Product Obsolescence Alert: Ceramic Crock Insulators, Support Insulators, and Rapper Shafts

November 9, 2020:

Within the next year, many of our customers will face a purchasing barrier around the following products due to the manufacturer exiting the precipitator market: ceramic crock insulators, support insulators, and rapper shafts. Our vendor’s precipitator line will be shutting down in February of 2021. However, manufacturing capacity has been reached through the remaining months of 2020.

Currently, there are no like manufacturers in the United States or overseas. Although some manufacturers may provide similar products, we’ve found they have a weaker mechanical strength, and Neundorfer does not endorse them. Non-ceramic insulators such as those made from fiberglass have far shortened lifespans and can result in a large replacement investment.

Other failures in these non-ceramic insulators can cause shorted fields and degraded power, severely impacting performance. Support insulators are costly and workforce intensive to replace. We recommend that our customers contact us to purchase a reasonable amount of spares so that they can have the most reliable offering for upcoming outages and repairs.

Neundorfer is committed to providing the highest customer care level to you while determining your future strategy without these specific products readily available. Should you have any questions or need assistance in understanding the options available to you, please contact Neundorfer.

Alert Summary

CoorsTek will stop production of their ceramic crock insulators, support insulators, and rapper shafts by February 2021. There are no like-manufacturers in the world, so similar products may fit what you need but can impact performance.

Next Steps

Contact us to purchase a reasonable amount of spares or find an acceptable alternative so you can have the most reliable offering for upcoming outages/repairs.