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4hv.org :: Forums :: General Science and Electronics
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Taking apart a distribution transformer?

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Arcstarter
Sat Jul 10 2010, 07:39PM Print
Arcstarter Registered Member #1225 Joined: Sat Jan 12 2008, 01:24AM
Location: Beaumont, Texas, USA
Posts: 2253
Hey guys.

I still have this 50kw 7.6kv pig in my back yard, that i apparently have to get rid of. I have tried to sell it, but it is just not practical. Throwing the whole pig out as is would be a huge shame, considering i had to haul the 629 pound beast a mile on a dolly tongue.

I will keep as much of the oil as possible, it is valuable to me. I have a bunch of plastic coffee cans that can each hold a gallon. Copper is around 3 dollars per pound, so salvaging the copper would get me a fairly pretty hunk of money, but because of all the copper that is being stolen and sold, they could investigate, and i really prefer not to go down that road. But, there are plenty of uses for magnet wire that can handle some 10 amps (6 something amps at 50kw)! It could be sold as wire instead of copper and i could make a good deal of money from that.

My question is, is it practical for a kid with no money to attempt to take a pole transformer apart? There is way too much copper in there to just go to waste! But, i do not have anything like an engine jack to lift it out, and any oil that gets on the ground will kill vegetation and whatever else. And dead grass does not look so great...

Then, how could i dispose of the pole pig's 'can'? We do have trash pick-up, so i could put it on the side of the street, but it would still have oil in it, so that may not work. Not to mention, pole transformers that randomly pop up on the side of the street would likely make police rather curious.

I would sell the iron core as scrap iron, even though i would get only a small amount of money (15 cents a pound). But, i would do it for free, since it is recycling and i can feel good about doing the right thing.

Can the oil (non-PCB) be stored inside, or would fumes escape the hardly air-tight lids and harm my family's health? Are there any other safety concerns i have overlooked?

Thanks for any answers!
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dmg
Sat Jul 10 2010, 08:07PM
dmg Registered Member #2628 Joined: Fri Jan 15 2010, 12:23AM
Location:
Posts: 627
a bit sad that the piggy will be taken apart cry
I cant tell you much about the equipment, since I have not had my hands on one of these pigs (still trying too)

but I think, that if you plan to take that monster apart, you better get ready to get dirty.. since there is much oil in those things, however, for storing mineral oil, I usually just keep mine in the 500mL water bottles (you can probably use 4L) and I have not noted any ill effects, if you are a bit paraniod about that, could always put a plastic bag around the containers and seal the bag. I keep these bottles in a cabinet in my room, so I think you can store yours in a shed or something outside.

could always scrap the iron and some copper, and keep some copper for yourself as well... one thing ive realized in this hobby.. I can never have enough wire.
for the "can" I think you can cut it up with a jigsaw.. if you have enough time on hand (at least on the bright side, the oil residue will be good for the saw), maybe that will make it look less suspicious?
for the top part.. I dont see why not keep it.. those insulators look cool.

do you have a pump or something? or are you just gonna scoop up the oil with cups?
and when you do this, I think you should also set up some plastic sheeting (like the ones for painting) on the floor... a whole bunch of it... so no dead grass or anything.
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3l3ctrici7y
Sat Jul 10 2010, 08:23PM
3l3ctrici7y Registered Member #1806 Joined: Sun Nov 09 2008, 04:58AM
Location: USA
Posts: 136
How badly do you have to get rid of it?
Were it me, I'd just keep it until I could find a use for it.
I hate divesting myself of such resources. I'd really try to find a way to keep it.
If you must let it go, advert on craigslist. You could start out asking money for it, and if no takers, then just offer it for free pickup.
Let me guess, you're parents don't really understand the usefulness of what you do (HV/elec) and want the eyesore gone? That sucks, sorry man.

Don't believe what the enviro-freaks tell you... about anything.
If you have some seriously ritzy manicured lawn, that may be one thing, but if not, you should be OK with incidental drips of oil on the lawn.
Even a trash bag should be a fine dropcloth.
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Arcstarter
Sat Jul 10 2010, 08:30PM
Arcstarter Registered Member #1225 Joined: Sat Jan 12 2008, 01:24AM
Location: Beaumont, Texas, USA
Posts: 2253
3l3ctrici7y wrote ...

How badly do you have to get rid of it?
Were it me, I'd just keep it until I could find a use for it.
I hate divesting myself of such resources. I'd really try to find a way to keep it.
If you must let it go, advert on craigslist. You could start out asking money for it, and if no takers, then just offer it for free pickup.
Let me guess, you're parents don't really understand the usefulness of what you do (HV/elec) and want the eyesore gone? That sucks, sorry man.

Don't believe what the enviro-freaks tell you... about anything.
If you have some seriously ritzy manicured lawn, that may be one thing, but if not, you should be OK with incidental drips of oil on the lawn.
Even a trash bag should be a fine dropcloth.
Yea, my parents think i am a typical teenager that does not know what he wants. My dad keeps cursing me about it, even though they said i could have it. It is a huge shame.

Let it go for free on craigslist? I'll pass :P.

I had some oil drop on the ground some 6 months ago, maybe a year, i don't know. The grass around my pig is still dead! I only dropped maybe a quarter cup of the oil O_O.
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dmg
Sat Jul 10 2010, 08:33PM
dmg Registered Member #2628 Joined: Fri Jan 15 2010, 12:23AM
Location:
Posts: 627
jeez... never had that happen.. but yeah.. some sheeting I think will be nice.. just in general to not have any more dead grass.. and I dont know if you do this on concrete or grass? anyway.. its nice not to have oilstains on your floor (when I was making one of my transformers, I filled it with oil indoors.. I found out the hardway why its was a bad idea.. right after tripping on that oil stain.
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radiotech
Sat Jul 10 2010, 09:35PM
radiotech Registered Member #2463 Joined: Wed Nov 11 2009, 03:49AM
Location:
Posts: 1546
DONT TAKE IT APART!

You dont know whats in the oil. If you spill it you will be required to prove it is NOT pcb contanimated , even traces.

Even after pcb oil was banned, old non-pcb units had traces. Why?
sloppy common (non pcb and pcb))facilities and tools, especially the cleaning and filtering process.

Advice: Waltz it back from whence it came.
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Arcstarter
Sat Jul 10 2010, 10:39PM
Arcstarter Registered Member #1225 Joined: Sat Jan 12 2008, 01:24AM
Location: Beaumont, Texas, USA
Posts: 2253
It states right on the side it is non-PCB, less than one ppm. There is no reason i would have to prove it anyway, unless some environmentalist decided to walk into my back yard.

I'm not letting this pig go for nothing, and i am not going to throw it away without taking the good stuff out. Not to mention, i cannot move it, because it was too heavy and it broke my dolly. And i probably pulled half of the muscles in my body picking the sucker up on the dolly.
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radiotech
Sun Jul 11 2010, 02:50AM
radiotech Registered Member #2463 Joined: Wed Nov 11 2009, 03:49AM
Location:
Posts: 1546
Have you asked other members of your household, (those who will live with any adverse consequences of the project) about the situation?
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IntraWinding
Sun Jul 11 2010, 09:01AM
IntraWinding Registered Member #2261 Joined: Mon Aug 03 2009, 01:19AM
Location: London, UK
Posts: 581
Have you tried selling it? It would be a waste to strip it down and I'm sure the cash would come in handy!
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Adam Munich
Sun Jul 11 2010, 10:06PM
Adam Munich Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242
Wish i could pick it up... frown

But seriously, just save it. You'll kick yourself in the future for destroying it.
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