3 ms·

are uninstalled transformers even safe?

LeonB 3y ago
Provided they’re not connected to lengths of conducting material, they ought to be ok. Hard to be certain though, as transformers are more than meets the eye.
- sulam 3y ago
  Right, you have to avoid the Decepticons.
- kwhitefoot 3y ago
  > transformers are more than meets the eye. Really? Transformers are very simple electrical machines. The design process is complex but the object itself is made of mild steel for the tank and supporting frameworks, special steel for the core, copper or aluminium for the windings, paper and resin for insulation, and oil for insulation and cooling. There are a few ancillary components to do with detecting faults and switching taps and sometimes pumps to circulate the oil through radiators. Apart from the pumps, circulating oil, and tap changer, there are no moving parts. There are no compulsory electronic components in even the biggest transformers. Apart from improvements in material quality and the design process a power or distribution transformer built now is really not very different from those built a hundred years ago. In fact there are many transformers that were built fifty years ago that are still in service. Occasionally such transformers are repaired rather than replaced when they fail, quite often the original drawings are still available.
  - dwighttk 3y ago
    (It was a reference to the children’s cartoon)
  - LeonB 3y ago
    That’s a really clear response. I like the details and context you include. When I was a little kid the original tv series of “the transformers” was one of the most popular children’s shows. The theme song sang, in a sort of robotic chorus: “Transformers: more than meets the eye”. I was trying to make a subtle reference to this, as an inside joke to people the exact same age as me (or people who know the Shia LaBeouf movies, if they even use that same lyric?)
    - kwhitefoot 3y ago
      Thanks. Working in the industry for over thirty years has paid off :-) I'm much too old for the Transformers TV series, that flew straight past me I'm afraid. I was eight when the original Dr Who series started!

Provided they’re not connected to lengths of conducting material, they ought to be ok. Hard to be certain though, as transformers are more than meets the eye.

sulam 3y ago
Right, you have to avoid the Decepticons.
kwhitefoot 3y ago
> transformers are more than meets the eye. Really? Transformers are very simple electrical machines. The design process is complex but the object itself is made of mild steel for the tank and supporting frameworks, special steel for the core, copper or aluminium for the windings, paper and resin for insulation, and oil for insulation and cooling. There are a few ancillary components to do with detecting faults and switching taps and sometimes pumps to circulate the oil through radiators. Apart from the pumps, circulating oil, and tap changer, there are no moving parts. There are no compulsory electronic components in even the biggest transformers. Apart from improvements in material quality and the design process a power or distribution transformer built now is really not very different from those built a hundred years ago. In fact there are many transformers that were built fifty years ago that are still in service. Occasionally such transformers are repaired rather than replaced when they fail, quite often the original drawings are still available.
- dwighttk 3y ago
  (It was a reference to the children’s cartoon)
- LeonB 3y ago
  That’s a really clear response. I like the details and context you include. When I was a little kid the original tv series of “the transformers” was one of the most popular children’s shows. The theme song sang, in a sort of robotic chorus: “Transformers: more than meets the eye”. I was trying to make a subtle reference to this, as an inside joke to people the exact same age as me (or people who know the Shia LaBeouf movies, if they even use that same lyric?)
  - kwhitefoot 3y ago
    Thanks. Working in the industry for over thirty years has paid off :-) I'm much too old for the Transformers TV series, that flew straight past me I'm afraid. I was eight when the original Dr Who series started!