Oil filled Coils

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Nothing new. I know they have been around for over 50 years.
My 1959 Austin Healey Sprite had one.
As far I know they use the same kind of oil that was used in transformers that power companies use.
 
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The oil could be a variety of chemicals, not just some petroleum derived chemical.

Sometimes the oil in very old electronics is PCB, an extremely hazardous chemical that must be disposed of with extreme care.

Most modern cars don't use oil filled coils. They use epoxy instead.
 
The oil is all about corona suppression, it probably helps to cool the coil too, through convective cooling. But corona suppression is the big thing and the corona must be suppressed in any high-voltage coil or transformer.

Corona is a blue glow that forms around conductors at high electrical field intensity. Corona is the electrical breakdown of air. In corona the air ionizes and forms all sorts of nasty, electrically charged molecules. These nasty molecules can attack and destroy the insulation in the coil. Then the coil burns out.

If you exclude the air, the corona can't form. One old-school method is to use an oil filled coil. Newer coils are epoxy impregnated. It does the same job, excludes air and suppresses corona.
 
Straight mineral oil was traditionally used in these applications (at least since the 1960s) because it is non-conductive. I've seen it in the power supplies for X-ray generators in old lab equipment.
 
They are? Studies have shown that?

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Sometimes the oil in very old electronics is PCB, an extremely hazardous chemical that must be disposed of with extreme care.
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
They are? Studies have shown that?

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Sometimes the oil in very old electronics is PCB, an extremely hazardous chemical that must be disposed of with extreme care.


Don't need "studies" to show that. PCB's WERE used in old electronics including hospital equipment.
 
No, sorry. I meant the "extremely hazardous" part.

Originally Posted By: Zaedock
Originally Posted By: kschachn
They are? Studies have shown that?

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Sometimes the oil in very old electronics is PCB, an extremely hazardous chemical that must be disposed of with extreme care.


Don't need "studies" to show that. PCB's WERE used in old electronics including hospital equipment.
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
No, sorry. I meant the "extremely hazardous" part.



Oh, OK. Well, PCB is a carcinogen and was banned from use in the US in '79(if memory serves) There are still transformers out there (old ones!) and I'm sure other equipment that are still in use. A few years ago, we had a transformer explode at Umass Boston. The cleanup was extensive (and expensive!).
 
Every "coke can" style coil i can remember was oil filled, some of the horizontal ones leaked badly and the coils failed in a very short time.
The vertical mounted ones leaked sometimes also but didn't loose much oil and fail, under the top cap you could see they were wet with oil.
 
There is no definitive study showing that PCBs are carcinogenic.

Originally Posted By: Zaedock
Oh, OK. Well, PCB is a carcinogen and was banned from use in the US in '79(if memory serves) There are still transformers out there (old ones!) and I'm sure other equipment that are still in use. A few years ago, we had a transformer explode at Umass Boston. The cleanup was extensive (and expensive!).
 
Originally Posted By: kschachn
There is no definitive study showing that PCBs are carcinogenic.

Originally Posted By: Zaedock
Oh, OK. Well, PCB is a carcinogen and was banned from use in the US in '79(if memory serves) There are still transformers out there (old ones!) and I'm sure other equipment that are still in use. A few years ago, we had a transformer explode at Umass Boston. The cleanup was extensive (and expensive!).


http://www.carexcanada.ca/en/announcements/PCBs_IARC_upgrade/

Quote:
On the basis of sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and experimental animals, the Working Group classified PCBs as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1). The classification is based on consistent association between PCB exposure and increased risk of melanoma in humans. There is also limited evidence from some studies suggesting that exposure is linked to increased risks of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and breast cancer. Additionally, dioxin-like PCBs were also classified in Group 1 on the basis of extensive evidence of a mechanism of carcinogenesis identical to that of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (TCDD), and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals
 
As a 25 year veteran of the power industry, I was there at the end was phased out, and remediation programmes...and the dills who tried to get rid of it by mixing it with diesel
 
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