Table of Contents
All dots around the year code should be counted (a colon counts as two dots), and added to the date of mold manufacture. This gives the actual date the insulator was produced. Style 3 is the most common.
How do you date an insulator?
Look for a circle with an A in it. If it is followed by two numbers, the first number is the mold number and the second number is the year +1900 the insulator was made. For example, (A) 39 49 means the insulator was made in 1949 with mold #39.
Which glass insulators are worth the most?
Most Widely Popular Glass Insulators – Based primarily on overall collector perception, at any collecting level, of the most widely popular insulators in the hobby, common to rare.Most Desirable CD Styles. Rank CD Votes 1 CD 257 (Mickey Mouse) 25 2 CD 145 (Beehive) 25 3 CD 162 (Signal) 22 4 CD 102 (Pony) 18.
How much is a Hemingray 42 insulator worth?
Because the Hemingray-42 insulator is one of the most common, they tend to be an affordable collectible. Most sell for under $10.
How old is a Hemingray glass insulator?
The earliest Hemingray insulators are likely lightning rod insulators from the late 1850’s. The last Hemingray insulator was made in 1967. Over the 100+ years of production, they made billions of insulators, in-fact in 1937 they had made there billionth Hemingray insulator!.
How much are clear glass insulators worth?
On average, these glass insulators tend to sell for around $20, though there are special instances where insulators can sell for significantly more than that. Generally, the insulators that sell for more are rare, either because of their manufacturer or their color.
What is a vintage glass insulator?
Vintage Glass insulators were first produced in the 1850s for telegraph lines, then for telephone and power transmission lines. They insulated and protected the wooden poles from the electricity coursing through the wires. They are made from glass, porcelain, or composite polymer materials (non-conductive materials).
What color is the best insulator?
Properly working insulation should be a yellow, white, green or pink color depending on the manufacturer. Move the insulation on the basement ceiling around a little bit (just use a wooden spoon or other object to push it back and forth) to see if it has darkened.
What do the numbers on glass insulators mean?
All Hemingray insulators since 1933 have had mold and date codes on them. In the Price Guide, these are generally referred to as [Numbers and dots] and [Number]. The last digit (plus 1930) is the year the insulator mold was made. Thus O-4 means the mold was made in 1934, O-8 means 1938.
How much is a Hemingray 16 insulator worth?
If your insulator matches both the common color and common embossing criteria below, it’s most likely worth $1 to $3.
What is a Hemingway glass insulator?
Hemingray Glass Company. The Hemingray 42, a telegraph pin insulator produced by the Hemingray Glass Company, is widely found in North America. Formerly. Gray & Hemingray. Gray, Hemingray & Bros.
Are electric insulators worth anything?
Color – The color of the insulator typically makes the most difference in value. For example, an aqua colored insulator might be worth $5, but a cobalt blue insulator might be worth $300!.
How old are ceramic insulators?
Porcelain insulators had their start when local potteries began making telegraph insulators in the 1850’s and 1860’s. These crude early pieces were usually threadless and were produced in much lower quantities than their glass counterparts, and few have survived the years.
When did they stop using glass insulators?
During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s many of these lines were dismantled as technology advanced. Today, a few lines using glass insulators are still in service, but are only a tiny percentage compared to the heyday of open wire communication.
What are ceramic insulators?
Ceramic Insulators Ceramic insulators are ceramic materials used to insulate electrically-conductive materials or temperature-controlled enclosures. In the context of electrical insulation, ceramic insulators are usually limited to the insulation of electrically conductive materials on an industrial or municipal scale.
How do you clean vintage glass insulators?
Use white vinegar to remove water residue and accumulation from years of the insulator weathering on the pole or lying in a field. Pour white vinegar in a deep bowl, and let the insulator soak overnight. Brush its teeth and threads the next morning. Rinse with clear water to remove the vinegar.
How many types of insulators are there?
The five types of insulators are: Suspension insulators. Pin insulators. Strain Insulators.
Why do black things get hotter than white?
A black object absorbs all wavelengths of light and converts them into heat, so the object gets warm. A white object reflects all wavelengths of light, so the light is not converted into heat and the temperature of the object does not increase noticeably.
Is black a good insulator of heat?
Black surfaces are not good conductors of heat unless they are metal.
What is green insulation?
Technically speaking, home insulation is green by its very nature because it saves energy. Then why is “green” insulation greener? For some people, it’s green when it contains a high percentage of recycled materials; for others, it’s when it doesn’t contain harmful substances that can cause health problems.
What is a Hemingray insulator used for?
A. Hemingray insulators were used for a variety of purposes, but the primary goal was always the same: to insulate an object from another object, whether that was a telephone pole, telegraph pole, power line, lightning rod, or battery platform.
Where are glass insulators in the wild?
The insulators are from power line distribution and the poles lines used along railroads. Very few will be from open wire telephone distribution since these were taken down many decades ago and converted to cables and put underground. Glass insulators are fast disappearing from the American scenery.
When did they stop using porcelain insulators?
They were introduced in the 1840s when the first telegraph lines went up, and they continued in use until the late 1960s, when electric companies started using porcelain insulators and telephone companies switched to plastic insulators.
