Arc welder cooling oil.

Good morning all. I am looking out for about 20 litres of oil suitable for a small,oil cooled arc welder.I am in N.Yorkshire. Thanks.

Is Brighouse, West Yorkshire near enough ? Millers Oils list transformer oil **LINK**

Nigel B

Is Pickhill Batam still on the go at Pickhill Nr thirsk ? If they are they would have oil for their welders. Its transformer oil and I'm sure some one up in Teeside will have it. Ever thought of contacting the supply companies men who change transformer oil, they might have 5 gallons going spare. John

Yes,it,s just transformer oil,so any good oil distributor should have it. I had to replace mine last year and got a supply from a local firm who supply oils to local farms and plant operators ect. Not cheap,but you dont have to do it too often.

ebay item 122919447525

Is there an H&S problem with "Old transformer oil" ?

Yes,it,s just transformer oil,so any good oil distributor should have it. I had to replace mine last year and got a supply from a local firm who supply oils to local farms and plant operators ect. Not cheap,but you dont have to do it too often.

If the welder is older than 1979, and hasn't had an oil change, it may contain the old PCB containing transformer oil which was banned as toxic from that time.

Ian S C

In my case,I had spilled most of the oil while transporting the welder [it tipped over,you should have seen my van ! ],so I had to replace it anyway.

But you ask is there a problem with old oil ? Well I worked for many years for a firm who made transformers,from 3KVA to 10MVA and when some of the smaller ones [5 to 15 KVA ]came back for repair,having been hit by lightning,the coils would be burned to pulp and the oil like tar,and the smell of it !!.

So I would say, yes, there may be a problem with old oil,although I doubt if your welder is likely to be hit by lightning.

Perhaps the other mans oil level was just low,or dirty.

Is there a problem with 'old transformer oil' ?

Just a bit.

Like if you do not know what it is.

IF it is PCB ( how will you know ?) then truly you will not be doing mankind a favour by throwing it on the ground.

One day it will reach the water table and the results can be dire.

Equally, if you don't wear protective gear ,breathing it, or getting it on your skin is not good news.

Just look up Seveso for what it can do.

Yes, Ian SC and J Hancock have put their finger on it. Polychlorinated biphenyls were another clever idea from back then. Seemed like a good idea at the time - being halogenated, they are non flammable, so ideal for electrical equipment - what could possibly go wrong? Seems there are quite a few PCB containing products still out there....

Murray

Surely Seveso involved dioxin which is quite different and much more immediately unpleasant?

When I recall the amount of transformer oil I handled,I suppose I,m lucky I never picked up anything from it. We were never made aware of any danger.

Hi Gents, as far as I know, PCB containing oils were only used on larger distribution / HV transformers due to cost.

It also has a higher gelling point, so is quite viscous at low temperatures.

You could also be offered switch oil, a similar compound but with some detergent action to remove the arc products from switch operation. This should also be suitable for a welding transformer.

Ed

Having had a lifetime working in commercial liability insurance, with a lot of US toxic waste dumps and 1,317 of the nastiest dumps on the Superfund list involved; whilst I am not condoning spilling the contents of a welder, it is small beer compared to all the other polluting issues that the 7.6 billion of us on the planet are collectively creating!

Thank you for the replies.Its proving to be a bit elusive and expensive to source ,but a local nut n bolt supplier can get me some reclaimed transformer oil,so will probably order from them. I will wait a week or so , just in case I find a better offer. Cheers.

No idea how it compares in price but curiosity caused me to check ebay and there's a seller doing 1/2 and 1L bottles **LINK**

pgk

Jonathan, nothing wrong with reclaimed oil, it just needs to be free of water, and ruin through a filter to get rid of any gunk.

Ian S C

Hi Gents, I also have a "steel tank on wheels" arc welder. It is a good piece of equipment, but if "heaved about" will slop oil from under the top cover. It has a breather on the top, but no apparent gasket between the top and sides.

Should one be fitted here?

Thanks, Ed

Ed , mine has a cork gasket . I reckon any oil tank will need a gasket on metal mating surfaces. I will report back when I am sorted with the oil,probably in a couple of weeks.Prices seem to be anywhere between about £60 reclaimed, to £120 new.

Hi Jonathan, exactly my thoughts, but no sign of one on mine. I have some cork, so I'll add it to the jobs list.

Cheers,

Ed