In the midst of revamping an old electronic project where the high
voltage components were under oil. There have been leaks and, upon
inspection today, I have determined that I would like to embed in
paraffin this time around (paraffin is what was originally recommended).
However, I am left with mineral oil residue, not only on the
components to be wax embedded, but any spills, etc, and I'm wondering
what the best way is to remove it? Thank you!

On 2019/10/15 8:24 a.m., Jim Horton wrote:
In the midst of revamping an old electronic project where the high
voltage components were under oil.Â* There have been leaks and, upon
inspection today, I have determined that I would like to embed in
paraffin this time around (paraffin is what was originally recommended).
Â*However, I am left with mineral oil residue, not only on the
components to be wax embedded, but any spills, etc, and I'm wondering
what the best way is to remove it?Â* Thank you!

Perhaps mineral spirits - sometimes called Varsol if I am not mistaken -
will do the job.

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-mineral-spirits.htm

Is there a problem with coating the parts in wax even if they are still
coated in some residual oil? I expect the reason for the paraffin was to
waterproof the parts and as paraffin is just another form of oil would
it now work just fine all be it somewhat discoloured if the oil residue
dissolves into it? It just won't look as nice...

John :-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
(604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

On 10/15/19 12:32 PM, John Robertson wrote:


Perhaps mineral spirits - sometimes called Varsol if I am not mistaken -
will do the job.

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-mineral-spirits.htm

Is there a problem with coating the parts in wax even if they are still
coated in some residual oil? I expect the reason for the paraffin was to
waterproof the parts and as paraffin is just another form of oil would
it now work just fine all be it somewhat discoloured if the oil residue
dissolves into it? It just won't look as nice...

John :-#)#

Interesting question. True about paraffin and oil relationship. Didn't
think of that. Well, it was my project. The high voltage transformer
was submerged in about 64 oz of mineral oil. It was in a pvc junction
box and stayed in there for years. Connections into the box were single
hole and single wire, then sealed by RTV or epoxy. Interestingly, it
wasn't my seals that leaked. Somehow, the oil seeped into screw holes
on the bottom of the PVC box and leaked down into another storage bin
I've had the entire thing in just for that purpose in case it ever
leaked. I never trust oil filled electronic devices. I used to work on
dental x-ray units, which are (were) all metal housings and even vacuum
sealed. However, more often that not, even perfect ones in storage
would end up with an ounce of oil under them after being stored for
years. However, that was a tried and true business, never had to remove
oil from anything and if the transformer was bad, it was just junked.
Here, with my own project, is obviously a different story if I am going
to pot the coil in the paraffin. I think I'm going to pick up a couple
of cans of electronic component spray cleaner, which doesn't leave a
residue, and spray out the transformer and PVC junction box insides as
much as I can, let dry, and then refill with the molten paraffin. I'd
like to leave the assembly in the oven for a while to make sure as much
air works out as possible, but my oven has a minimal of 170 F. It might
be too much, but I'm not sure.

On 2019/10/15 9:45 a.m., Jim Horton wrote:
On 10/15/19 12:32 PM, John Robertson wrote:


Perhaps mineral spirits - sometimes called Varsol if I am not mistaken
- will do the job.

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-mineral-spirits.htm

Is there a problem with coating the parts in wax even if they are
still coated in some residual oil? I expect the reason for the
paraffin was to waterproof the parts and as paraffin is just another
form of oil would it now work just fine all be it somewhat discoloured
if the oil residue dissolves into it? It just won't look as nice...

