Not the person you asked but there’s a few reasons off the top of my head:
- weight
- leaks: liquids are always a hassle in things that move. The liquid wants to escape and will do so at the first opportunity.
- serviceability: if there is a leak and a significant loss of fluid, this doesn’t sound like something I can just go pick up at the hardware store like motor oil or hydraulic oil. I’m curious what it is… they simultaneously call it a commodity fluid but also proprietary.
They don't post any specs, but it's supposed to be smaller than traditional motors. If it only needs a small amount to fill small gaps between disks, it might still be lighter than traditional motors. This is especially true if the PCBs are significantly lighter than windings and magnets.
"- leaks: liquids are always a hassle in things that move. The liquid wants to escape and will do so at the first opportunity."
Sure, but this seems like a small concern when we consider that any mobile electric motors require batteries and most of those contain sealed liquid. Even things like bearings in cars are sealed these days.
"- serviceability: if there is a leak and a significant loss of fluid, this doesn’t sound like something I can just go pick up at the hardware store like motor oil or hydraulic oil. I’m curious what it is… they simultaneously call it a commodity fluid but also proprietary."
Sure, if you have an oil leak in your ICE car today, you can't just go get oil, you first have to fix the leak. Don't forget that many transmissions for cars today get filled with "lifetime" fluid and are sealed. This, like the other concerns, is not likely to occur frequently and is consistent with existing paradigms.
I'd be more concerned with what it is rather than it simply being there. Like is it flammable, acidic, caustic, or hazardous in some other way?
The dieletric oil in transformers is both toxic and flammable, causing a lot of damage when they start burning. If an alternative, safer fluid existed it would be a massive market.
I guess it depends on what dielectric constant they need and the serviceability. Even deionized water can be a dielectric. I think Novec makes multiple non-toxic non-flammable dielectric too.
I'm not sure. Could be cost. It might also be that they need time to test or even redesign to use the new fluids if they have different specs. Another possibility is that no matter what the fluid, if it breaks down or evaporates, the loss of insulation could still lead to a fire by igniting other things, such as the pole or nearby vegetation.
In a case of interesting timing, I heard a transformer blow just last week. There wasn't any fire and the fire department wasn't called. The linesmen showed up a couple hours later to replace it.
You're probably correct about the design, so that would be a question of retrofitting existing old hardware. The example you're giving shows that the transition to these new fluids is already there. Thanks!
Not the person you asked but there’s a few reasons off the top of my head:
- weight
- leaks: liquids are always a hassle in things that move. The liquid wants to escape and will do so at the first opportunity.
- serviceability: if there is a leak and a significant loss of fluid, this doesn’t sound like something I can just go pick up at the hardware store like motor oil or hydraulic oil. I’m curious what it is… they simultaneously call it a commodity fluid but also proprietary.
"- weight"
They don't post any specs, but it's supposed to be smaller than traditional motors. If it only needs a small amount to fill small gaps between disks, it might still be lighter than traditional motors. This is especially true if the PCBs are significantly lighter than windings and magnets.
"- leaks: liquids are always a hassle in things that move. The liquid wants to escape and will do so at the first opportunity."
Sure, but this seems like a small concern when we consider that any mobile electric motors require batteries and most of those contain sealed liquid. Even things like bearings in cars are sealed these days.
"- serviceability: if there is a leak and a significant loss of fluid, this doesn’t sound like something I can just go pick up at the hardware store like motor oil or hydraulic oil. I’m curious what it is… they simultaneously call it a commodity fluid but also proprietary."
Sure, if you have an oil leak in your ICE car today, you can't just go get oil, you first have to fix the leak. Don't forget that many transmissions for cars today get filled with "lifetime" fluid and are sealed. This, like the other concerns, is not likely to occur frequently and is consistent with existing paradigms.
I'd be more concerned with what it is rather than it simply being there. Like is it flammable, acidic, caustic, or hazardous in some other way?
The dieletric oil in transformers is both toxic and flammable, causing a lot of damage when they start burning. If an alternative, safer fluid existed it would be a massive market.
I guess it depends on what dielectric constant they need and the serviceability. Even deionized water can be a dielectric. I think Novec makes multiple non-toxic non-flammable dielectric too.
Thanks, I had a look at the datasheets and it seems that I have to upgrade my knowledge. But why are transformers fire still a thing then? Cost?
I'm not sure. Could be cost. It might also be that they need time to test or even redesign to use the new fluids if they have different specs. Another possibility is that no matter what the fluid, if it breaks down or evaporates, the loss of insulation could still lead to a fire by igniting other things, such as the pole or nearby vegetation.
In a case of interesting timing, I heard a transformer blow just last week. There wasn't any fire and the fire department wasn't called. The linesmen showed up a couple hours later to replace it.
You're probably correct about the design, so that would be a question of retrofitting existing old hardware. The example you're giving shows that the transition to these new fluids is already there. Thanks!
The problem with de-ionised water is that its still really quite corrosive.
Its also not as dialectic as common oils.
Yeah, I would not expect it to be used in this case, but just pointing out that it does exist as a non-toxic, non-flammable option.