive up to Lynden he'll give you a much better price on 500 lbs. Call him in advance to ask about availability and ask about a cash discount.



Jeff can be reached at 360-739-8748.

Click to expand...

Great tip, thank you!

There is a guy in my area who salvages abandoned sailboats for the lead in the keels.

He is clearly nut case and very poorly equipped for the jobbut he gets them off the river and that's a good thing.

boathealer said:

Seems like money better spent on lead --- floating in electrolyte --- and increasing the house bank. Why not put the added weight to use?

8D batteries go for about $1.50 per lb.

Click to expand...

boathealter, I'm coming around on your idea here.

I'm moving my reply to another thread I start about moving my batteries to correct the list in the first place here: http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/...e-batteries-lazerette-36398-2.html#post632712