New Lexington gas-fired porcelain insulators for transmission lines

Gas-fired Porcelain Insulators for Transmission Lines

The insulator, being of vital importance to the transmission engineer who desires to offer to his power users uninterrupted service, is worthy of the best efforts of both engineer ad manufacturer.

With this idea in view, as well as that of economy in manufacture, the New Lexington High Voltage Porcelain Company of New Lexington, Ohio, has adopted natural gas exclusively for the kilns in which are fired the insulators for transmission-line service, manufactured by it.

The use of the gas fire is said to benefit the insulator very materially, in two distinct ways.

Gas-Fired Porcelain Insulator.

First, it eliminates from the glaze of the insulator all the impurities which are found there, when the insulator is burned in a coal-fired kiln. There may be a considerable amount of metallic substance in the impurities, but the principal difficulty, according to the New Lexington company, is experienced from the fact that coal contains sulphur, and this is deposited in the glaze of the insulator and causes it to arc over under test at a lower voltage than it otherwise would. After this arcing streaks may be found on the surface of the insulator, which look somewhat like crazing. These marks it is impossible to rub off, and they act as a tell-tale for sulphur in the glaze.

Second, it can be readily understood that it is much easier to regulate 12 gas burners, by merely turning the valve a little, one way or the other, so that the temperature in all parts of the kiln will be the same, than it is to regulate 12 coal fires to accomplish the same result. Therefore, by using the gas fire a more even temperature is obtained throughout the kiln, and when the insulators are drawn from the kiln they will be of uniform color and vitrification, free from foreign matter, and in general are said to have a cleaner and neater appearance than is possible with the use of coal.