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Re: dying neons. Cook it
From: Thomas McGahee[SMTP:tom_mcgahee-at-sigmais-dot-com]
Sent: Monday, September 01, 1997 3:50 PM
To: Tesla List
Subject: Re: dying neons. Cook it
>
> From: Kevin[SMTP:wawa-at-spectra-dot-net]
> Reply To: wawa-at-spectra-dot-net
> Sent: Sunday, August 31, 1997 8:15 PM
> To: Tesla List
> Subject: dying neons
>
snip
> eventually, everything would stop and the neon would
> make a low, quietsounding buzz/hum. I didn't leave it plugged in
when I
> noticed that. I'd run it a bit longer and it'd happen again. The
neon
> also began to warm. .
snip
> any suggestions would be great
> Kevin
>
>
Kevin,
It sounds like you may have developed internal arcing within the neon
transformer. DO NOT USE IT AGAIN UNTIL IT IS REPAIRED, OR THE DAMAGE
MAY BECOME IRREPARABLE!!
Gary Weaver posted a method of repairing neons such as yours on this
list a few months ago. It involves heating the entire transformer in
an oven until the tar becomes liquid. As it liquifies it will OFTEN
(but not always) clear up problems caused by carbon tracking and
cracked tar. I am appending a copy of the original post for all those
who missed it. I do one thing that Gary did not mention in his post:
I agitate the neon by tilting it around for about twenty seconds once
the tar has melted to facilitate internal movement of the tar. BE
CAREFUL, and don't burn yourself! This method is easy to implement.
If your neon is still acting up after this attempt at fixing it, you
will have to disassemble your neon. See the Richard Quick notes in
the archives for all the gory details.
Hope this helps.
Fr. Tom McGahee
*******
Subject: Kitchen oven
Date: Thu, 01 May 1997 19:18:28 -0700
From: Gary Weaver <gweaver-at-earthlink-dot-net>
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
I have found by putting a neon transformer in the kitchen oven and
melting the tar it brings bad neons back to life. It removes
the carbon tracks that short the neons out and it removes the cracks
in
the tar.
Test #1 I put 2 Jefferson Electric neons in the oven at 300 degrees
for
3 hours. The tar melted and was a very thick liquid. I
did not remove the case or the top cover. After 3 hours the hot tar
expanced and some of it extruded out around the high
voltage insulators. There is a small amount of smoke and a tar
smell.
I let it cool for several hours then tested them both.
15K 30 ma date 6911 was shorted on 1 side and now it works as good as
new.
15K 30 ma date 8704 was shorted on 1 side and now it works as good as
new.
I connected them one at a time to my TC and tested them. I ran 6911
for
5 minutes non stop and 8704 ran for 15 minutes
non stop also.
Test #2 I put a Luminous neons in the oven at 200 degrees for 3
hours.
The tar in this neon must be different than the tar in
the Jefferesons because it melts at a lower temperature. When I
removed
the neon from the kitchen oven I could hear and feel
the liquid moving inside the case. I did not remove the case or top
cover. There is no smoke and no tar smell. I let it cool for
several hours and it tested good also.
12K 30ma date 7106 was shorted on both sides and now it works as good
as
new.
I connected it to my TC and ran it non stop for 15 minutes.
Test #3 I put a Jefferson Electric and 2 Franceformers in the oven
at
200 for 2 hours. Increased the temperature to 250 for
another hour. The tar in the Fransformers melted and I removed them
from the oven. Increased the temperature to 300 for
another hours. The tar in the Jefferson neon will not turn to
liquid.
Some of the hot tar extruded out around the high voltage
insulators on the Jefferson and is still very stiff at 300 degrees.
There is no smoke or tar smell. I let them all cool for several
hours and tested it.
15K 30 ma NO date Jefferson was shorted on 1 side and is still
shorted
on the same side.
15K 30 ma Fransformer was shorted on 1 side and now it works as good
as
new.
15K 30 ma Fransformer was shorted on 1 side and now it works as good
as
new.
I ran each Fransformer on my TC for 10 minutes each non stop and they
both are doing fine.
Looks like if the tar in a neon can be melted in the case the neon
will
come back to life again. Naturally this will not work on a
secondary coil that is fried. But it has works 5 out of 6 times on
neons that probably shorted out from carbon tracking.
Gary Weaver