what can I use as a empty space "filler" in wax potted circuit?

Ok, so, after careful consideration, I decided on using the recommended

50/50 mixture of beeswax and rosin to pot my two transformers. However, to save costs, I was originally going to try using a smaller housing, which would use 2 lbs of wax-rosin mix instead of the 6 lbs I would have originally needed, but instead of switching out the housings for a smaller one, is there something I can place inside the existing housing that's cheap, would also serve as an insulator like the wax will, and won't be burned or melted by the wax pour? The same idea as using extra stones or bricks in a toilet fill tank so it doesn't use as much water. Thanks!
Reply to
Jim Horton
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Marbles?

Reply to
John S

If you keep the temperature of your beeswax/rosin mixture down paraffin sho uld work well. ;)

Does your transformer get hot at all? To the best of my knowledge rosin ne

ng to end up sitting in another liquid bath?

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  Rick C. 

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Reply to
Rick C

Glass marbles sounds good, and also consider ceramic tumbling media (available in a variety of shapes, depending on how your spaces are arranged). Typical purchases of those stones are by the hundredweight, and glass beads are among the options.

Reply to
whit3rd

d

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.

should work well. ;)

er going to end up sitting in another liquid bath?

I've changed my mind. A quick call to Adtech and found out that their low temp glue sticks, which I can easily obtain locally, are EVA and melt at 179F.

So, it's back to my original paraffin and mixing in of the glue. Not sure how much glue I need to add per pound, however, so may have to experiment on small amounts first.

Reply to
Jim Horton

d

r,

ve

g

ra

.

should work well. ;)

going to end up sitting in another liquid bath?

I've lost track of what is mixed with what. Why paraffin over beeswax and vice versa? Why one adulterant over the other? Aren't there four combinat ions rather than just two?

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  Rick C. 

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Reply to
Rick C

But those won't be wasted. Just keep track of the amounts and once you finalize a recipe do the math to add all those in plus whatever you calculate for glue and paraffin so the final mix is what you want.

--
Regards, 
Carl Ijames
Reply to
Carl

dry washed sand.

put some regular sand in a bucket an rinse out the crud by plunging a hose into it and running a lots of water through it.

Then dry it in metal or glass dish in a oven.

--
  When I tried casting out nines I made a hash of it.
Reply to
Jasen Betts

I was going to suggest glass marbles, but youbeat me to it.

Cheers

Reply to
Martin Riddle

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If you are trying to isolate high voltage, surface is not your friend. Whe n you talk about washed sand, I don't know if you can ever really get it so clean. It's better to use larger pieces with more of the filler in betwee n. At least it is if you have better control over surface contamination.

I don't think I would use any filler. Seems to me it defeats the point of using the encapsulant in the first place.

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  Rick C. 

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Reply to
Rick C

On Oct 18, 2019, Martin Riddle wrote (in article):

In the same vein, one can buy glass beads used for sandblasting in bulk for small dollars.

Use of glass filler will tend to rain the dielectric constant. Glass is 5 to

10, while beeswax is 2.4 and rosin is about 2.8, so glass fill will increase

this is important in the present application.

Joe Gwinn

Reply to
Joseph Gwinn

Ultimately, I have "given in" and gone back to the mineral oil I had used in the device for years. However, this time I'm using a junction box around 60% of the original's size after first checking the insides to make sure it was all one piece. I believe the tiny leaks from the prior one stemmed from four spots within the box where there had been a prior resin pour. You never notice something like this when buying them, but I believe the mineral oil seeped through these tiny areas over time. It took about 8 years! I suppose I could have just siliconed over or epoxied these four areas before refilling, but went with a smaller box that appeared to be a single pour one piece mold. Time will tell.

Thanks again for all the help regarding wax. I just didn't like the shrinkage I saw after cooling plus the fact that this circuit could easily start warming up if used for a short time. I think there might be potential in the paraffin- EVA glue stick method, but someone else will have to find out what ratios work.

Reply to
Jim Horton

,

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a

hould work well. ;)

oing to end up sitting in another liquid bath?

Rosin is notorious for going hard & brittle. Hence rosin based glues are no rmally fibre reinforced to reduce the resulting breakage.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Could tumbling media contain water? How about silica gel for ballast?

Reply to
gray_wolf

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