Electrical contact lubricants

Hello fellow TFers.
Anybody has any experience with this product?

Contact Lubricants - 2G Special Contact Grease - SGA | Electrolube

Was looking at a product to protect contacts and improce conductivity and found this. Looks like it is well known and sold all over the world.
Any input?

Regards,

L.

Boeshield T-9® | Corrosion Protection and Waterproof Lubrication


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If you're talking about switch contacts, how are you planning on applying it? Take the switch apart?

WesK said:

If you're talking about switch contacts, how are you planning on applying it? Take the switch apart?

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No I am talking about the contact to the switches, crimp connectors, terminal blocks, breakers etc.

Diesel Duck said:

Boeshield T-9® | Corrosion Protection and Waterproof Lubrication


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Thank you, I did not know this product. However I think it is a bit different in the sens that it does not conduct electricity, am I right?

Dielectric Grease is sold most places and I use it on my power cord prongs and inlets to extend their life.

The Other Gary said:

Dielectric Grease is sold most places and I use it on my power cord prongs and inlets to extend their life.

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Hi Gary! Yes I have some dielectric grease too. But the difference between dielectric grease and this one is that dielectric grease does not conduct electricity and is applied on the contact (externally if I can say) while this one is applied on the contact/connector to protect from corrosion but also improve conductivity (well from what I read on their product sheet).

L.

I see nothing about this lubricant that says it is conductive. They only make claims as to its "lubricating and protective properties". The spec sheet says nothing about conductivity rating (or lack of) so really it's just some kind of generic grease.

I know its counterintuitive and you'll hear people say that contacts must need something to improve them, but dielectric grease is the grease to use for all types of electrical contacts. Conductive grease has its place mainly in certain kinds of high power switching devices, but that is a very limited use. True conductive grease is hard to find because its use is so limited. Conductive grease can cause serious problems with low power signaling equipment and can be dangerous for high voltage equipment and it simply isn't needed for ordinary use. I can't think of a single consumer electronic device that would use or benefit from conductive grease.

All normal electrical contacts have a wiping action and pressure points that push ANY grease out of the way. So with dielectric grease you have a great contact point that is surrounded by grease that prevents corrosion. Its used everywhere today. For example, every connector (and there are many) on a modern car has dielectric grease applied before assembly. Even the spark plug contacts.

An example I am close to is the large medical X-ray equipment I work on. The high voltage feed to the X-ray tube which runs at up to 140,000 volts uses a copious amount of dielectric grease on the connectors. The main system power feed which is 380V at up to 150Amps uses dielectric grease on the disconnects. Even the smallest additional resistance on these contacts would cause a system malfunction so obviously the dielectric grease isn't causing any.

I use it all over my boat and other boats I have worked on. Its on every fuse and connector, the 12V feeds, nav light contacts, my chart plotter interconnects and even the VHF connectors. There will also be dielectric grease inside every boat battery disconnect switch any of us own.

Ken

Well it is semantic but if it is said to reduce contact resistance for me it means improving contact conductivity, but I may be wrong.
Thank you for your comment about dielectric grease and I agree it is good stuff however I do not think these are the same, especially the HGC product from electrolube which is qualified of highly conductive grease, so the opposite of dielectric grease.

Lou_tribal said:

Well it is semantic but if it is said to reduce contact resistance for me it means improving contact conductivity, but I may be wrong.
Thank you for your comment about dielectric grease and I agree it is good stuff however I do not think these are the same, especially the HGC product from electrolube which is qualified of highly conductive grease, so the opposite of dielectric grease.

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I'll be anxious to learn more about electrolube.

For now, I subscribe to the theory of just protecting the connection, and not sure I'd want something conductive.

I use dielectric grease for typical connections that get unplugged and plugged often, like spark plug wires. Prevents corrosion and makes it easy to remove them. Same with other plug or blade type connections.

For a new connection that should not come apart, I use a connector with solder, or crimp the connection with a heat shrink over it and use liquid tape on the ends.

And, annually, I "mist" the engine compartment and other area containing electrical connections with Corrosion X. It gets into everything and prevents corrosion, rust or electrical problems. Boeshield is useful to, but harder to "mist" and lays down a thicker layer, which sometimes is better, like on things that slide (controls, shift, steering).

Rarely have an issue with using all of the above for my water toys.

Now, off topic, but another huge issue, if neglected, are zippers, which need to be lubed annually or more often. There's some zipper lubes out there, but the above also works great.

(I buy Corrosion X by the gallon....)

