Coffee, tea, mercury?

[Jon Goodman]

Last night, I dis-assembled a mercury battery of the same style used in the Canonet (and hundreds more) cameras. This is not the first time I've separated mercury out of a battery. I was taught how to do this in about 1958 by a radio/TV repairman I was friends with...he taught me how to extract almost every bit of mercury out of a cell. However, it was the first time I've taken one of these batteries apart. So, I have two questions...(1) has anybody else here done this and (2) how much mercury do you think was in that cell I destroyed? (as a rough percentage of the internal volume, that is)
Jon

 

[Jarvis]

... you mean the amount of mercury including the residue under your fingernails and probably in the third bite of your greaseburger tomorrow ?

... So what next, a sponsorred trip to Chernobyl to disassemble reactor no. 5 ?

 

[Iskra 2]

I would say you will be toast in the morning 🙂

Back in the old days a "find" of mercury was looked upon with favor. There were countless things to do with it. Of course, no one was stupid enough to eat it.

 

[nwcanonman]

When my son was around 3 he "ate" the thermometer while taking his temperature. His mother and I were freaking out, but at the ER the doctor said no problem. We were told to have him eat cotton balls and mashed pototoes to absorb it and that it would pass through with no affect.
He's now 33, and works on computers.
I think inhaling the mercury vapor that is toxic.
I've got old dental fillings with mercury still in them.

 

[2maneekameras]

It might be time to think about making daguerreotypes. Mercury fumes are used as part of the developing process.

 

[john neal]

Jon,

You've been reading that pdf on battery adapters haven't you?

I try not to use real mercury cells when making adapters, but sometimes that's all you have to hand 😉

I was never taught how to get all the mercury out, but generally get around two or three good sized balls, say 2 to 3 ml out of each battery - seems to depend on how old and discharged it is.

I hope you are taking precautions?

 

[tom_f77]

>Back in the old days a "find" of mercury was looked upon with favor. There were countless >things to do with it. Of course, no one was stupid enough to eat it.

Actually they were - at one time it was thought to be a cure for syphilis!

Tom

 

[Stu :)]

And for your next trick, you'll be telling us how to make daguerreotypes...

Stu 🙂

 

[Jon Goodman]

The answer was surprising to me. From the single cell, I got the equivalent of a green pea in mercury...or maybe the equivalent of two peppercorns. This is much more than I expected. No, I didn't take any precautions other than washing my hands before I ate. John, yes, I read that pdf not long after it was written...the one associated with the Rollei club, that is. I keep a few shells handy for use in cameras which need them...but I don't fit the diode in there. I just use hearing aid batteries. 16 of them cost me about $9 at the Wal-Mart, and I've found each battery will last me at least 5 months. Much less expensive than any other option I've seen.

When I was in elementary school, we had a fellow who would swallow mercury. No kidding. I saw him do it maybe 6 times...he'd swallow a tablespoonfull and claimed it felt neat in his gut. Once I saw him knock himself unconscious, too. He was pretty tall, and he was jumping up and down under a door jamb in the locker room. Jumped a bit too high and smack! Down he went. Maybe the mercury had something to do with that, but he went on to do pretty well in the fabric business, and he's still alive and well 40+ years after his mercury swallowing days.

Anyway...as I said, I was taken by how much mercury there was in that little cell. Seeing it and mentally multiplying it by several hundred million gave me pause to consider. The ban of these things might not be such a bad idea. I mean...put too much mercury out there and kids like my old buddy will be swallowing it again.
Jon

 

[Pherdinand]

Yeah
In fact mid-aged curious handymans taking old mercury cells apart, that's what should be forbidden. 😀 It's much safer to swallow an entire mercury cell. I'm talking about a px625 and similars, not the px28 of course 😀

Sorry Jon, I couldn't resist.
Anyway, what on earth do you plan to do with that mercury?

 

[Pherdinand]

I wish we had mercury lakes, it must be a real fun swimming in those. It's 13.6 times heavier than water, you can probably walk in it sinking not even up (down?) to your knees.

 

[Jon Goodman]

Anyway, what on earth do you plan to do with that mercury?

Well, I'm going to my high school reunion this summer, and I thought Mr. Mercury Swallower might be there. Thought I'd bring him an appetizer for old times sake.

