Oils and lubricants are vital commodities that have many applications across the globe. They are used to produce energy that is required in various locomotives like cars, SUVs, motorcycles, buses, trains, trailers, among others. Lubricants are used in all kinds of machines and locomotives to provide the required lubrication for easy movement. There are various categories of oils and lubricants you need to be aware of. They include motorcycle oils, diesel engine oils, petrol or gasoline engine oils, gear oils, automatic transmission fluids, base oils, mining lubricants, marine lubricants, greases, turbine oils, hydraulic oils, compressor oils, transformer oil, among others. There are various companies that specialize in the production and marketing of lubricants and oils. It is vital that your oils or lubricants from an oil company that has experience and qualified tribologists. In this article, you are going to learn more about transformer oil. Below are vital aspects of transformer oil.
Transformer oil is also known as insulating oil and it has the best electrical insulating properties. You also need to know that transformer oils are stable at temperatures that are high. The oil is various devices like capacitors of high voltage, fluorescent lamp ballasts, circuit breakers, high voltage switches, oil-filled transformers, among others. You also need to know that transformer oil has various functions that include, insulation function, as a coolant in various places by dissipating heat, for arcing stoppage, to suppress corona discharge, among others. The oil is known for its various electrical, chemical, and physical properties.
You also need to know that transformer oils are vital in the preservation of the windings and core of a transformer. The core and windings are wholly immersed inside transformer oil. You also need to know that transformer oils are great anti-oxidants. They prevent oxidation of cellulose by acting as a barrier between the cellulose and atmospheric oxygen.
It is also vital for you to be aware of the fact that transformer oil is measured with a Magnetic Oil Level Gauge simply known as a MOG. Transformers use two types of transformer oils that include naphtha based transformer oil and paraffin-based transformer oils. Paraffin transformer oil is the one that is widely used across the globe because it is available in plenty. One of the major differences between naphtha oils and paraffin transformer oil is that naphtha is easily oxidized but the paraffin oxidation rate is lower. The other distinguishing factor is that naphtha oils produce a sludge that is more soluble than the sludge that is produced by paraffin oils. Sludge is the solid produced during oxidation. Therefore, if you are using paraffin-based transformer oil, the insoluble sludge produced is precipitated at the bottom of your transformer tank. You should also be aware of the fact that the sludge at the bottom of the tank obstructs the circulation of the transformer oils and this acts as an obstruction to your transformer cooling system. You also need to know that paraffin transformer oils have waxes that are dissolved in the oil and it can result in a higher pour point.