ace86
Member
- Location
- Philadelphia, PA
Hello all,
First, I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and express my appreciation for this site. I have been a lurker for quite a while, and I have found that most of the questions here are answered in a professional manner and provide a technical answer and/or the appropriate links. For that you have my thanks; this site has helped me immensely in my previous job.
My qualifications are as follows, I was employed for the last 4 years designing control systems and panels for industrial installations and, recently, became employed at a college as the lab manager for the power distribution and high voltage lab.
On to my question, I was hoping that one of the older forum members may recognize this piece of equipment. I have uploaded two pictures of the rectifier for reference. The overall height is approximately 5' (bottom to top of insulator), the width is 3', and the insulators are about 2' tall. When knocking on the side of the tank, it sounds hollow, with a slightly deader sound at the base. Unfortunately, there is no visible data tag or manufacturer name. The input voltage (to the best of my knowledge) is either 150kV or 300kV. The equipment has likely been in place since, at least, 1970 (based on the oil cans for the HV transformers). The HV transformers were run approximately 1 year ago.
After doing some research, I believe that it may be an iron tank mercury valve; but I would like to hear your opinions.
As a caveat, I am not planning on hooking this piece of equipment up until I know exactly what it is, and what the connections are. I am searching through 36+ years of paperwork, and trying to get in touch with the previous lab manager (who has run this piece of equipment).
First, I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and express my appreciation for this site. I have been a lurker for quite a while, and I have found that most of the questions here are answered in a professional manner and provide a technical answer and/or the appropriate links. For that you have my thanks; this site has helped me immensely in my previous job.
My qualifications are as follows, I was employed for the last 4 years designing control systems and panels for industrial installations and, recently, became employed at a college as the lab manager for the power distribution and high voltage lab.
On to my question, I was hoping that one of the older forum members may recognize this piece of equipment. I have uploaded two pictures of the rectifier for reference. The overall height is approximately 5' (bottom to top of insulator), the width is 3', and the insulators are about 2' tall. When knocking on the side of the tank, it sounds hollow, with a slightly deader sound at the base. Unfortunately, there is no visible data tag or manufacturer name. The input voltage (to the best of my knowledge) is either 150kV or 300kV. The equipment has likely been in place since, at least, 1970 (based on the oil cans for the HV transformers). The HV transformers were run approximately 1 year ago.
After doing some research, I believe that it may be an iron tank mercury valve; but I would like to hear your opinions.
As a caveat, I am not planning on hooking this piece of equipment up until I know exactly what it is, and what the connections are. I am searching through 36+ years of paperwork, and trying to get in touch with the previous lab manager (who has run this piece of equipment).
