High voltage arrester/insulator.

Felt like breaking stuff today, so I am tackling my pile of HV arrestors.



On the ends is a nut, usually stainless. This one wasn't then a stainless wire clamp, holding a nice chunk of copper.




The next nut is usually a nice hunk of yellow brass.



The other end has a plastic cap that just pops off. Then a stainless nut (usually) another clamp, an hopefully another chunk of copper.



The fun part: whack with BFH. Wear safety glasses obviously, and a breathing mask. Last time I busted up a bunch of porcelain I had a bloody nose for 2 hours.




Inside is AL or steel Tubes, a spring, maybe ceramic or lead stuff, some AL, stainless, or tin disks and if you are lucky some brass contacts and a little bag like you find in your bag of beef jerky.











If someone who knows more about these could chime in, id like to know if those big disks inside are lead.
Idk if I'm making any money breaking these down, some days it's just fun to break stuff.

Just thought somebody out there might be curious as to what's inside the stuff you see hanging off the power poles.

In the last picture check those contacts they may be silver or at least silver/tungsten alloy. Nice breakdown.

Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

In the last picture check those contacts they may be silver or at least silver/tungsten alloy. Nice breakdown.

Ok thanks for the heads up BC. Should I just file them or cut into a little?

Originally Posted by pjost

Ok thanks for the heads up BC. Should I just file them or cut into a little?

Contacts are usually brazed on so heating them up would be the way I do it. How big are they compared to the size of a quarter. They also may be coin silver which is around 90% silver. If torching them off please do outdoors as the fumes can possibly be toxic.

Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

Contacts are usually brazed on so heating them up would be the way I do it. How big are they compared to the size of a quarter. They also may be coin silver which is around 90% silver. If torching them off please do outdoors as the fumes can possibly be toxic.

They are about 1.5 inches. They aren't attached or brazed on to anything. They just fall out when you bust the porcilin.

The contact will be on the raised nub.

Can the insides be removed without breaking the ceramic, the reason is ask is the ceramic insulators look like they would make some cool looking lamps that you could possibly sell.

Originally Posted by brandon

Can the insides be removed without breaking the ceramic, the reason is ask is the ceramic insulators look like they would make some cool looking lamps that you could possibly sell.

Possibly. I found a ceramic collectors web site tho. Looks like older glass insulators could be worth some money.

I can't get a good read on the markings. but see if any match up to these
http://www.epcos.com/epcos-en/389324...urge-arresters

if you haven't filed the inside metal yet it might be copper by looking at these sheets. just a hunch

Originally Posted by NHscrapman

I can't get a good read on the markings. but see if any match up to these
EPCOS - Surge Arresters - Material Data Sheets - Environmental Protection - Company - Home

if you haven't filed the inside metal yet it might be copper by looking at these sheets. just a hunch

Thanks for that link NH Scrapman! That is awesome! I knew you guys would come through for me

Edit:
I see the problem. I was googling: "arc arrestors" instead of "surge arrestors"
Thanks again.

The "lead" part is called a metal oxide varistor. there is no standard but looks like mostly zinc oxide from what i can tell. manufacturer and time of build will get you more info if you want to dig

Sweet pics... thanks for the info.

The contact should be the raised part on the bar. Look for the burn marks. Thats the contact. The buss bar may be copper or brass.

Originally Posted by pjost

The fun part: whack with BFH. Wear safety glasses obviously, and a breathing mask. Last time I busted up a bunch of porcelain I had a bloody nose for 2 hours.

One thing you might want to think of to alleviate this issue is to put the "whackable" item in a paper feed sack (horse feed, etc), then whack it. I do that, then pour the whacked contents out in a pan and separate it. That way I do not have to go chasing after chips and the residue is easy to dispose of.

I forgot to add, feed sacks are usually triple layered, so they do not tear easily