Solvent for dissolving asphalt tar?

In order of decreasing speed (i.e., fastest first): naptha paint thinner kerosene, diesel

Not all that much difference, though. Go with the cheapest.

Bob

PS acetone would be faster than any of these, but way more expensive. And just as volatile/dangerous as gas.

Umm - Spell Checker told me it was "naphtha", but I didn't believe it. Well, it's right & pronounced naf-tha or nap-tha. Learn & learn.

Bob

Hi, Jon. Are you sure it is asphalt tar? Older transformers I have worked on were potted in coal tar. Asphalt tar will cold flow and will really warm flow and make a mess when your transformer gets warm. Coal tar will not flow until it gets to a rather high temperature. It also doesn't dissolve in anything very easily. I am not sure if this makes any difference to you, but you may be able to Goggle a better solvent for coal tar.

Old radio batteries as well as older auto storage batteries used coal tar for sealing. It is also now considered a carcinogen and you can't get it anymore.

Good question, though.

Paul, KD7HB

wrote

Well, I'm not entirely too sure, but it melts at about 250F-300F, and smells like the stuff the roofers use to seal cracks with. .

Jon

So, you could empty the goo with a drip pan lined with aluminum foil and an oven that will hold 300F for twenty minutes. I have at least one tar brick in the adhesives drawer that I got that way...

I guess you are not married.

John

Use diesel and prepare to be amazed.

Coleman fuel is more volatile than gasoline.

Outside interests are a wonderful thing. Bridge Monday night, concert band Tuesday... I just have to make sure the smell is gone before she makes it home.

Stoddard solvent.

Note the word *solvent*.

That's its intended purpose.

Harold

you are doing this backwards - (are you unpotting an NST? if yes, check the tesla list archives) - put transformer in freezer (or better yet liquid N2) and get it really cold, then take it out and tap the tar with a hammer - it will just shatter like glass - get most of it off that way, then use solvent - others have suggested proper solvents

Sure no science, just age and experience. It seems that things closer together on the cracking tower dissolve or combine easier than things far apart on the tower. Diesel would be my first choice - closer to the tars and asphalts on the tower.

That works? Damn...fascinating! Thanks!

Gunner, who learns something cool everyday.

It is well to remember that there is no single compound that is "gasoline." Over the years it has changed from a totally petrolium distilate with possibly a littleTEL to a witches brew.

I also used to use gasoline to clean parts, but had some a few months ago that took skin off my hands and nearly removed some of the nails.

I don't thnk the major danger is the volitility, which based on hard starting may even be less than the old (real) "gasoline," but the (toxic?) fumes and danger to your hide.

With naptha/paint thinner/varsol you at least know what you are getting.

Unka' George [George McDuffee] ============ Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), U.S. president. Letter, 17 March 1814.

Some of us have a stove/oven in our shops for this very reason... to stay married . I've even got m' own washer/dryer in here too.

Snarl

Use the oven and he might not be....

Aviation gas... They cant screw with that too much. The last time they did was when they went to 100LL. It doesn't leave a smell after it evaporates, just a little lead and it takes the oils out o your skin.

John

I've discovered over the years that you can substitute lots of solvent ($$) for taking advantage of how the solvents work. What I mean is that when I have a thick goo I need to dissolve, I put a rag soaked in solvent on top of/around the goo, and wrap the rag in plastic or some other way to seal it up from excessive vapor loss. Go away for a little while (you'll learn how much eventually) and when you come back it's a whole lot easier to get off than before. In fact, I have a tub that has a bunch of old towels in the bottom of it. When I need to clean/strip painted items, I put parts in the tub on the towels, previously soaked in acetone or other favorite solvent, then close the tub up for awhile. Come back the next time I feel like working on it, and the paint falls off in sheets with little or no effort. Works the same way for any other stuff that can be affected by a solvent. You can work hard, or you can work smart. Me, I'm a bit lazy.