Transformer oil has three vital roles to play in various kinds of electrical equipment; as an insulator, a coolant and an arc suppressant e.g
. in circuit breakers. However, it tends to degrade over time due to contamination by certain impurities and when this happens its function is impaired. If the insulating fluid cannot work as it is supposed to then equipment failure will be the likely result.
The impurities that degrade the oil are inherent in its use; particles such as rust, colloidal carbon and fibres, water in both free and dissolved form, sludge and gases formed from the aging fluid and other factors and oxidisation by-products. There is often cross contamination from other products as well. When such contaminants are combined they can reduce the effectiveness of the insulating fluid by up to 90%.
Renewing the oil is a costly procedure; however, the integrity of this fluid can be maintained simply by treating it with a transformer oil filter unit such as Vokes Streamline to remove the impurities. Thus the equipment it is used in can be more efficiently utilised and breakdowns prevented. A different sized insulation oil filter can be found for many different applications.
They are highly efficient filters with low maintenance needs that can be cleaned by back flushing with compressed air. These units can be either fixed or mobile and are of different sizes, so are suitable for a number of applications.
With the price of oil continually rising, over time the cost of installing a proper filtrations system will be far outweighed by the savings.