ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Reduced voltage motor starter

Hi, I have a reduced voltage motor starter with the contacts submersed in oil.
I am trying to find oil to add/change, any ideas what oil might be in the starter ? transformer oil ?
Supply house said the oil is obsolete but they can get it in 4 oz containers at $60 bucks each, that will be very expensive
seeing I need 5 gallons.
This is an old Cutler Hammer starter you pull the arm forward to start the motor and when at speed push arm back to run.

Thanks for any help
Dave

I would contact CH at there local office for tech support
They are usually helpful
I doubt the product you posted is the only option

Take care! You don't say how old it is, but that style of starter could be very old. Early transformer oils are carciogenic. That's why those types are obsolete.

You may want to look at replacement cost to include oil that will need to be tested for carcinogens.

There's a good chance that the 'oil' is actually PCB...that price of $15 per ounce sounds suspiciously like it's for PCB fluid.
You might not be able to top it off...or even totally replace the starter without a LOT of regulatory paperwork and expense.
I agree with the others and suggest that you determine exactly what you're getting into before you get in too deep.

The last PC. Job I had (15+ yrs ago) the regs & paper trail was enormous
It was 6 mat mount old transformers w/ PCB oil
About $35k in cleanup & disposal costs

As others said, be careful
You may be able to find a rudementry PCB test kit on the web, but again... Careful !!

I just checked a job estimate for some demolition items.

It's $50k to take out (4)300kVA transformers, (2)750kVA transformers, (5) Switchgear lineups and a whole lot of other stuff.

It's a separate $4,500 just to get rid of the (1)750kVA PCB transformer.

Even I didn't realize how nutty the PCB costs have gotten.

Just an FYI...make sure you keep all the 'paper', or make copies for yourself, and provide the originals to the owner.

EPA/DEP issues after the fact can be very $$$$$$$$