John :-#)#

Interesting question.Â* True about paraffin and oil relationship.Â* Didn't
think of that.Â* Well, it was my project.Â* The high voltage transformer
was submerged in about 64 oz of mineral oil.Â* It was in a pvc junction
box and stayed in there for years.Â* Connections into the box were single
hole and single wire, then sealed by RTV or epoxy.Â* Interestingly, it
wasn't my seals that leaked.Â* Somehow, the oil seeped into screw holes
on the bottom of the PVC box and leaked down into another storage bin
I've had the entire thing in just for that purpose in case it ever
leaked.Â* I never trust oil filled electronic devices.Â* I used to work on
dental x-ray units, which are (were) all metal housings and even vacuum
sealed.Â* However, more often that not, even perfect ones in storage
would end up with an ounce of oil under them after being stored for
years.Â* However, that was a tried and true business, never had to remove
oil from anything and if the transformer was bad, it was just junked.
Here, with my own project, is obviously a different story if I am going
to pot the coil in the paraffin.Â* I think I'm going to pick up a couple
of cans of electronic component spray cleaner, which doesn't leave a
residue, and spray out the transformer and PVC junction box insides as
much as I can, let dry, and then refill with the molten paraffin.Â* I'd
like to leave the assembly in the oven for a while to make sure as much
air works out as possible, but my oven has a minimal of 170 F.Â* It might
be too much, but I'm not sure.



A way to lower your oven temp - if it is a 220 one - is to run it at 120
instead. That was how I lowered the minimum temp on an old 70s style
household oven we use in the shop when we need temps around 120 to 150F
for curing Smooth-On molds.

John :-#)#

On 10/15/19 1:03 PM, John Robertson wrote:
On 2019/10/15 9:45 a.m., Jim Horton wrote:
On 10/15/19 12:32 PM, John Robertson wrote:


Perhaps mineral spirits - sometimes called Varsol if I am not
mistaken - will do the job.

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-mineral-spirits.htm

Is there a problem with coating the parts in wax even if they are
still coated in some residual oil? I expect the reason for the
paraffin was to waterproof the parts and as paraffin is just another
form of oil would it now work just fine all be it somewhat
discoloured if the oil residue dissolves into it? It just won't look
as nice...

John :-#)#

Interesting question.Â* True about paraffin and oil relationship.
Didn't think of that.Â* Well, it was my project.Â* The high voltage
transformer was submerged in about 64 oz of mineral oil.Â* It was in a
pvc junction box and stayed in there for years.Â* Connections into the
box were single hole and single wire, then sealed by RTV or epoxy.
Interestingly, it wasn't my seals that leaked.Â* Somehow, the oil
seeped into screw holes on the bottom of the PVC box and leaked down
into another storage bin I've had the entire thing in just for that
purpose in case it ever leaked.Â* I never trust oil filled electronic
devices.Â* I used to work on dental x-ray units, which are (were) all
metal housings and even vacuum sealed.Â* However, more often that not,
even perfect ones in storage would end up with an ounce of oil under
them after being stored for years.Â* However, that was a tried and true
business, never had to remove oil from anything and if the transformer
was bad, it was just junked. Here, with my own project, is obviously a
different story if I am going to pot the coil in the paraffin.Â* I
think I'm going to pick up a couple of cans of electronic component
spray cleaner, which doesn't leave a residue, and spray out the
transformer and PVC junction box insides as much as I can, let dry,
and then refill with the molten paraffin.Â* I'd like to leave the
assembly in the oven for a while to make sure as much air works out as
possible, but my oven has a minimal of 170 F.Â* It might be too much,
but I'm not sure.



A way to lower your oven temp - if it is a 220 one - is to run it at 120
instead. That was how I lowered the minimum temp on an old 70s style
household oven we use in the shop when we need temps around 120 to 150F
for curing Smooth-On molds.

John :-#)#


Well, it seems to be done. I had trouble finding wax locally. Hard to
believe place like Walmart doesn't carry it except by special order. I
had to travel a bit, but found some at Hobby Lobby. Not cheap, but I
did need 6.5 lbs.

Since I am a newbie at this, I first placed the now clean transformer
and container in the oven with a wax brick, and set the temp at the
lowest setting of 170 F. However, I could see this was going to take
forever to melt, so I placed a coffee can within a larger pot and put
some water in the pot to reach boiling. It took several melts of the
wax, but each time it melted well and I opened the oven and poured it
into the transformer box. I have moisture concerns, but it *seems* like
any water in the molten wax was at the bottom. I hope that's correct.

I spilled some while pulling out the transformer container to fill it.
It was caught by a foil pan I got at the dollar store, but I'm probably
going to have a breakaway around the bottom job once solid.

I am letting it cool down slowly. I turned the oven off, but I am
keeping the door closed. I don't worry too much since this is an
already sealed transformer, but then again I didn't want to cool things
too quickly either.

