RE: FW: Unpotting a France 12/30 Thanks all

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Jim Mora" <jmora@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Hello,

Well the project was so messy I removed the tranny from the case. There was
a small leak in my bath which made thing worse. Today I found the perfect
sized small rectangular PE trash can. I had a 1/2 gal of gas that has turned
lacquer over the winter which I mixed about half an half with diesel which
should raise the viscosity of the DF and lower the flash point of the gas.
Extreme caution will still be used. Weather is in the 60's and freezing at
night.

A few learned issues:

* The HV bushes come off a France with a quarter twist.
* The tar is reusable for small roof repair (green).
* the bushings are connected with maybe #26 stranded.
* after finish up and testing, I may just encase the trans in clear epoxy or
immerse it in mineral oil.
* check for leaks Before adding the solvent!

Thanks for all the help,
It should be ready in a couple of days. Ill report back.

Jim Mora

-----Original Message-----
From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla@xxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 2:33 PM
To: tesla@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: FW: Unpotting a France 12/30

Original poster: "resonance" <resonance@xxxxxxxxxxxx>



As Bart mentioned, gasoline works great but it
has a tremendous flash danger.  I would strongly
recommend seeking out a service station that has
kerosine and getting a gal of that instead of gasoline.

When I was younger, on a hot day, I had poured
gasoline on a small pile of derbris.  I stood
back a distance of approx 10 ft, a distance I
thought was safe.  I threw a match at the debris
pile and the invisible vapors, within 30 seconds,
had worked out to within a ft of where I was
standing.  It flashed out in all directions from
the derbris pile almost 9 feet scaring the H out
of me.  I never had a clear understanding of just
how dangerous gasoline was until this event.  It
was a true fuel-air explosion! Didn't burn me,
but knocked me to the ground.  Never again as
they say.   Any ignition point, light switch,
static electricity, etc, within 10 feet of gas vapors may seriously burn
you.

Please consider using kerosine for safety.

Dr. Resonance



Original poster: "Barton B. Anderson" <bartb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Hi Jim,

I would recommend removing the tranny from the
case. You'll likely do more damage trying to
remove shunts with it in the case than simply
lifting the transformer out of the case. I don't
know what the big deal is? I wouldn't drill the
case. That is unnecessary. Desolder the two GTO
cables and the core to case wire and lift the
tranny out of the case. It's much easier to clean
and remove shunts on a workbench. After you
remove the shunts, you will want to add in a
spacer to keep the shunts nice and tight. Then
plop it back down in the case and resolder the
wire connections. I recommend keeping half the
shunts in (just count them). Your already 80% of
the way completed. The real task ass removing the
tar and you've already jumped that hurdle.
Removal and installation of the tranny is the easy part.

I used gasoline myself (excellent for cleaning,
but remember, it is gasoline). My father was a
mechanic, so I was bathed in gasoline every day.
That's how we cleaned everything. I have noticed
that my hands are far more sensitive to gasoline
than they use to be. So, I try to keep my hands
out of it as much as possible and let hand tools
(brushes, etc.) do the work. If you do use
gasoline, keep in mind that sparks are a bad
idea, so don't get crazy with metal to metal
friction. Use a nylon brush designed for this
type of solvent. It's sold in most autoparts
stores (looks like a supersized paint brush with much thicker bristles).

Take care,
Bart

Tesla list wrote:

>Original poster: "Jim Mora" <jmora@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>Hello List,
>
>I searched the archives and read Richard Quick's
>methods. Generally he did not recommend trying
>to unpot a neon in the case as the transformer
>is not attached to it and the wires get broken.
>Hmm, I easily chipped off the asphalt off the
>top of the transformer. Then I took an 8" C
>clamp and thread side up clamped the transformer
>in place. This makes for a handy handle. I then
>fired up the barbeque. I had to set it in the
>lava stone to close the cover. In the time it
>takes to slow cook a thick steak, I had all the
>asphalt melted and drained out, no wires
>disturbed. It is now marinating in Diesel fuel.
>The trick will be to remove some shunts while in
>the case, mayhap I will have to drill a couple
>of holes through the side and then plug them???
>
>Regards,
>Jim Mora
>
>
>----------
>From: Jim Mora [mailto:jmora@xxxxxxxxxxx]
>Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 6:43 PM
>To: 'Tesla list'
>Subject: Unpotting a France 12/30
>
>Hello,
>
>I have a couple of France 12/30's. I want to
>un-pot one of them (some of the tar is cracked
>and likely leaky) and remove a few shunts to
>make a cap charger with a 5x multiplier. A newer
>15/60 works just fine with some serious humming-
>fast and weighs three times the France! I am
>wondering if I can keep the France in the
>original tank and carefully heat it in a gas
>powered BBQ. Ideally, I would like to pour
>molten tar out and soak the tranny in diesel, or
>gasoline to dissolve the rest. I guess I will
>have to remove the core to knock out some shunts
>and hopefully be able to reconnect the HV bushings.
>
>If I can leave it in the original tank, I would
>melt some paraffin and Vaseline together and
>repot it in that. Hopefully I can squeeze 40 or
>50 ma out of it and current limit the cap input
>which would likely be just right. I know this is
>a well covered thread; but, has anyone
>successfully done this using a similar method? I
>would be open to mineral oil which probably
>sinks away the heat better, but the on time
>should be no more than a couple minutes.
>
>Thanks Much,
>Jim Mora
>
>
>