The question of transformer oil storage life rises when the product has been in storage for certain reasons for a certain amount of time and has not been in use. It is desirable to use a product which has been paid for with minimum extra costs.
There are certain reservations in case of using transformer oil which has been in storage. These are usually related to the performance of the product in the electrical equipment: dissipation of heat and insulation of powered components. It is difficult, if at all possible, to imagine human life without electric power, while endangering power supply by using is transformer oil of poor quality is not smart.
So, let us see if transformer oil has a storage life. The simplest solution is to refer to manufacturer information. Usual transformer oil storage time is five years from the date of production. After five years, the oil product loses its performance quality. Attempts to improve the situation by using additives are futile, the additive components simply precipitate from the oil.
To use the oil within the duration of warranty, certain storage conditions must be ensured. Specifically, increased humidity and temperature fluctuations are not good for transformer oil storage. The oil product is ideally stored sealed, in the dark. If the conditions are not met, the oil may form sediment, color may change and water may enter the oil.
Transformer oil service life depends on many factors, so naming a certain figure is difficult. Literature most often limits service life of high quality transformer oil by 20-25 years.
Still, when modern oil reclamation technologies are used for the oil, the service life of electric insulation fluids can be extended.
GlobeCore is one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of mineral oil reclamation units and offers the best solutions in this area. One of such solution is the CMM-R unit, which can completely restore the performance of insulation oil. The oil for processing can be circulated directly from and to the transformer tank, which can be either offline or online.
The Fuller’s earth natural sorbent captures oil oxidation and aging products, lowering its acidity and restore dielectric strength. A certain advantage of the GlobeCore oil reclamation technology is the capability to restore the sorbent, used for fuller’s earth filtration, directly in the CMM-R unit. Reactivated Fuller’s earth can be used for continued oil reclamation. The sorbent can be reactivated approximately 300 times, which is the equivalent of 1.5-2 years of operation. This allows significant savings on sorbent disposal and reduction of time for sorbent sourcing and purchasing.
Connection of GlobeCore’s equipment to a power transformer is simple. For operator comfort, the CMM-R unit is equipped with an air conditioner and workstation with a PC.
Transformer oil lifetime extension is possible with GlobeCore!