Now to just hope I did it right and the wax does its job as replacement
insulator for the mineral oil.

Jim Horton wrote:
In the midst of revamping an old electronic project where the high
voltage components were under oil. There have been leaks and, upon
inspection today, I have determined that I would like to embed in
paraffin this time around (paraffin is what was originally recommended).
However, I am left with mineral oil residue, not only on the components
to be wax embedded, but any spills, etc, and I'm wondering what the best
way is to remove it? Thank you!

Mineral spirits, Naptha, alcohol ?

Greg

On Tuesday, 15 October 2019 17:32:45 UTC+1, John Robertson wrote:
On 2019/10/15 8:24 a.m., Jim Horton wrote:
In the midst of revamping an old electronic project where the high
voltage components were under oil.Â* There have been leaks and, upon
inspection today, I have determined that I would like to embed in
paraffin this time around (paraffin is what was originally recommended)..
Â*However, I am left with mineral oil residue, not only on the
components to be wax embedded, but any spills, etc, and I'm wondering
what the best way is to remove it?Â* Thank you!

Perhaps mineral spirits - sometimes called Varsol if I am not mistaken -
will do the job.

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-mineral-spirits.htm

Is there a problem with coating the parts in wax even if they are still
coated in some residual oil? I expect the reason for the paraffin was to
waterproof the parts and as paraffin is just another form of oil would
it now work just fine all be it somewhat discoloured if the oil residue
dissolves into it? It just won't look as nice...

John :-#)#

the amount of oil paraffin wax can hold is small.

On Tue, 15 Oct 2019 19:36:52 -0400, Jim Horton wrote:

On 10/15/19 1:03 PM, John Robertson wrote:
On 2019/10/15 9:45 a.m., Jim Horton wrote:
On 10/15/19 12:32 PM, John Robertson wrote:


Perhaps mineral spirits - sometimes called Varsol if I am not
mistaken - will do the job.

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-mineral-spirits.htm

Is there a problem with coating the parts in wax even if they are
still coated in some residual oil? I expect the reason for the
paraffin was to waterproof the parts and as paraffin is just another
form of oil would it now work just fine all be it somewhat
discoloured if the oil residue dissolves into it? It just won't look
as nice...

John :-#)#

Interesting question.Â* True about paraffin and oil relationship.
Didn't think of that.Â* Well, it was my project.Â* The high voltage
transformer was submerged in about 64 oz of mineral oil.Â* It was in a
pvc junction box and stayed in there for years.Â* Connections into the
box were single hole and single wire, then sealed by RTV or epoxy.
Interestingly, it wasn't my seals that leaked.Â* Somehow, the oil
seeped into screw holes on the bottom of the PVC box and leaked down
into another storage bin I've had the entire thing in just for that
purpose in case it ever leaked.Â* I never trust oil filled electronic
devices.Â* I used to work on dental x-ray units, which are (were) all
metal housings and even vacuum sealed.Â* However, more often that not,
even perfect ones in storage would end up with an ounce of oil under
them after being stored for years.Â* However, that was a tried and true
business, never had to remove oil from anything and if the transformer
was bad, it was just junked. Here, with my own project, is obviously a
different story if I am going to pot the coil in the paraffin.Â* I
think I'm going to pick up a couple of cans of electronic component
spray cleaner, which doesn't leave a residue, and spray out the
transformer and PVC junction box insides as much as I can, let dry,
and then refill with the molten paraffin.Â* I'd like to leave the
assembly in the oven for a while to make sure as much air works out as
possible, but my oven has a minimal of 170 F.Â* It might be too much,
but I'm not sure.



A way to lower your oven temp - if it is a 220 one - is to run it at
120 instead. That was how I lowered the minimum temp on an old 70s
style household oven we use in the shop when we need temps around 120
to 150F for curing Smooth-On molds.

John :-#)#


Well, it seems to be done. I had trouble finding wax locally. Hard to
believe place like Walmart doesn't carry it except by special order. I
had to travel a bit, but found some at Hobby Lobby. Not cheap, but I
did need 6.5 lbs.

