Paid on pickup
Tap Changers: Off-Load Links and Load Tap Changers
A working guide for Ohio sellers: what decides the number and how the unit leaves.
What we buy
What we buy here
Tap Changers: Off-Load Links and Load Tap Changers comes up on almost every site visit, and the answers are usually simpler than the question suggests. A unit that has been in service is a known quantity, and a unit that has been idle is a question. A buyer who turns up with a torch and a tape measure is not there to argue about the paint.
The sequence matters: identify, inspect, document, then move. A substation unit is a project rather than a purchase, and it should be planned like one. A seller who knows what the unit is saves everybody an hour, and the hour is often the difference.
Who we buy from
Six kinds of seller, one desk
- Recyclers
- Electrical contractors
- Equipment dealers
- End users
- Demo contractors
- Distributors
Fast offers
A nameplate photo is usually enough to price a unit the same day.
Dedicated logistics
We arrange the crane, the permits and the flatbed, not you.
No broker fees
You are dealing with the buyer, so nothing is shaved off the offer.
How it works
Six steps from your yard to the money
- 01
Take pictures
The nameplate, the cabinet interior and the tank in daylight. Three photographs are usually enough to place a unit in the right class and the right price band.
- 02
Send them to us
The form on this page, a text or an email all reach the same desk. Include the city, the access and any deadline the site is working to.
- 03
Review the offer
A buyer reads the photographs, asks one or two questions and sends a written offer with the assumptions stated, so nothing changes on the day.
- 04
We schedule freight
Crane, flatbed and permits are booked around your access. You get a date and a window, and we carry the cost of getting it right.
- 05
Testing on arrival
Winding resistance, megger and turns ratio, plus oil analysis where the unit is liquid filled. The results decide the final number, and you see them.
- 06
Get paid
Payment is released on the agreed terms once the unit is received and tested, by check or ACH. No retention, no sixty-day terms.
What we handle for you
The parts sellers dread, done for you
Rigging
Crane and forklift arranged around your access, not the other way round.
Oil containment
Bunds, absorbent and disposal handled before the unit moves.
Bill of sale
A clean title document for your records, signed on collection.
PCB paperwork
Pre-1979 units get the testing and the manifest they need.
Guide
Off-load taps
An off-load tap changer is a link board under oil that is set once and left alone, usually with five positions at 2.5 percent steps. Changing a tap means de-energizing the unit, opening a handhole and moving a link, which is a job for an electrician. Links seize on units stored outdoors, and a seized link turns a simple voltage change into a tank opening.
A buyer who works the whole state can move a unit to whichever plant needs it, which is why the coverage matters. A buying desk earns its keep by answering quickly, because a seller with a unit in the way is not looking for a relationship.
Load tap changers
A load tap changer moves under load and has its own oil compartment, motor drive and control scheme. LTC maintenance records are the strongest single indicator of whether a substation unit has a future. A black oil compartment or a seized mechanism is a maintenance bill that has to be priced into the offer.
A unit substation is convenient in service and awkward to move, because the sections are bolted together. A tank that has been repainted recently deserves a closer look than one that has not.
Reading the position
A unit parked at the extreme tap has been fighting a voltage problem, which tells you something about its service life. A tap changer left mid-position is normal, while one left at the end is a symptom.
At purchase
Checklist for tap changers: off-load links and load tap changers
Questions about tap changers: off-load links and load tap changers
Related guides
Get started
Get an offer in minutes
Five fields and a phone number is all we need to start. We reply the same business day, and a firm number follows the nameplate photo.
(614) 715-3047or send the form and we will call you.
Questions
What sellers ask before they call
Equipment types
Does tap changers: off-load links and load tap changers change what a transformer is worth?
A unit parked at the extreme tap has been fighting a voltage problem, which tells you something about its service life. A tap changer left mid-position is normal, while one left at the end is a symptom.
Service area
Where does a seller start with tap changers: off-load links and load tap changers?
Changing a tap means de-energizing the unit, opening a handhole and moving a link, which is a job for an electrician. A short drive within one county costs less than a long drive across three, and the number shows it.
Payment
Is tap changers: off-load links and load tap changers part of what a buyer checks on site?
Ask for the tap position and any LTC maintenance history on every unit above 2,500 kVA. A unit with a failed LTC can still be bought, but it is a fixed-ratio transformer from that point onward.
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