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From Safety to Savings: A Heavy Construction Equipment Blog

If your business works with construction, you deal with a lot of heavy equipment. If you want advice on how to save money on your equipment, you should check out my posts. I plan to write about everything from hiring versus buying, to troubleshooting to reduce repairs, to handling repairs yourself. I also plan to write about other aspects of heavy machinery use such as safety. I ultimately hope that my ideas guide you toward creating a leaner, more productive, more efficient, less expensive, and more profitable business. My ideas are geared toward everyone from newbies to experts in the field of construction.

From Safety to Savings: A Heavy Construction Equipment Blog

Construction Company Need New Transformer? Different Types That Can Be Used

by Fred Gutierrez

Transformers are used to distribute power to your company. There are different types of transformers available that can be used for your construction company. Below is some more information about the different types and how they are mounted to help you understand them better.

Oil or Dry

When choosing a transformer, you have the option to choose between oil and dry. With an oil transformer, the electrical components are housed in an expansion tank with a radiator that is filled with oil. The oil is important as it both insulates and cools the materials. This transformer is compact so it does not take up a lot of room and is very reliable and durable. There are a variety of transformer fluids that can be used. What you choose should be thermally efficient, less flammable, and biodegradable. An oil transformer works great in extreme climates and environmental contaminations.

With a dry type transformers, instead of oil, air is used as the cooling medium. In most cases, dry transformers have vacuum pressure in a silicone or polyester varnish. If the transformer will be in harsh environmental conditions, choose a dry transformer that is epoxy sealed and cast in resin to make them more durable.

How They Can Be Mounted

Transformers can be mounted on a pole, pad, or ground. A pole mounted transformer is mounted on a distribution pole high enough so it cannot be accessed. In most cases, these transformers are single phase so they are not as heavy. The high voltage bushings on this type of transformer are exposed to air.

Pad mounted transformers are mounted on concrete pads. Because weight is not a concern, three-phase power is usually used. They can be used for both high and low voltage applications. They are generally contained in grounded metal housings to protect people from the high voltages of power.

Ground mounted transformers are another option. A ground mounted transformer is not pad mounted but still has exposed bushings. Because of this, the transformers have to be be installed in some kind of enclosure to protect people from high voltage. In many case, this enclosure is something as simple as chain link fencing with a locked gate.

The electrical company providing your company with the transformer will suggest the best type that you should use. They can also go over all this information with you in much more detail to help you understand them better.

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