What we buy
Ranges we buy on this page
This guide explains the 1979 cutoff, the 50 ppm threshold, and what a PCB label changes about transformer handling and recovery. It is for North Carolina plant engineers, utility asset managers, demolition crews, and other owners preparing equipment for removal.
| Phase | kVA | Voltage | Fluid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-phase | 10 - 333 kVA | up to 25 kV | Liquid or dry |
| 3-phase | 25 - 10,000 kVA | 25 kV | Liquid-filled |
Who we buy from
Six kinds of seller
- Recyclers
- Electrical contractors
- Equipment dealers
- End users
- Demo contractors
- Distributors
Fast offers
A written offer the same business day, based on your photographs.
Dedicated logistics
Our own crew, trailer and crane, not a brokered haul.
No broker fees
One buyer from first call to cleared pad, with nothing skimmed.
How it works
Six steps from photograph to payment
- 01
Take pictures
Photograph the nameplate, the inside of the cabinet and the tank from both ends. Four frames on a phone are enough to price most units.
- 02
Send them to us
Email or text the photographs with the site address and whether the unit is still energised. We reply the same business day with questions or a number.
- 03
Review the offer
The offer names the unit, the site, the price and the pickup window. It is written, dated and good for thirty days unless the unit changes hands.
- 04
We schedule freight
A crew, a trailer and a crane if the pad needs one. You get the date and the arrival window, and the site does not have to close for it.
- 05
Testing on arrival
Winding resistance, insulation resistance and a turns ratio check, plus oil analysis where the unit is liquid-filled. Results travel with the unit.
- 06
Get paid
Payment is released against the signed bill of sale and the scale ticket, by check or ACH, with the paperwork copy left on site.
What we handle
The parts sellers dread
Rigging
Crane, skates and a route survey for anything that will not roll onto a trailer.
Oil containment
Pans, absorbent and a spill plan before a drain plug is touched.
Bill of sale
A document that clears a lien, a lease or a bankruptcy file, not a handwritten note.
PCB paperwork
Testing and manifesting for pre-1979 oil, handled before the unit moves.
On the ground
The short version
PCBs are polychlorinated biphenyls, chemicals formerly used in some transformer insulating fluids. Federal rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act govern their use, handling, and disposal.
The 1979 cutoff concerns federal PCB restrictions; it is not a certificate that every older transformer contains PCBs or every newer tank is clear.
For liquid classification, below 50 parts per million generally means non-PCB; 50 through less than 500 ppm means PCB-contaminated; 500 ppm or greater means a PCB Transformer. Those distinctions affect handling and disposal.
A label helps identify concerns, but fluid records and applicable regulatory assumptions still matter.
Local reality
Why a seller should care
A demolition schedule does not override PCB requirements. If a crew removes a leaking radiator before fluid status is established, oil can reach the slab, soil, or storm drain. That creates a separate cleanup problem beyond removing the transformer.
Resolve classification before draining, dismantling, or scheduling a lift.
Transformer Buyers NC buys used, surplus, failed, and obsolete transformers across North Carolina. PCB status helps determine whether a particular unit can enter a proposed recovery route.
Owners should provide the laboratory report, tank photographs, and maintenance history rather than treating acceptance of the equipment as authorization for disposal.
Around the site
The arithmetic
For a mass-based concentration, one ppm equals one milligram of PCB per kilogram of fluid. A result of 50 mg/kg is therefore 50 ppm, not 50 percent.
Read the report's units, sample identification, and reporting limit together; a number copied into a spreadsheet without those fields can mislead.
A report reading 'not detected' is incomplete for decision-making unless its reporting limit is known. A reporting limit above 50 ppm cannot establish that fluid is below the threshold.
Results near a classification boundary deserve review with the laboratory and receiving facility before a drain valve is opened.
Where it sits
Where people go wrong
The nameplate date describes manufacture, not every fluid change during service. A mineral-oil transformer may have encountered contaminated service equipment or replacement fluid. Conversely, an older unit may have documented non-PCB fluid.
Federal assumptions for untested equipment depend on equipment type and history, not simply a pre-1979 manufacturing date.
A faded PCB mark on the tank is not something to scrape off before photographs. Preserve it and reconcile it with test records.
Retrofilling does not automatically erase regulatory status, and one low result immediately after a fluid change may not establish reclassification under the applicable federal procedures.
On the ground
Value impact
PCB status changes the practical recovery options for a tank, core, winding, and insulating fluid. Equipment that might otherwise support reuse or material recovery can require a controlled disposal route instead.
Evaluate each component's contamination status; draining the oil does not automatically make the remaining transformer unrestricted scrap.
Incomplete paperwork can stop removal even when the transformer appears intact. A receiving facility needs enough information to determine its permitted handling route.
Keep the signed laboratory report, sampling date, serial number, and fluid-change records together so a disconnected tank does not arrive with an unresolved PCB classification.
Local reality
Your next move
Start with photographs of the nameplate, PCB marks, bushings, radiators, and any stained concrete beneath the tank. Gather prior oil analyses and service records.
Have qualified personnel arrange representative sampling under an appropriate procedure; do not ask a demolition laborer to crack a valve on energized or unsecured equipment.
Before pickup in North Carolina, confirm isolation, lifting provisions, leak containment, and the receiving facility's acceptance requirements. Verify required shipping and disposal documentation with the responsible environmental professional.
For unresolved classifications, consult EPA Region 4 and the appropriate North Carolina environmental program before the tank leaves the site.
Get started
Get an offer in minutes
Five fields is all it takes. Photographs help, but a nameplate and a town are enough to start.
No fee, no obligation. We reply the same business day.
Tell us what you have
We reply the same business day.
Questions
Straight answers
Equipment types
Does a pre-1979 transformer always contain PCBs?
No. A manufacturing date alone does not establish PCB concentration. Review the nameplate, original fluid designation, service history, and laboratory records. If testing is absent, applicable federal assumptions may determine how the equipment must be treated until its status is properly established.
Service area
Is exactly 50 ppm below the PCB threshold?
No. A liquid result of exactly 50 ppm falls within the PCB-contaminated range, which extends to less than 500 ppm. Check the report's units and sample identity. Do not round a boundary result downward to justify a different handling or disposal route.
Payment
Can draining oil remove a transformer's PCB status?
Not by itself. PCB residue can remain in the tank, core, winding insulation, and other internal surfaces. Draining creates a separate fluid stream that also needs proper handling.
Logistics
Value impact: what should a seller know?
PCB status changes the practical recovery options for a tank, core, winding, and insulating fluid. Equipment that might otherwise support reuse or material recovery can require a controlled disposal route instead.