2002 >> September >> Foreign Insulators  

Foreign Insulators
by Marilyn Albers

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", September 2002, page 12

MORE ON INSULATORS FOUND IN UKRAINE

This time I have four new insulator styles from Ukraine to show you, thanks to collector Tom Katonak from Corrales, New Mexico, so let's start with the the smallest ones.                                                                
                                                                                 

The insulator on the left in the photo is barely 3-1/4" in height, but the larger example is a good 4" tall. Both examples are made of the same pretty aqua glass. The name "J.STOLLE,,NIEMEN" is embossed on the skirts of both insulators, which is probably the name of the manufacturer.

I've cherished the smallest of the two insulators in my foreign glass collection for several years but I never knew exactly where it came from until now. What a wonderful surprise it was to unite these two insulators!

This insulator looks like a flying saucer and it's just a beautiful piece of glass in a soft apple green. The raised letters "JT" appear within a triangle on the underside of the top shell and I assume it was the mark of the manufacturer. The three rings that circle the dome of the insulator were to there to hold a metal cap of some kind. The outside diameter of this saucer-like insulator is 6-3/4" inches but the diameter of the inner skirt is just 3-1/2". There are no horizontal threads inside the dome of the insulator but I can see six raised vertical ribs in that location to enable both insulator and pin to be held together with cement.

We could easily call this insulator the "Monster". (Pictured on the following page.) It weighs almost 10 Ibs. because of all the metal it carries, such as the iron cap on the crown of the insulator and the heavy iron pin on which it stands. The insulator, including the pin, is 7-1/2" in height. This unique insulator is also made of a soft apple green glass. The embossing is on the under side of the top shell and here are the raised numbers and letters I see - "OWHC-1OA (large cross) 82KBIV". I haven't made an attempt to translate them but I will try to get some help. 

This power insulator was taken down from a tall concrete pole in Ukraine. There were six insulators on the pole and these were arranged in three groups of two. The rectangular knobs protruding on the top of this insulator appear to be a channel to support a bus bar, which then in turn would join another set of insulators. Each of the two protrusions on the top of the insulator has a threaded 6mm hole which will receive a clamp in order to secure a bus bar.



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