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Re: Unpotting my Neon (started today)
From: mikey1[SMTP:mikey1-at-gladstone.uoregon.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 1997 12:00 PM
To: Tesla List
Subject: Re: Unpotting my Neon (started today)
Tesla List wrote:
>
> From: Adam[SMTP:absmith-at-tiac-dot-net]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 1997 11:24 PM
> To: tesla list
> Subject: Unpotting my Neon (started today) WITH SNIPPAGE
>
> Today, I dealt with the messiest part of coiling- unpotting a neon sign
> transformer. I have done this 3 times before, but every one is
> different, and it's always messy. I did learn a few things with this one
> however, read on...
I start by building a three foot by three foot cardboard container, with
sides about 5 inches or so high,
and a plyboard scrap in the bottom, to contain the mess. Go buy a pair
of those five dollar black solvent
gloves, as tar is hard to wash off. The gloves also come in very hany
when soaking the mostly unpotted
Xfmrs in gasoline (oh yeah, NEVER use gasoline as a solvent; it is very
dangerous!).
>
> I started by freezing the neon overnight, and chiseling off the frozen
> tar. This did not work very well (never has for me), and I damaged one
> of the secondary windings after finding the transformer. I was about 300
> or so strokes into it at this time. So, I decided to try something new.
> I got an aluminum baking pan, the disposable kind, and put the block in
> it. Then, I put this directly onto a portable hotplate, outdoors.
This seems backwards from the way I do it. The idea is to heat up the
tar _nearest_ to the core,
to help lift and seperate it away in manageable chunks. After freezing,
apply voltage to the primary (120)
leads with the secondary leads shorted to warm the core.
> Well,
> it smoked like a small factory, and caught fire twice, but overall the
> effect was good- the core got hot and the tar melted and was easy to just
> "spoon" off the core and windings. In future, I will probably leave the
> block of tar in the original transformer case, heat it on a hotplate, and
> attempt to pour the liquid tar out. The melted tar will not just run out
> like water, but it is a free flowing liquid nonetheless.
Asphalt has a very narrow window between its melting and flash points.
Temperature regulation would
be a _must_ with this technique!
> Next, I tried d-Limonene (a lemon oil extract).
> Too my surprise, when I put the cores in d-Limonene, the tar just floated
> off!!! Amazing! This is definitely _THE_ solvent for this stuff.
Thanks for the tip; a very safe solvent!!
Mike Rusher
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