Since I am a newbie at this, I first placed the now clean transformer
and container in the oven with a wax brick, and set the temp at the
lowest setting of 170 F. However, I could see this was going to take
forever to melt, so I placed a coffee can within a larger pot and put
some water in the pot to reach boiling. It took several melts of the
wax, but each time it melted well and I opened the oven and poured it
into the transformer box. I have moisture concerns, but it *seems* like
any water in the molten wax was at the bottom. I hope that's correct.

I spilled some while pulling out the transformer container to fill it.
It was caught by a foil pan I got at the dollar store, but I'm probably
going to have a breakaway around the bottom job once solid.

I am letting it cool down slowly. I turned the oven off, but I am
keeping the door closed. I don't worry too much since this is an
already sealed transformer, but then again I didn't want to cool things
too quickly either.

Now to just hope I did it right and the wax does its job as replacement
insulator for the mineral oil.

In Britain, I believe "parrafin" refers to Kerosene

On 10/16/19 9:39 AM, Wond wrote:
In Britain, I believe "parrafin" refers to Kerosene

Kerosene in British English
kerosene. €‹ a type of fuel oil that is made from petroleum and
that is used in the engines of planes and for heat and light.
In British English it is usually called paraffin when it is
used for heat and light.

That being said, "paraffin oil" in the United States is not
Kerosene, but a version of mineral oil commonly used as fuel
in oil lamps and tiki torches.


--
"I am a river to my people."
Jeff-1.0
WA6FWi
http:foxsmercantile.com

On Tue, 15 Oct 2019 09:32:35 -0700, John Robertson
wrote:

On 2019/10/15 8:24 a.m., Jim Horton wrote:
In the midst of revamping an old electronic project where the high
voltage components were under oil.* There have been leaks and, upon
inspection today, I have determined that I would like to embed in
paraffin this time around (paraffin is what was originally recommended).
*However, I am left with mineral oil residue, not only on the
components to be wax embedded, but any spills, etc, and I'm wondering
what the best way is to remove it?* Thank you!

Perhaps mineral spirits - sometimes called Varsol if I am not mistaken -
will do the job.

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-mineral-spirits.htm

Is there a problem with coating the parts in wax even if they are still
coated in some residual oil? I expect the reason for the paraffin was to
waterproof the parts and as paraffin is just another form of oil would
it now work just fine all be it somewhat discoloured if the oil residue
dissolves into it? It just won't look as nice...

John :-#)#
My wife uses parrafin baths for her client's hands. The parrafin is
mixed with mineral oil in the bath to alter the viscosity and to leave
a slight coating on the skin when the parrafin hardens so that it
comes off easily. The mineral oil also makes the parrafin more pliable
at body temperature when cool so that it can be peeled off rather than
broken off.
When at room temp the parrifin is still pretty hard. I think you
don't need to worry at all about removing the mineral oil, just pour
in the hot parrafin and the oil will dissolve into the parrifin.
Eric

On Wednesday, 16 October 2019 16:27:42 UTC+1, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Oct 2019 09:32:35 -0700, John Robertson
wrote:
On 2019/10/15 8:24 a.m., Jim Horton wrote:

In the midst of revamping an old electronic project where the high
voltage components were under oil.Â* There have been leaks and, upon
inspection today, I have determined that I would like to embed in
paraffin this time around (paraffin is what was originally recommended).
Â*However, I am left with mineral oil residue, not only on the
components to be wax embedded, but any spills, etc, and I'm wondering
what the best way is to remove it?Â* Thank you!

Perhaps mineral spirits - sometimes called Varsol if I am not mistaken -
will do the job.

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-mineral-spirits.htm

Is there a problem with coating the parts in wax even if they are still
coated in some residual oil? I expect the reason for the paraffin was to
waterproof the parts and as paraffin is just another form of oil would
it now work just fine all be it somewhat discoloured if the oil residue
dissolves into it? It just won't look as nice...

John :-#)#
My wife uses parrafin baths for her client's hands. The parrafin is
mixed with mineral oil in the bath to alter the viscosity and to leave
a slight coating on the skin when the parrafin hardens so that it
comes off easily. The mineral oil also makes the parrafin more pliable
at body temperature when cool so that it can be peeled off rather than
broken off.
When at room temp the parrifin is still pretty hard. I think you
don't need to worry at all about removing the mineral oil, just pour
in the hot parrafin and the oil will dissolve into the parrifin.
Eric

You may find an oily coating stops the wax sticking & sealing.


