Re: Photo of my mystery transformer

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Josh Adams" <knewter@xxxxxxxxx>

Well, hate to get off the topic of PCBs, but...  :)

Met the guy I got that transformer from yesterday (to pick up some 
parts from my first tesla coil - I'd let him use it for the past five 
years or so), and asked him about it.  He said it was in spare parts 
for a local weather radio that he takes care of, but that it was 
never even fired up for the weather radio.  That means it should be 
in mint condition on the inside  :)  So that's some good news...now 
if Raytheon would get back in touch with me so I can find out how 
much amperage I can put into it....

-josh

On 12/4/06, Tesla list <<mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>tesla@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Original poster: Daniel Hess <<mailto:dhess1@xxxxxxxxxx>dhess1@xxxxxxxxxx>


Jim;

Thanks for the update and education on PBCs. My info came from some
old-timers where I used to work who claim that they used to lift
equipment from tanks of the stuff. Said they used to 'have it up to
their elbows!' I wonder where they are now?

Wikipedia has become the Ebay of information. Good links! Thanks.

Daniel Hess


"Tesla list" <<mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>

12/02/2006 05:25 PM
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Re: Photo of my mystery transformer




Original poster: Jim Lux <<mailto:jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

At 02:09 PM 12/2/2006, Tesla list wrote:


Uhh. no..
PCBs (poly chlorinated biphenyls) were used in electrical equipment
because they are non-flammable and relatively inert (so they don't
breakdown with heat, age, ozone, etc.). Post WWII, where major fires
occurred from insulating oil fires after bombing raids, there was a
LOT of interest in non-flammable insulating materials (also SF6, by
the way). The problem is that there inevitably contaminants from the
mfr process, and one of those is dioxin, which is particulary
troublesome even in part-per-billion concentrations. Because the pcbs
(including dioxin) are so durable, they hang around forever, and
accumulate in fatty tissues, wreaking their havoc forever, even in
ppb concentrations).  Phenyl grops are benzene rings hanging off some
other thing (a biphenyl is two benzene rings linked together) Almost
everything with a benzene ring is persistent and toxic (benzene,
toluene, xylene) and if you halogenate it (which makes a variety of
useful things: DDT (based on toluene), 2,4,6-T, etc) it's worse...
durable molecules that don't break down that cause troubles in living
organisms.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biphenyl>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biphenyl

PCBs won't flame, nor are they oil, nor do they smoke.  And the
concern is not with a failure situation, but because they are so
longlasting, that when you'd drain a transformer and need something
to do with the leftover oil, it would get used for things like "road
oil" to keep the dust down.  Spraying a long lived toxic substance
like dioxin is a recipe for disaster.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Beach,_Missouri>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Beach,_Missouri

>I agree with the consensus of the list; keep mum and enjoy. A cool find.

Indeed.. most PCB insulated stuff has little or no carcinogen (most
PCBs are non-toxic), it's the potential for contamination that's the
risk.  And, the fact that the making of PCBs inevitably results in a
mixture of compounds, and nobody wants to do expensive analysis on
every suspected widget, so they treat them all as hazardous.









--
-josh
<http://www.purevolume.com/valign>www.purevolume.com/valign