Glass Insulators

Collecting glass insulators can be an interesting hobby. They go back in time to the 1850s when they were first used for telegraph lines. There is a lot of historical value to glass insulators. Over time, they began being used for telephone and power lines. The production of glass insulators ended in the 1970s which makes them even more collectible. Today, over 2000 people collect glass insulators. You need to know where to find them, have a place to store them, and share your unique hobby with others.

You can find old glass insulators near power poles. The older the power pole is, the better chance you’ll find insulators on the ground. You might just need to go off the beaten path to find them. Take a picnic lunch with you, bring the family along and make a day of it. You can enjoy the beautiful outdoors and each other’s company while you go on a treasure hunt for glass insulators. There are a lot of rare designs and colors to discover.

If you can get to an old mine, then look around the power poles that are nearby. Odds are that you can find some discarded insulators around. Check to see if you can discover a power substation. Often, you can find insulators at a power substation that are in good condition. Be sure to protect your treasures with cloths or other material to prevent them from bumping into each other and chipping.

Once you get your insulators back home, you’re going to need a place to put them. Placing them in boxes in your garage is okay, but you’ll want to share your collection of glass insulators with other people. Many of them are very attractive to look at, being made in different colors like purple, blue, and green. You should organize your insulators on shelves by color, by type, by manufacturer. Probably the most beautiful way to organize your glass insulators is according to the colors of the rainbow.

After you have your insulators ready, you are going to want others to see the results. A collection of glass insulators makes an excellent conversation piece. Invite some of your older friends over to view your collection. Once your collection is large enough, you can invite the media over to take pictures. Once a person gets started gathering glass insulators, it is easy to become passionate about the hobby. Your sense of passion will make for a good newspaper story.

Keep your eyes open on your local paper and on web sites for insulator shows. This gives you the chance to take your collection of glass insulators to a public arena.