Neon sign repair question, should I decommission one to save another?

[Fordiesel69]

So I picked up a seagrams coolers sign with a broken outer tube. I can fix for it for 50 bucks by driving 1.5 hrs each direction and get a new tube made from scratch. It would be a touch more for them to bend it out of blue tube so the sign would be a red, white, and blue. While great that I'd be saving a vintage 1980s sign from the trash bin I was wondering if I should harvest the transformer off it to make my amstel light sign work again, or my miller lite beer sign work again as both have kaput transformers. Here are some internet photos of them below. What would you do?

 

[Fordiesel69]

Seagrams and amstel have 9k transformer and the miller light has a 7.5k but I have seen some ship with 9k so I don't think it would be too oversized.

 

[Tdbo]

I'd probably fix it and try to flip it.
If not, add it to the collection.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

My brother use to take the transformers off those and make a jacobs ladder.
Like on the Frankenstein movies.

Two brazing rods in a 'V' shape mounted on a piece of plywood.
Attach each transformer wire to bottom of brazing rods.
Plug in and pretend you're a mad scientist.

The arc starts at the bottom and feeds up the 'V' shape.
Disappears and it starts all over again.

My brothers and I were a product of the 60's.

 

[berniedd]

Why not buy 2 suitable working transformers from ebay? That way, you'd have 3 working neon signs

 

[hrv]

As a kid I would go to local bars and delis and get neon beer sighs...I loved collecting them...My favorite were Blatz ..Budwieser...POC...Carling...Fallstaff..Shaeffer...Iron City...among others...Wish I still had them...

 

[Fordiesel69]

Why not buy 2 suitable working transformers from ebay? That way, you'd have 3 working neon signs

Several reasons. The cheap NeonPro or like brand powers supplies are not heavy, so the sign will not sit on a shelf. They also do not mount the same, and are not cheap. A neon sign unless very rare has a street value of $125 to $225 on the high end. No doubt you see them for $400+ but not the ones I have.

To buy a used heavy brick transformer, is a real gamble. Its easier to buy a busted sign.

 

[mk378]

You could cut the wires leave the dead brick in place and wire a new little transformer on top of it. Also if you have several signs they can be wired in series to one transformer to light them all up.