Any easy way to delaminate a big transformer

Looks like you have paid attention to building a net worth* and what income it will generate. It's true a million dollars ain't what it used to be. But, if you follow the 4% rule and add in a husband and wife's SS, you're looking at $75,000 a year. For me that's more than comfortable. Less than 5% of the population has a net worth over $1.4 Million. Interestingly, 50% of the population has a net worth of under $57,000.

Here is an article showing what has happened to wealth in the last 10 years. It has a chart of wealth of American households.

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Here's where I started to get that pdf.

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Mikek

  • net worth calculated as, the total value of all financial and real assets minus debts.
Reply to
amdx
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Good move.

In their dreams.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

A 12" long bimetal saw cutting copper wires? Piece of cake.

Ten to one you'll spend more time and effort doing it that way, Ig. Resting the Bobcat's hammer on the xfmr to hold it down while you pry the wire out might be a good method, though.

Piles of clean copper and clean iron to recycle.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Larry Jaques fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Piles of relatively clean iron, and piles of copper mixed with volumes of mylar, paper, varnish, and wooden wedges.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

OK, how do they pull apart such transformers at scrap yards that specialize in dismantling them?

Lloyd, now, if this transformed was heated in an oven to burn off the varnish, then it would all separate, right?

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Reply to
Ignoramus12347

In other words, you're not pretending to be stupid.

Reply to
PrecisionmachinisT

Ignoramus12347 fired this volley in news:scydnU-ece651EjOnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Not really. If they are interleaved, every lam would be fastened to the next by a layer of carbonized varnish. The whole purpose of vacuum varnishing is to ensure that it penetrates every gap (even between the laminations) of every part.

Partly, it's for the insulation qualities of the varnish, and partly for mechanical integrity. After vacuum-potting, they bake out the whole unit until the varnish cures. They generally use a varnish known generically as "Hi-solids", although there is (was, anyway) a commercial product called "Hi-sol" varnish specifically for the purpose.

I'm pretty sure, when a scrap yard wishes to "pull apart" a transformer, they end up cutting something -- either the coils (easy) or the core (not so), unless they're gapped-core units. You can easily tell. Just look at one end of the "I" pieces. If they're ALL together in a single stack, and all the "E" pieces are together in a single stack, then it comes apart easily. If not, you cut.

It's really not as big a task as you're making it out to be. You can cut the coils out of those in an hour. You could have cut them and had them out in the time it's taken to ask these questions.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Copper is sticky/gummy stuff to cut with a saw. Miners used to use chisels to cut float copper into pieces small enough to handle. I would try an air hammer (like they use for muffler removal) with a reasonably sharp bit in it (shrug).

Reply to
Leon Fisk

Iggy, I'm not sure you need to de-laminate the iron to remove the copper. if you just cut through the windings flush with iron on both sides, then you can use your press to push out the center section. This video shows what I mean, from about 2 minutes to 2:45. I can't tell exactly how your transformers are built but I suspect similar.

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But wait, this one is a little better,
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See 1 minute 48 seconds to 2 minute 20 seconds. I don't see any reason to disassemble the iron laminations. Mikek

Reply to
amdx

amdx fired this volley in news:lr3puf$pi3$1@dont- email.me:

I keep telling him that, Mike. I've disassembled several dozens of those in my life. Again, not to be scrapped, but to be re-built.

There was a time when labor was cheaper than materials.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

And here is a better video showing chopping and knocking out the windings.

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Mikek

Reply to
amdx

The two transformers I have are

1) Big 2) There is no gap between windings and the iron core.

It is hard to get a sawzall blade in to get some travel of the blade when cutting. Here's a more detailed picture of the 3 phase transformer.

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Reply to
Ignoramus12347

The copper bars you see sticking out, are 2 inch wide.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus12347

Ignoramus12347 fired this volley in news:ou6dnTRmPIcbP0jOnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

No, Ig... there should be no gap between the windings and the core.

A "gapped" core is where the "I" piece and the "E" pieces are separate, rather than interleaved. Sometimes, they're even spaced apart a bit ('gapped') to lower the DC saturability of the core.

You saw the windings off flush to the SIDES of the core. You'll end up with two fairly flat u-shaped pieces, and a chunk stuck in each opening in the core.

You saw flush to the sides, Ig. Basically face-off the sides of the core, and you'll have a whole core, and winding chunks left.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Ignoramus12347 fired this volley in news:ou6dnTdmPIcnP0jOnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

You didn't show me anything in those pictures that I didn't already surmise from the first one you showed us.

You're just not getting it. You don't need to insert the saw blade 'between' anything. Just cut off the parts of the coils that are sticking out past the iron of the core. You might even get away with only doing one side.

Use an axe, if that's what you have; circular saw; sawzall; copper-hungry rats... anything that will cut off the exposed parts of the coils.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Way back when I was an apprentice boy I realized that while the "Old Sweats", when they got a drawing, would sometimes wander around the shop talking with their mates, "What do you think of this one?" and after a bunch of discussion they'd get a piece of stock and make the damned thing. The young lads were embarrassed to ask and sometimes spent a day or so whittling away at something and then having to throw the half done project in the junk pile because it couldn't be finishes

- no way to hold it in the machine.

I decided that I'd do the same as the old guys and discovered that one can be amazingly smart when one accesses the minds of five or six other guys :-)

Reply to
slocombjb

Lloyd is right, just cut the copper flush with the front. The videos I posted show it pretty clear. I would use the method shown and only cut one side. That will save the labor to cut both sides. Then use a block on both cut windings and press out the windings.

Here are the videos showing the method.

And here is a video showing chopping and knocking out the windings.

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Mikek

Reply to
amdx

A wide blade in an air chisel. Less copper dust that way. I've scrapped some big transformers with a wide wood chisel and a hammer. :)

Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

Been there and I wish I had done that back then, too.

Reply to
mogulah

Gunner Asch fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Ummm.... this ain't 'magnet wire', guys. The connector tabs are 2" wide by about 1/2" thick solid copper. In the water cooled units, some of the secondary 'wire' is thickwalled copper tubing as much as 1" diameter for the water cooling, and any that's not is probably square-section 'wire' at least 5/8" on a side.

I'm guessing it would take a real man of an air chisel to work through some of that stuff. Having done it before, that's why I suggested a saw.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

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