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Potted Transformers - days gone past?

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blueglow

blueglow

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Joined 2012
blueglow.net
#1
Building a few amps and I really like the clean look of potted transformers.
Struggling these days to find new ones that are potted.
I know I can go the cover route but it's not my favorite path.
Back in the day, I would have gone Tamura.

Who's making decent SE and power transformers that are potted these days?
Monolith Magnetics?
Any USA based companies making them?

Thanks
Mark
 
#2
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#4
You can buy transformer covers in a variety of shapes and sizes.

You can also get potting resin, and other resins that you can probably pot stuff with (you want something that maintains the same volume when cured. I'm not sure how big of a problem this is).

So you could just pot your own transformers. For absolute best results, you'd want to pull a vacuum before it cures. It may not have to be a particularly hard vacuum - overturned plastic dome with a rubber seal, a nipple epoxied in, and a brake bleeder vac pump might do it.

Find a well-equipped maker space in your region and you might be able to laser-etch the housing, too.
 
#8
yeah but making a tight seal on a plastic lid (soft and slippery material) isnt epoxy's best capabilities. I have tried, I used to think epoxy is best for everything, but it the joint cracks and leaks eventually.
I use an old vacuum pump from a refrigerator. Great for composite work, as well as potting trannies.
 
#9
Thanks for all the responses.
As I put in my original post, not really looking to pot my own, not fond of the cover route. I'm more looking for true potted transformers with studded leads out the bottom.
Will likely go the monolith magnetics route, although they are quite pricey.

I've looked into the James transformers but they have gotten out of making power transformers, and haven't been able to find a good source stateside.

Any other sources or ideas?

Thanks
mark
 
#16
Some of the Hamonds are made in China, some in Canada. I've found that their entry lines all say Made in China whereas their more expensive models say Made in Canada. I've also found that the Chinese ones tend to buzz and the Canadian ones don't have that problem (unless you overdrive them, of course)
 
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