Load Tap Changer Repair and Rebuild

Contact replacement gets most LTCs back in service. The main moving contacts, arcing contacts, and reversing switch contacts wear on a predictable schedule, and swapping them at the right interval prevents the failure modes that cause transformer outages.

A full rebuild is the right call when the unit has accumulated significant switching operations and mechanism wear is visible beyond the contacts, when oil analysis shows contamination consistent with internal arcing rather than normal contact erosion, or when the drive mechanism shows binding, irregular motion, or fatigue in the spring or cam hardware.

The distinction matters because a contact kit that goes into a mechanism with worn diverter switch hardware or degraded spring tension will not last its rated service interval. You are replacing the cheap part and leaving the failure mode in place.

We evaluate each unit on arrival and tell you what we find before we proceed. If contact replacement is all the unit needs, that is what we quote. If the mechanism needs more, we show you why.

Replacement versus rebuild at the unit level: replacing the whole tap changer is rarely necessary. That call is driven by a cracked housing, a failed barrier board, or an insulation failure in the winding leads, not by contact wear. Where the housing and insulation are sound, a rebuild returns the unit to full interrupting performance for a fraction of the cost and lead time of a replacement tap changer, most of which are no longer manufactured.

You do not have to ship the whole tap changer. If your crew can pull the contacts, send us the worn set. Where the contact body is sound, we machine a new tip and rebuild the part on its original body. Where the wear runs deeper, we recondition the metal or machine a new part from your sample. Either way it comes back to OEM dimension, measured against the original drawing.

This is the right call when the mechanism is sound and only the contacts are worn. It is usually cheaper and faster than a full unit rebuild, and it keeps a discontinued LTC in service without waiting on an aftermarket parts house.

We machine every contact in our own Palm Harbor shop, so reconditioning and new-make run on the same equipment against the same measurements. GE, McGraw-Edison, Allis-Chalmers, Westinghouse, Moloney, Reinhausen, Federal Pacific, Siemens, and Waukesha families are all supported.

Reconditioned contacts come back with the same documentation as a full rebuild: before and after measurements against OEM tolerance, itemized on the return. Send a sample, a drawing, or a model number and we will tell you what we can recover.

Most LTC rebuild shops source replacement contacts from an aftermarket supplier, so the rebuild waits on the supplier's lead time. We machine the contacts in our own shop in Palm Harbor. When your transformer is out of service, that difference matters.

We also operate field crews across Florida and the Southeast. If you need the LTC pulled from the transformer, transported to the shop, rebuilt, and reinstalled, that is one crew, one company, one call. No coordinating between a parts supplier, a rebuild shop, and a field contractor.

Send us the LTC details first. We’ll confirm the model and scope the work before you ship the equipment.

• Transformer make and LTC model from the nameplate
• Photos of the LTC nameplate and compartment
• A worn contact or component sample, when available
• Oil analysis results, if available
• Tap-position history, if available

If your crew can pull the worn contacts, send the sample and we work from it directly. If the unit stays in place, the nameplate and clear photos of the compartment are usually enough for us to confirm the model and scope the work.