[Hardastarboard]

I've never smelted lead but I've always heard that if you smelt lead from car batteries you have to be extremely careful how you add the plates, as adding plates with sulfuric acid still in them can cause a dramatic, dangerous "explosion" of lead due to the acid quickly turning to steam and causing the lead to splash on the person smelting it.

Just what I've heard.

[babygene]

I can see the steam part... If the battery can be charged, you should probably charge it first before you pour off the h2so4. This converts most of the lead sulfide in the plate to acid leaving less in the plates. then heat the plates up at low heat to dry them out good.