Heavy Duty Transformers

A guy at my shop repairs organs and brought me in a box full of organ transformers.

Each one weighs about 5 pounds, any suggestions on how to break them down? Short of an angle grinder I'm kind of stumped.

I don't really have a place I can burn anything. Mostly working on the small stuff in my condo garage, and breaking down bigger stuff in my 'warehouse' heh.

I'm going to take it to my bandsaw over at my dad's workshop this weekend. I'm guessing it should cut right through that sandwiched steel.

I just did a big one. Should've taken pictures, I apologize. I used a sawzall and collected 45lbs of copper. The ba$tards only paid me #2 price.

Originally Posted by miked

Try using a sharp wood chisel to cut the copper windings. Then push/pull them from around the steel. No need to cut the steel part if you take your time. Best of luck, Mike.

That defeats the purpose. I try to do things as fast as I can with the highest return.

Sawzall Vs Grinder Vs Chisel Vs Air Chisel.

OK. Computer UPS's have large transformers. I am getting many of these and some are quite large. I have been reading and searching and trying different things. I thought I would share.

Wire Cutter
Someone once said, just use a wire cutter and snip away. - Nope, no way.

Chisel
Then I read to use a sharp chisel. Maybe mine isn't sharp enough, maybe my transformers are to large with larger wires, but this worked if you don't have anything else to use. This takes a lot of pounding and a lot of time. Not the best way but it works.

Air Chisel
Again, very loud and messy and takes time. Maybe my chisel bit isn't sharp enough. I keep sharpening it, but it keeps dulling out. Again, I am working with large transformers. Works better then a hand chisel.

Hand Grinder with cutoff disks
I just got one in the mail last night. $30 harbor freight 4.5" heavy duty with metal cutoff disks. Finally broke down and purchased one. I was disappointed with how it works. I was able to cut through about 1/3 of the coil, turn the transformer 180' and cut another 1/3 the way through, but then i had to do cuts from the top to remove material to make room to complete the cut. I ended up with little wedges of copper wire and it took several passes to get the job done. Lots of copper dust and mess.

Sawzall - Winner- hands down.
$30 craftsman sawzall. I purchased a combo set of blades and used the metal ones for this task. This is a little intimidating at first, but for people experienced with a sawzall it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure it's up to speed before you engage the coil. Also make sure the base of the sawzall is pressed as firmly as you can get it against the transformer to save on jumping around. Don't force the blade, maybe rock it up and down to get through the coil faster. This will cut the coil cap off in one pass and under a minute. It will leave copper dust, but not as much as the grinder.

Procedure.

I have done about 10 transformers so far. Most of them larger then fist size. I'm scared of the one I have on the floor... it's around 100 lbs. Can you see the quarter on this beast?

<img src="http://usera.ImageCave.com/snsweigel/MuchWork.JPG">

For ones that fit, clamp the metal core into your bench vice very tightly. I do this in the same orientation as the example pic.

Using a sawzall cut through one side of the coil along the iron core as close as you can get without hitting the core and dulling your blade. Try to get it off in one pass.

Unclamp the transformer and straddle it over something solid (remaining coil down). Make sure the coil isn't against anything and will be free to move. In other words, when you straddle the transformer make sure the core is on your blocks (or vice jaws or other transformers) and the coil isn't touching anything. Use a large punch (I found a nice square one on a rummage sale) and a hammer to drive the coil out of the core. Move one side a little then the other side a little and then the first side. If you try to get one side out all at once you will bind up the other side.

You can either knock the entire core out this way or just move it a bit. after I move it a bit I flip it over and clamp it back in the vice. I should be able then to get a large screwdriver or prybar under the coils and pry them out all at once.

Clean them up and into the #2 bucket they go.

A transformer like the size the OP has in the pic would take under 5 minutes.

Practice, practice, practice.

<img src="http://usera.ImageCave.com/snsweigel/transformer.jpg">

That's exactly how I do it. Works great. Had a bunch I was gonna turn in as is but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Decided to put some more thought into it. Very nice diagram.