square D vs. sola HD transformers

[ches2443]

I like square D products and they are the ones that I choice the most.
I local rexel distributor here, sales sola transformer for close to same price as square D. I was wondering if sola was a good product and if one band was any better then the other.

 

[sawdust454]

Top notch

Top notch

I have been using Sola for 15 years now with zero problems. A customer of mine has used them in their plant for the past 30 years. They are my first choice if that helps.

 

[ches2443]

thanks alot for the reply

 

[Jraef]

Transformers are not rocket science; copper wound around steel. There are levels of quality to be sure, but for the most part if you make bad transformers, they fail somewhat catastrophically and you are out of business really fast. Sq. D and "Sola" (see below) both make quality products, but one is not much different from the other, in spite of what their marketing departments will say.

When you say this about Sola however, make sure you are talking apples and apples. Sola is famous for really good power conditioners and UPS systems; in fact Joseph Sola invented the ferroresonant transformer as we know it in the 1930s and is considered the "father of the power conditioner". Sola was bought by General Signal Corp. in the '80s, who also bought Hevi-Duty Mfg,. a straight transformer manufacturer. More recently they became part of another larger corporation and merged the two divisions, then dropped the "Hevi-Duty" name in favor of Sola because of the brand recognition that Sola had. The company is now called "Sola HD". So when someone is offering a "Sola Transformer" it could be a power conditioner (CVT or Constant Voltage Transformer) or it could just be a plain old distribution transformer.

 

[R Bob]

Transformers are not rocket science; copper wound around steel. There are levels of quality to be sure, but for the most part if you make bad transformers, they fail somewhat catastrophically and you are out of business really fast. Sq. D and "Sola" (see below) both make quality products, but one is not much different from the other, in spite of what their marketing departments will say.

When you say this about Sola however, make sure you are talking apples and apples. Sola is famous for really good power conditioners and UPS systems; in fact Joseph Sola invented the ferroresonant transformer as we know it in the 1930s and is considered the "father of the power conditioner". Sola was bought by General Signal Corp. in the '80s, who also bought Hevi-Duty Mfg,. a straight transformer manufacturer. More recently they became part of another larger corporation and merged the two divisions, then dropped the "Hevi-Duty" name in favor of Sola because of the brand recognition that Sola had. The company is now called "Sola HD". So when someone is offering a "Sola Transformer" it could be a power conditioner (CVT or Constant Voltage Transformer) or it could just be a plain old distribution transformer.

It has been rumored, by reliable sources, that ABB manufactures Square D along with many other big name xformers.
Is that true? Is there a quality difference?

 

[jim dungar]

It has been rumored, by reliable sources, that ABB manufactures Square D along with many other big name xformers.
Is that true? Is there a quality difference?

ABB probably manufacturers of 75% of the power transformers (>225kVA ) in the US. These are usually built under contract to other manufacturer specifications. "Stock" transformers are still built by the normal sources.

 

[Jraef]

ABB probably manufacturers of 75% of the power transformers (>225kVA ) in the US. These are usually built under contract to other manufacturer specifications. "Stock" transformers are still built by the normal sources.

That is true. In general, manufacturing large power transformers as become a very expensive and difficult field to be in. It involves significant logistics to handle the materials and is not an "eco-friendly" industry by any stretch. So over time, the industry has become boiled down to the most efficient operations within different size ranges, and they have all become essentially "contract manufacturers" (CM) for each other for the sizes they can produce best. As mentioned earlier, the design is not especially unique, so it s not too difficult for one manufacturer to be the CM for one size range and have them sold by most of the others. ABB bought the power transformer manufacturing assets of the old Westinghouse Corp., who at that time was already manufacturing for most of their competitors.

But in smaller distribution transformers, that is not yet the case. Most manufacturers still make their own.

 

[cadpoint]

Several years ago I held of a third party, offering a new trannie!

Who was the manufacture that either broke into transformer market or changed their production to include a better quality of wire that they used to wrap around the coils?