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I have a chance to buy some of these. They are the large transformers that are on power poles. Some weight around 500 pounds. Does anyone know what the copper recovery percentage is? I have also heard that there could be harmful oil or chem in the body.
Thanks for your help
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There was recently an episode on the Discovery channel on how transformers are made. I don't think there are any PCBs, the weight is mostly steel and mineral oil. They use quite a bit of aluminum sheet and copper which is bound with adhesive so it may be quite a job separating it. Anyway I think you will find this very usefull.
Here's an attempt at putting in the video.http://science.discovery.com/videos/...nsformers.html
^i was just about to post this^
i would imagine you could get away with paying a bit less than motor price, due to the oil its filled with
Older ones have pcbs and if you aren't licensed to dispose of them its a huge fine...some have also been rewound with aluminum. If they have pcbs they are considered hazardous waste.
I have read that the PCB filled transformers are usually painted black or a very dark grey. The normal light grey ones you see should be filled with mineral oil.
They also say that right on the tag, NON PCB.