I have 3 transformers that have been removed from use in a commercial building. I opened one up and it looks to be tightly wound aluminum or coated copper. The problem is the wire is tightly wound and coated in some sort of plastic. Is it worth the work to junk these ? Is there a specific way to do it ?
They look basically like this and are in a few different sizes.
"PCB production was banned in the 1970s due to the high toxicity of most PCB congeners and mixtures. PCBs are classified as persistent organic pollutants which bioaccumulate in animals." - From wikipedia
The building was built in like 1988 so I am doubting that they used PCB's. These are fairly new transformers.
I'm pretty sure HCBTT is correct. That case looks like it is filed with an oily substance containing Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls used to cool the transformer. Very nasty and toxic! You could talk to your local electric company and ask how they dispose of it. You might have a hazardous waste disposal team attached to your local civic government, they may be of some help. I'd bet the windings are Cu, but be careful how you drain and clean it before stripping the wire out.
That lokks like a dry transformer. If it is, Pull the case apart, put on a safety shield and beat the rock like garbage off with a hammer. Saw one side of the coil off and drive what remains out the opposite side with a hammer and punch. Should be around 15% copper by weight. One pile of work for what you get. Or just haul to a recycler and sell as motor sort.
Stripping Transformers
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Posted - 09/28/2008 : 12:26:08
