Potting Compound

Installation

Potting Compound

Patton & Cooke Co. recommends the use of an approved “potting compound” to fill the back body of the coupler. By filling the rear body of the coupler with a re-enterable potting compound, the air at the base of the insulators is displaced by compound, so partial discharge is minimized, if not eliminated entirely. At the very minimum we recommend that each of the phase insulator tubes be filled with compound.

For applications in areas of extreme heat and humidity or in areas where the day to night ambient temperatures vary widely, it is common to have condensation form on the interior of the couplers. The only way to eliminate this condensation problem is to fill the back body with potting compound.

Patton & Cooke 5 and 8 kV couplers require one (1) 5/8kv (1,110 gram) kit to fill. 15kV couplers require one (1) 15 kv (3,330 gram) kit to fill. They do not fill the coupler completely, but about 70% or 80%. It is important that the backs of the insulators are filled and do not have any air pockets. The best way to do this is by having the coupler pointing downward (see illustration below)

From this picture you can see that the compound should fill the back of the insulators – but leave airspace at the top (the airspace is important to allow for expansion of the compound). You should never fill the coupler when it is lying parallel with the ground because there is a possibility for leaving an air pocket near the insulators. Using an angle such as I have drawn is ideal. It will take about an hour for the compound to set up but doing it this way will ensure the best result.