What we buy
Ranges we buy on this page
Transformer Buyers NC buys used, surplus, failed and obsolete transformers from microgrid projects across North Carolina. This page covers grounding transformers, padmounts and substation units removed during generator integration, battery storage changes or equipment replacement.
| Phase | kVA | Voltage | Fluid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-phase | 10 - 333 kVA | up to 25 kV | Liquid or dry |
| 3-phase | 50 - 20,000 kVA | 115 kV | Liquid or dry |
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 load profile in Microgrids
A microgrid transformer can operate with the utility connected or with local generators and battery storage carrying the load. Islanding changes the available fault current and grounding arrangement.
The one-line diagram needs to show where the neutral reference comes from in each operating state.
Generator and storage integration also changes how engineers review transformer impedance, winding connections and protective settings. A unit removed after a controls upgrade may still be serviceable.
A unit exposed to repeated ground faults needs a different review, supported by relay records and test reports.
Local reality
What transformers Microgrids hold
Grounding transformers establish a neutral reference where the microgrid design requires one; zigzag and grounded-wye arrangements must be identified correctly. Their duty may be short-time rather than continuous.
Send the nameplate and any neutral grounding resistor details instead of describing the unit only by physical size.
Padmounts connect campus feeders, generator blocks or battery equipment, while substation units serve larger distribution buses. Record primary and secondary voltage, kVA, impedance and cooling designation.
Photographs should show elbow compartments, bushings, radiator banks and damage that a clean nameplate photograph would otherwise leave out.
Around the site
North Carolina facilities
University, military and municipal microgrid projects across North Carolina have different removal constraints. A university equipment yard may share access with occupied laboratories. Military installations can require advance visitor clearance.
Municipal sites may place the transformer beside water treatment equipment that cannot lose its electrical supply.
Site location matters beyond the town name. Identify the campus gate, installation access point or municipal service entrance, then describe the route to the pad.
Overhead conductors, security bollards and narrow service lanes can determine whether a crane and lowboy can reach the microgrid equipment.
Where it sits
Who decides and when
The microgrid owner authorizes disposition, but the electrical engineer usually determines whether the transformer is genuinely released from service. An EPC contractor may control the construction schedule without owning the equipment.
Written ownership confirmation keeps a removed grounding transformer from being mistaken for a contractor's asset.
Facilities staff, commissioning personnel and the protection engineer should agree on the release date before removal is scheduled. A transformer retained for temporary generator service is not ready simply because its replacement is on the pad.
Confirm that islanded and utility-connected operating arrangements no longer depend on it.
On the ground
Deadlines and compliance
A grant deadline is the schedule, and it does not move for procurement. Microgrid teams should separate replacement commissioning from removal milestones early.
Document the outage window, acceptance testing and required site restoration so an old transformer does not obstruct work needed to close the project.
Compliance starts with records tied to the actual tank: fluid type, PCB documentation where applicable, spill history and available test results. Military and municipal projects may also require property-release forms.
Failed units need a clear description of leaks, fire damage or suspected internal arcing before handling is planned.
Local reality
How a removal actually runs
The site's qualified electrical crew isolates the transformer under an approved switching plan, verifies absence of voltage and applies grounding as required. Microgrid sources include generators and storage inverters, not just the utility feeder.
Control power and automatic transfer commands must be addressed before cables are disconnected.
After electrical release, the removal plan follows the transformer's weight, lifting provisions and access route. Radiators, bushings and a grounding resistor enclosure may need separate protection.
Crane positioning must account for underground campus utilities; the lowboy route must clear gates without crossing energized generator cables or storage connections.
Around the site
What we need from you
Send readable nameplate photographs, overall views and the microgrid one-line diagram if it can be shared. Include winding connections, voltage, kVA and the reason for removal.
For a grounding transformer, identify its associated bus and whether the neutral grounding resistor remains with the equipment or stays onsite.
Provide the North Carolina site address, ownership contact, electrical release date and grant-related completion deadline. Describe fluid condition, estimated weight, pad access and lifting restrictions.
We buy individual transformers and groups of released units; equipment still supporting an islanded operating mode needs a later removal date.
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
Can you buy a failed microgrid grounding transformer?
We buy failed grounding transformers as well as surplus units. Identify the winding arrangement, fault event and associated grounding resistor. Relay records, fluid test results and photographs of tank damage help establish the handling requirements before the unit leaves its microgrid site.
Service area
Must the microgrid be shut down for removal?
Not necessarily, but the site engineer must establish a safe isolation boundary. Generators, battery inverters and utility connections can each energize parts of the system. Removal proceeds only after the designated transformer is electrically released under the site's approved switching and safety procedures.
Payment
What if our grant completion deadline is close?
Provide the deadline alongside the commissioning schedule and earliest electrical release date. Include military access requirements or campus crane restrictions immediately. A fixed grant milestone does not eliminate isolation, fluid documentation or lifting requirements; those tasks need explicit time in the removal plan.
Logistics
Deadlines and compliance: what should a seller know?
A grant deadline is the schedule, and it does not move for procurement. Microgrid teams should separate replacement commissioning from removal milestones early.