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Registered Member #31557
Joined: Tue Aug 06 2013, 02:38AM
Location:
Posts: 58
I recently picked up this 300+lbs beast:
Its way too big for anything I need, so I want to get rid of it quick. I do have it for sale on eBay and the forums here, but have a suspicion its not going to sell in a timely manner. So I need to start thinking about scrapping the copper out of it instead.
Does anybody here have experience scrapping distribution transformers that can give me a rough estimate on how much copper is in this thing?
Registered Member #2099
Joined: Wed Apr 29 2009, 12:22AM
Location: Los Altos, California
Posts: 1716
Sorry, can't give you a number for copper weight. Please tell us if you break down the transformer and find out. Probably no more pounds of Cu per KVA than a microwave oven transformer.
With your 2008 mfg date, I bet the low voltage winding is aluminum. That's the case in these 2 videos that show pole pig guts. From pictures like those I would estimate the core and winding volumes and densities, building a model consistent with the known overall weight.
Back when the local Sims Metal scrapyard was paying $3/lb for thick bare copper wire, they paid about $0.25/lb for whole transformers and motors.
I don't know the transformer size point at which commercial processors hire people to take them apart or selectively cut them. Not when you can shred the whole thing and mechanically sort the bits,as with automobiles!
Registered Member #102
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:15PM
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 169
The iron and oil are obviously the main constituents of the weight. I sadly had a dead pig acquisition once. (I think it's previous owner ran it dry, or poorly potted) It was 15kva and had about 30 lbs of 24 awg wire inside it. The primary was aluminum sheeting. It hurt so bad to scrap it but what are you gonna do. Please sell that thing instead of scrap a potted transformer. It's worth a fortune to someone compared to it's scrap value.
Registered Member #230
Joined: Tue Feb 21 2006, 08:01PM
Location: Gracefield lower Hutt
Posts: 284
I just stripped down a 250kVA alternator for the copper. i got 56kg of windings out of it. This of course can be thought of as a 250kVa rotary transformer
Registered Member #31557
Joined: Tue Aug 06 2013, 02:38AM
Location:
Posts: 58
Kolas wrote ...
It hurt so bad to scrap it but what are you gonna do. Please sell that thing instead of scrap a potted transformer. It's worth a fortune to someone compared to it's scrap value.
I am trying to sell it. I'd love to see it get used by an enthusiast rather than scrapping it. However people that buy this sort of thing are few and far between, and unfortunately I cant hold onto it forever.
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Guesstimate of weight of the copper in a 15kva distribution transformer.
