Capacitive voltage transformer - Oil level indicator
Capacitive voltage transformer - Oil level indicator
(OP)
Hi,
Attached goes a picture of a 500kV CVT oil indicator (one of two capacitors) which doesn't show any presence of insulator oil but it is working without any issue. My question is: Was I supposed to see oil in there or its just to see something inside ?
Attached goes a picture of a 500kV CVT oil indicator (one of two capacitors) which doesn't show any presence of insulator oil but it is working without any issue. My question is: Was I supposed to see oil in there or its just to see something inside ?






RE: Capacitive voltage transformer - Oil level indicator
RE: Capacitive voltage transformer - Oil level indicator
RE: Capacitive voltage transformer - Oil level indicator
RE: Capacitive voltage transformer - Oil level indicator
In a 500KV bulk power station this could be a serious matter. Why take a chance?
Below are a few troubleshooting recommendations suggested by CCVT manufacturers:
RE: Capacitive voltage transformer - Oil level indicator
RE: Capacitive voltage transformer - Oil level indicator
If you are not able to diagnose, contact the equipment supplier (vendor) or call some experts.
Please be aware that the oil drained VT poses an explosion hazard. In my view, frequent movement in that area itself could be dangerous. If it explodes, it is not only self destructive, but also damage the neighboring equipments, thus causing a prolonged outage !!!
In my view you should not be wasting anymore time, though my advice sounds nit harsh!!! Sometime you have to swallow bitter pill !!!
RE: Capacitive voltage transformer - Oil level indicator
But just because there should in normal circumstances be oil visible in the sight glass doesn't mean there always is...
Over years of operating numerous substations I almost routinely found there was generally at least one CVT that [a] showed no oil in its sight glass, [b] the operators had submitted a defect report about, requesting a top-up, so that [c] the Electrical Maintenance Department knew about it, but that [d] somehow never seemed to get topped up, purportedly because [e] something of a higher priority always seemed to pop up.
The reason this occurs is because [as noted above] the CVT simply keeps on working properly...until it either doesn't anymore or fails explosively.
This is more of a human nature thing than a technical one...
Two common English sayings used in Canada come to mind: one is "The squeaky wheel gets the grease," and the other is "It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye."
CR
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." [Proverbs 27:17, NIV]