Re: Neon life (and death)

To: "'Tesla List'" <tesla-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com>
Subject: Re: Neon life (and death)
From: Tesla List <tesla-at-stic-dot-net>
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 1997 00:26:11 -0600
Approved: tesla-at-stic-dot-net

From: 	Adam[SMTP:absmith-at-tiac-dot-net]
Sent: 	Friday, October 31, 1997 9:55 AM
To: 	Tesla List
Subject: 	Re: Neon life (and death)

>Is your hot oven method suitable for removing the tar altogether? One
>subscriber suggested immersing the windings in mineral oil to protect
>against corona-induced failure.  But first, the tar has got to come
>out.  What is the most efficient way to remove it?

I removed the potting from a few neons by putting the transformer in my 
freezer overnight, and just splitting and prying the block off in the 
morning with hammer and screwdriver.  The first time you do it, you just 
have to be careful not to chisel into the transformer itself, to avoid 
damaging the fine secondary windings.  It may also help if you run the 
transformer for a hour or so just before splitting it, so that the wax 
just around the transformer softens, allowing it to separate more easily.

Then, you can clean the unit with kerosene to get off the remaining 
'gunk', and assess the unit's damage.  If the secondary is not broken, 
you can try repotting the transformer in parafin, and an even better 
solution is to put it in a container under transformer or mineral oil.  
You can use a 6" PVC tube and some ceramic insulators to make your own 
"mini-pig".  That's what I did.  I also removed a few layers of the 
shunting chunks to make the restored units give %120- you can actually 
gain a bit of performance from this treatment, just don't get TOO greedy 
and cook the thing... :-)

-Adam

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adam Smith
absmith-at-tiac-dot-net
Epoch, Inc. Digital Music Project

www.tiac-dot-net/users/absmith/     Now with MP3!     Musik. Macht. Macintosh.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------