NT

Finding wax.

When I worked in a cardboard (corrugated) box plant, we used huge amounts of wax to coat cardboard that was used for seafood and chicken. It came in stacks of 10 pound (I think) slabs.

There was always a huge pile of discarded wax. If you're near a plant, might get some discarded for free. If it gets dirt or oil on a block you can't use it on paper. But you could scrape that off easily.

It comes in various grades. Curtain coat was a shiny white and brittle, then there was a yellowish one that was tougher.

I tried using some of it as bullets, standing an empty cartridge in a pan of liquid wax then letting it harden to fill the neck with a projectile. then use a primer for propellant. The books says it works but it didn't for me. The wax didn't hold together, it just shattered.

On 10/15/19 11:24 AM, Jim Horton wrote:
In the midst of revamping an old electronic project where the high
voltage components were under oil.Â* There have been leaks and, upon
inspection today, I have determined that I would like to embed in
paraffin this time around (paraffin is what was originally recommended).
Â*However, I am left with mineral oil residue, not only on the
components to be wax embedded, but any spills, etc, and I'm wondering
what the best way is to remove it?Â* Thank you!


Just to follow up here, I found that the following did an excellent job
not only removing almost all of the oil, but not damaging any surface it
contacted or leaving any residue:

CRC 5103 Quick Dry Electronic Cleaner


It took 3 cans for the amount of oil I had to remove, but it did a great
job. You can find it online, auto stores, or Walmart. I got mine at
Walmart as it was cheapest.

I've been well past oil removal for several days and actually on my
second wax potting attempt. By the way, the cleaner cleaned well enough
that when I peeled away any remaining wax from my first try, some of it
all of it was well in place with no oil residue anywhere. I could
easily reuse the paraffin, but I am now going to try a beeswax/ rosin
mix as I found that the paraffin shrank too much and had microcracks
when cooled. The beeswax/ rosin will not be cheap, however. I had read
a thread where someone added low temperature hot glue sticks to standard
melted paraffin to increase its strength, but unfortunately I couldn't
find any specifics on it, such as mix ratios, etc, and determining
whether or not the hot glue is EVA seems a big task since the market
packaging doesn't indicate it.

On Friday, 18 October 2019 18:09:16 UTC+1, Jim Horton wrote:
On 10/15/19 11:24 AM, Jim Horton wrote:

In the midst of revamping an old electronic project where the high
voltage components were under oil.Â* There have been leaks and, upon
inspection today, I have determined that I would like to embed in
paraffin this time around (paraffin is what was originally recommended)..
Â*However, I am left with mineral oil residue, not only on the
components to be wax embedded, but any spills, etc, and I'm wondering
what the best way is to remove it?Â* Thank you!


Just to follow up here, I found that the following did an excellent job
not only removing almost all of the oil, but not damaging any surface it
contacted or leaving any residue:

CRC 5103 Quick Dry Electronic Cleaner


It took 3 cans for the amount of oil I had to remove, but it did a great
job. You can find it online, auto stores, or Walmart. I got mine at
Walmart as it was cheapest.

I've been well past oil removal for several days and actually on my
second wax potting attempt. By the way, the cleaner cleaned well enough
that when I peeled away any remaining wax from my first try, some of it
all of it was well in place with no oil residue anywhere. I could
easily reuse the paraffin, but I am now going to try a beeswax/ rosin
mix as I found that the paraffin shrank too much and had microcracks
when cooled. The beeswax/ rosin will not be cheap, however. I had read
a thread where someone added low temperature hot glue sticks to standard
melted paraffin to increase its strength, but unfortunately I couldn't
find any specifics on it, such as mix ratios, etc, and determining
whether or not the hot glue is EVA seems a big task since the market
packaging doesn't indicate it.

A simpler cheaper solution is to pour the paraffin wax in layers. That gets rid of the majority of the contraction issue. If you're concerned what happens at the layer interface you cAn always point a hairddryer at it before pouring.


NT