Pitch/Bitumen Question about it?

[Big Red]

I have access to buckets upon buckets of pitch. We remove it from high voltage electrical j-boxes and don't put it back.

My question is, is this the same stuff used in boats, gimme a break ok, I know you cant see what I got... It gets liquid enough to flow at about 90-100 deg C, like molasses. But its still reasonably soft at room temperature, around 30 deg C, I mean you can force a tool into it. If your determined smile.gif

Is it just that its used in colder climates (ie northern North America)? Where I supposse it would be a little harder. Cause over here, Brisbane, it would stick to your feet if you used it on a deck in summer.

I've got about forty litres at home already, with about another 80L at work. Anyone in Australia want some? I have been covering the galv bolts in my retaining wall with it. Good luck ever getting that apart! smile.gif

Opinions?

Cheers, Red.

[Nicholas Carey]

Marine pitch is crystalline at room temperature, shatters like glass.

[imported_Conrad]

The recommendation I got for marine use was #3 roofing tar/pitch. I wouldn't say it's crystaline at room temp, but it would take some effort to push a screwdriver into it. It sounds like what you've got would be too soft.

[John E Hardiman]

Originally posted by Big Red:
We remove it from high voltage electrical j-boxes and don't put it back.
Uh..., Red? Are you sure it's not PCBs? That sounds just like what's happening here in the US to get rid of the toxic stuff. We had to go through and remove it all from USN ships where it was used. From the US EPA website:

PCBs are mixtures of synthetic organic chemicals with the same basic chemical structure and similar physical properties ranging from oily liquids to waxy solids. Due to their non-flammability, chemical stability, high boiling point and electrical insulating properties, PCBs were used in hundreds of industrial and commercial applications including electrical, heat transfer, and hydraulic equipment; as plasticizers in paints, plastics and rubber products; in pigments, dyes and carbonless copy paper and many other applications. More than 1.5 billion pounds of PCBs were manufactured in the United States prior to cessation of production in 1977.

Concern over the toxicity and persistence in the environment of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) led Congress in 1976 to enact §6(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that included among other things, prohibitions on the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of PCBs. Thus, TSCA legislated true "cradle to grave" (i.e., from manufacture to disposal) management of PCBs in the United States.

[Nicholas Carey]

Originally posted by John E Hardiman:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Big Red:
We remove it from high voltage electrical j-boxes and don't put it back.
Uh..., Red? Are you sure it's not PCBs?</font>[/QUOTE]That'll keep the rot from the bilge :D :eek

[oldteakboat]

Not to panic you, but having experience conducting remediation activities at waste sites (which were often every day businesss with transformers)- I can tell you that given the description the black "tar-like" substance from transformers - that the material, used as a coolant in the transformers, is indeed likely to be PCB-laden. Although not immediately toxic, even small exposure through your dermal layers (skin) can open up the exposed individual to a high risk of cancer and kidney damage over the long term. I would strongly recommend to Big Red to quit using the stuff immediatly, get it checked by a profesional environmental analytical lab and if in fact PCB-laden go to the doctor and explain the situation if you have been handling this stuff even remotely. It's carcinogenic properties start with exposure ranges in the parts per billion range and if you have buckets you are likely to have been exposed in the % range. And, if the lab tells you the stuff is PCB-contaminated and you are getting this from work- advise you boss of the issue (unless it gets you fired, then go to the authorities)! Hope you just have some black goo!

[Gary E]

"We remove it from high voltage electrical j-boxes "

Hey guys, where do you get the idea that this is from a transformer?.. could "j-box" be JUNCTION ??

I dont see anything wrong with what may turn out to be plain old roofing tar, use it where ever you want..

G

[Big Red]

Okay , yes its from transformer junction boxes. Its there to encapsulate the HV connections, ie, to prevent ionisation/tracking. I seriously doubt this pitch has PCB's in it, its not for cooling, its for insulating. I have seen some small tfmr's potted entirely in pitch. In Australia the use of PCB's in oil, in anything actually, was banned in 1986.

We get the odd transformer nowadays that has PCB's, but not many, and relatively low ppm. This pitch will shatter like glass, but I think its a little too warm here. The shattered piece can be squished. Its not like a putty or mastic compound though. Anyway, when it comes to PCB's, thats what apprentices are for right ;)

I guess I am just wondering if its just the temperature thing, or is it a different mix. I definitely wouldn't put it on a roof. Not in our plus 40 deg temperatures.

If you lived in a place that had a summer temp of say 20-25 deg, it would be awesome in a boat. Its a real mother trying to get a fist sized lump out of a 20 litre bucket, I can tell you :D

[Phil Young]

Send it to Tasmania. I think I have read in books about the pitch in old sailing vessels out of England turning to sticky black goop, sticking to the feet and dropping down thru decks when they hit the tropics. Sounds like the real McCoy