Seriously, I don't know yet. Have you ever dipped a silver coin in it? Makes 'em look brand new.

I'm sure I'll think of something. Hey! Maybe we could offer it as third prize in the competition.
Jon

 

[john neal]

Jon,

Your posts are getting as entertaining as your ads 😛

I would agree with you volume-wise and it is a bit worrying. A local photo shop has a couple of my 625 adapters on their shelf just in case they get a request - they gave me a bag with something like 50 625's in it - they thought I "might need them"! They had hundreds of other sizes and types just collecting in old coffee jars, etc. Heaven help them if the mercury police ever turn up 😀

Incidentally - I got the email notification of your longer post about 30 mins before it showed up in the forum - odd?

 

[kiev4a]

Back in the 19th century the people who made hats from beaver treated the fur with mercury. After inhaling the fumes long enough it destroyed some braqin cells -- hence the term "Mad as a hatter."

Personally, I believe the entire mercury battery thing was overblown -- like lead-based paint and asbestos. Almost anything will screw up your body and/or your health if you abuse it or use too much. Alleged threats to our health and safetyhave increase in direct proportion to the number of attorneys graduating from law school.

An acquaintenance died at age 74 from lung cancer. When he was in his 20s he worked for 6 months on a construction project wrapping asbestos around pipes. His wife is now part of a multi-billion dollar class action lawsuit against asbestos companies. I'm sure the fact that he smoked for 45 years had nothing to do with his cancer.

 

[Jon Goodman]

Incidentally - I got the email notification of your longer post about 30 mins before it showed up in the forum - odd?

Thanks! Maybe they're good for a grin, eh? About getting that post early...I have no idea, unless...Oh, wait. Of course...you probably have the RFF "instafeed" feature turned on in your default settings, don't you? See, most people don't know how to switch that on. Kind of handy, isn't it?
Jon

 

[Jon Goodman]

Almost anything will screw up your body and/or your health if you abuse it or use too much.

Hey, wait a minute...I played with mercury a lot as a kid, and I lived across an alley from where lead plates were cast for the printing of the town newspaper, and so I played with a lot of lead, too, and I dot'ne thnink it hert mee any. I meen, nothigns worng with me braiqn.
JOn

 

[dmr]

Hey, wait a minute...I played with mercury a lot as a kid,

Hey, it was a toy, really. I used to think it was the coolest stuff around. My brothers used to collect it by breaking up old thermometers and light switches. They had this bottle of it and they just got more and more and heavier and heavier. We used to coat coins with it to make them shiny. They lasted for a few days and they turned nasty. 🙁

 

[kiev4a]

Did the same thing with coins. We had a little flask of mercury and it was fun to get a drop out on the table and push it around with my finger. Of course I also used a vise to take the powder out of several hundred rounds of 50 cal. machine gun ammo my dad found on an old Air Force gunnery range after the war. Kept the powder in two gallon Wesson Oil jugs under my bed. -- and I've still got all my appendages and most of them work 🙂

 

[nikon_sam]

I too have some mercury stored somewhere in my house (in a plastic film holder) and I also read that there is more mercury in flourescent bulbs than in camera batteries.
The old heater thermostats had a mercury switch in them too...how many of them are still out there??
I have two Gossen light meters that use these batteries and would like to continue using them. I also bought a newer Gossen that uses a 9 volt battery, but still the other two that I have I would love to continue using them. I have a few mercury batteries in the fridge and if I can find and buy more I will.
I don't plan on opening them up when they expire nor will I throw them in the trash...so may I please have more???

 

[kiev4a]

I too have some mercury stored somewhere in my house (in a plastic film holder) and I also read that there is more mercury in flourescent bulbs than in camera batteries.
The old heater thermostats had a mercury switch in them too...how many of them are still out there??
I have two Gossen light meters that use these batteries and would like to continue using them. I also bought a newer Gossen that uses a 9 volt battery, but still the other two that I have I would love to continue using them. I have a few mercury batteries in the fridge and if I can find and buy more I will.
I don't plan on opening them up when they expire nor will I throw them in the trash...so may I please have more???

I had the old Luna Pro that used mercury batteries. I bought an adapter, possibly from Adorama, that allowed using the smaller silver batteries. It also adjusted the voltage. It cost about 20 bucks. Unfortunately, I sold it with the meter. A couple of Wein cells would pay for an adapter.