Talk:Distribution transformer

Is 'pylon transformer' correct name?
This article may be misnamed. The article calls these small 'pole pig' distribution transformers 'pylon transformers' and says they are mounted on pylons. They're not, according to my understanding of the term. A pylon is a steel tower used for high voltage transmission lines. These transformers are mounted on utility poles. Can we find a source for the term? Is it British usage? This source refers to them as 'utilization transformers'. -- Chetvorno TALK 09:09, 25 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Even if it were British usage, from my understanding "pylon" is still a colloquial term there, and does only refer to transmission towers. I think the common term for this article should be "pole-mount transformer", or perhaps the article should be named "Transformer (utility pole)", or the like.  --Onore Baka Sama (talk) 06:14, 15 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Update: From what I've seen, the OSHA considers them to be "distribution transformers". This is more general, so I suppose the terminology would also include pad-mount transformers.  I do take issue with the name, though, as it has nothing to do with steel lattice transmission towers ("pylons"), and while this article was created by the same IP that did all the other German machine translations, where "mast" in German is changed to "Pylon", no one has made any strides to change it to anything English-speakers would call it.  Add this to the fact that colloquial term "pylon" is only used in Britain, and that term tends to include or not include utilities infrastructure outside of steel lattice towers depending on the person you talk to, I would be extremely tempted to move this article "Distribution transformer". Additionally, I checked that Alexandria source that Chetvorno posted.  It uses "utilization transformers" once, but uses "distribution transformers" seven times. For now, I will be bold and make the move.  It seems there have been no moving conflicts in the past.  &mdash;Onore Baka Sama(speak 19:29, 5 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Good choice; I think "distribution transformer" probably is the term used in the industry, and it also includes both pole-mounted and pad-mounted types. We now have a correctly-named article.  Cheers! -- Chetvorno TALK 18:32, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Duplicate article
There are two entries about the same thing! The other one, located here, is also far more detailed, and actually has sources. I'm gonna get to consolidating these two entries. --Onore Baka Sama (talk) 22:37, 7 November 2009 (UTC)


 * The other article, Transformer, is about transformers in general, of all types. This article is about a specific type of transformer, the pylon transformer found on power poles, used in electric power distribution.  The two subjects are different enough to merit separate articles.  -- Chetvorno TALK 22:47, 7 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Ah, okay. I see now... Guess I looked over it a bit fast.  --Onore Baka Sama (talk) 06:05, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

Typo? "Present" voltages vs. "prevent" voltages
In the Connections -> Primary -> Single Phase bullet, I don't know enough about the subject to know if this is a typo:

"This type of distribution system, called 'grounded wye', is preferred because the transformers present unbalanced loads on the line, causing currents in the neutral wire."

Based on minimal electrical knowledge, I would think current on neutral would be bad, and I don't know why a system would be preferred if it caused that condition. Perhaps "present" should be "prevent"?


 * You have sharp eyes, I can see how it would look like it should be "prevent"  However it is correct as it is.  Some current in the neutral wire is okay.  The point I was trying to make is that the transformers inevitably present unbalanced loads since they draw different amounts of current from the phase wires.  In a "grounded wye" system the presence of the neutral wire prevents these unbalanced loads from changing the voltages on the lines much,  while in a "delta" system the line voltages are liable to vary more with differences in loading, causing variation in the customer's voltage, which is bad.  So "grounded wye" is preferred. -- Chetvorno TALK 18:19, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

Article biased toward US system?
The "Connections" section of the article has a "globalize" tag on it saying it is biased toward the US electrical distribution system. Although I wrote most of this section so I may be partial to the status quo, I don't see that the section is particularly biased. Each of the subsections has separate bullet points describing US and European variants. Under "Primary" it describes both the single phase transformers used in US and 3-phase transformers used in Europe. Under "Secondary" both the US split-phase 240/120 system and the European three phase 400/Y230 system is described. There are pictures of both North American single-phase and European 3-phase transformers included. If anyone feels this article is biased, please give specifics, because I'd like to make sure it has a global perspective. -- Chetvorno TALK 19:39, 16 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Note that not every country has its mains distribution net above ground, for example in the Netherlands all local mains distribution is underground. see Undergrounding And Pylon transformers do not exist there. Mahjongg (talk) 16:24, 8 October 2015 (UTC)