Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> At 09:40 PM 2/11/2006, Tesla list wrote:
Original poster: "miles waldron" <mileswaldron@xxxxxxxxxxx> Dear All, My friend has recently found an old 5KVA distribution transformer. It says: WAGNER TRANSFORMER TYPE: HEB SPEC E370-F51G8 FORM: 39CNX 60 CYCLES 2.3 AMPS NO. K6G7676 We can understand the wiring diagram, and the transformer works. But we are concerned that the oil contains PCBs. The liquid floats on water. The oil is light yellow and non viscous and splashes around quite easily.
Sounds like oil. Does it burn? (Put a bit on some paper and light it on fire) PCBs were used becuase they're non-flammable.
Question: Can we replace this oil with newer oil, or just don't care and make sure it doesn't leak, or make our own Hudson River like General Electric?
All of the above. The risk is not so much that the thing is FULL of PCBs, but that it was sometime in the past, and was then drained and refilled with oil, and the oil is contaminated with a few ppm of PCBs.
Any advice is greatly appreciated! Miles