Re: Aaaaaaa!! My NST is toast! Salvage tips?

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Terry Fritz" <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>

Hi Steve,

I think you have that amber stuff that has fibers in it.  I took some to 
the lab people long ago that someone sent me.  I forget all the details but 
it was some sort of epoxy polymer stuff with wood chunks in it as a cheep 
binder and filler.  I posted something about it once but probably long lost 
in the massive archives...

Bottom line is, nothing you have there at your house is going to touch 
it.  It pounds like cold chewing gum...  The lab folks had a number of 
chems for it, but nothing an amateur would want to fool with in the 
garage.  In fact the chemical to dissolve it would cost far more than a new 
NST...  Maybe just in hazarduous chem shipping charges!!!

There is a small chance in the hot place that freezing it in liquid 
nitrogen and smacking it with a hammer may "shatter it".  Then a smaller 
chance that the windings and all would survive in a reparable state...  But 
you would have to tear away all the metal and...  Gee wiz, just time for 
another NST...

There is one bright side to the fancy poly potting stuff.  It is far less 
likely to carbon track, crack, and generally fail compared to tar.  My new 
ACtown NSTs have it.  I would think it would actually be preferred as long 
as you were sure not to over volt the NST (protection circuit).  Compared 
to tar, it really is 100 times better, unless you have to remove it...

Cheers,

         Terry


At 10:43 PM 12/22/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>Thanks for the advice folks. I split the case and started beating on the 
>block inside with a hammer and chisel (actually a flat screwdriver) I 
>can't believe how strong the potting compound is. It's definitely not the 
>kind of tar you can melt in the oven. No way the windings are coming out 
>in one piece! And I'm not rewinding it either since I heard that it needs 
>12,000 turns! I think I'll just junk it and go looking for a new NST after 
>Christmas.
>
>Steve C.
>