Backup batteries & Dallas RTC modules ☠
Refiners explicitly say "no Dallas, no batteries". An embedded lithium cell in a furnace or shredder is a fire, so this lot is worth zero to them and a lot to collectors.
How to spot it
Dallas and Benchmarq RTC modules are oversized black DIP-24 or DIP-28 bricks that look like a normal chip wearing a thick plastic overcoat — DS1287, DS12887, DS1643, DS1387, bq3287. The overcoat hides a lithium cell and a crystal. Also here: soldered-in tabbed coin cells, blue barrel Varta NiCd packs, and 1/2AA lithium cells on old motherboards.
Metal content
| Metal | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | ~40 g/lb | lead frames and coin-cell holders; the value here is entirely resale |
| Gold | <0.1 g/lb | ordinary plastic-IC bond wire in the module only |
At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $10.9 per pound of contained metal — Gold 0.08 g = $10.4, Copper 40 g = $0.43. A refiner paying $0 returns about 0% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.
Safe removal
Working temperature: Hot air ≤300 °C, brief
Desolder cool and fast — hot air no higher than 300 °C, brief exposure, never a heat gun held on the body. Do not cut, crush or grind anything in this group. Leaking Varta NiCd packs corrode boards badly; remove them from any board you care about and neutralise the residue.
Hazards
A standard ABC extinguisher will NOT stop a runaway lithium cell. Don't count on one.
NEVER open, cut, heat, drill, drop, shred or sell an inflator. There is no recoverable metal in one — the initiator's gold is measured in micrograms. Deploy-in-place by a trained handler, or hand it to the OEM collection stream.
Don't rush a hot engine. Nothing here is worth a hand.
NEVER pour any of these down a drain or onto the ground. They are all regulated waste streams.
NEVER burn boards, wire insulation or plastic. Ever.
Before you scrap it
The common trap
Questions
How much gold is in backup batteries & dallas rtc modules ☠?
Copper: ~40 g/lb. Gold: <0.1 g/lb. At current spot that is about $10.9 of contained metal per pound.
How do you identify backup batteries & dallas rtc modules ☠?
Refiners explicitly say "no Dallas, no batteries". An embedded lithium cell in a furnace or shredder is a fire, so this lot is worth zero to them and a lot to collectors.
How do you remove backup batteries & dallas rtc modules ☠ safely?
Desolder cool and fast — hot air no higher than 300 °C, brief exposure, never a heat gun held on the body . Do not cut, crush or grind anything in this group. Leaking Varta NiCd packs corrode boards badly; remove them from any board you care about and neutralise the residue.
Is backup batteries & dallas rtc modules ☠ worth more working than as scrap?
This is the entire value. NOS and tested DS12887 and DS1287 modules sell $8–25 each to retro-PC and arcade restorers, and a pound of roughly 90 modules can run into the hundreds. Battery-rebuilt modules sell higher still.
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