I think I may have messed up one of the harness connectors on my engine. I may end up disconnecting and reconnecting them one by one. I was thinking of using something like CRC to clean them as I go. Is that a good product to use for such a purpose?

We use this on every connection aluminum and copper. I install electrical systems (both low and medium voltage) in a highly corrosive environment and have been using this stuff for years. I also use it on my shore power connections to help mitigate corrosion. Use what you want but this is the right stuff for the job.

http://www.idealind.com/ideal-elect...tallation-supplies/1-noalox-anti-oxidant.aspx

That stuff is for aluminum contacts, probably very rare on a boat.

The best contacts are metal, nice shiny metal. If you protect the contacts from salt or other corrosion, the contacts will be just fine. You keep that salt and other corrosion away from the metal with dielectric grease. The grease keeps the contacts protected and the metal doesn't corrode, therefore you get very good contact.

This is really not that difficult, but you DO NOT want to use conducting grease, it is one of the ways I know to electrocute yourself. Reread Chase's posting about what to use.

By the way, soldered connections are not boat friendly either.

You guys really should read Calder. Get rid of all these funny ideas.

I spray WD40 then apply silicon grease.

Greetings,
Mme P. NOOOOOO!!!!!! Anything but silicone svp. Silicone is insidious in that once on a surface it is almost impossible to remove and readily gets transferred all about the boat via hand contact. Even a trace, which is invisible and undetectable will cause no end of problems IF one ever wants to paint or varnish.
In another life I worked in a profession where silicone was sometimes used and even minuscule trace amounts caused no end of problems.
From what I have been able to tell, Corrosion X contains no silicone AND will most definitely prevent corrosion. CorrosionX

Monsieur RT F
Sorry I should have added : for battery terminals.
I am always curious to know new things, thanks for your explanations & link, again I learned something valuable on TF, CorrosionX looks very good, hopefully they would ship to France.

Be very careful with conducting grease. Stray current leaking from high to low voltage connections can cause havoc with electronic equipment, engine harnesses, corrosion of underwater fittings.

dhays said:

I think I may have messed up one of the harness connectors on my engine. I may end up disconnecting and reconnecting them one by one. I was thinking of using something like CRC to clean them as I go. Is that a good product to use for such a purpose?

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Contacts on switch gear are normally not dressed with anything. You can use contact cleaner on them, which in my experience is ok, bot normally the issue with contacts ,is a carbon buildup, which if light, is cleaned with a pencil eraser, and if pitting occurs, we used an emery board ( yes, steal it from your wife). This is how we serviced about two thousand contacts on the Staten Island Ferry when I worked there many moons ago.

kchace said:

I see nothing about this lubricant that says it is conductive. They only make claims as to its "lubricating and protective properties". The spec sheet says nothing about conductivity rating (or lack of) so really it's just some kind of generic grease.

I know its counterintuitive and you'll hear people say that contacts must need something to improve them, but dielectric grease is the grease to use for all types of electrical contacts. Conductive grease has its place mainly in certain kinds of high power switching devices, but that is a very limited use. True conductive grease is hard to find because its use is so limited. Conductive grease can cause serious problems with low power signaling equipment and can be dangerous for high voltage equipment and it simply isn't needed for ordinary use. I can't think of a single consumer electronic device that would use or benefit from conductive grease.

All normal electrical contacts have a wiping action and pressure points that push ANY grease out of the way. So with dielectric grease you have a great contact point that is surrounded by grease that prevents corrosion. Its used everywhere today. For example, every connector (and there are many) on a modern car has dielectric grease applied before assembly. Even the spark plug contacts.

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That explains it well.

I think NoAlox should be fine on electrical connections. Its primary use is to prevent aluminum wire from oxidizing, but it has to be compatible with copper connectors as well because even when using aluminum wire, many times the lugs or other fittings are copper based. CorrosionX looks good too. Almost anything that keeps oxidation from forming will get the main job done.

Ken

A clean, tight copper to copper connection (or tin if the surfaces are tin plated) is as good as you're going to get. There's no grease or other product that will improve this.


Assuming that we're talking about terminal strips and such, clean the surfaces if needed, make the connection and then use a spray protectant like Boeshield to protect the connection from moisture.


As a few folks have mentioned, any type of conductive compound is going to cause you problems. You don't want to use a product that will give the electrical current the opportunity to go where it shouldn't (arc between adjacent connections or terminals). This is why we use dielectric grease (non conducting) in places where a grease like protection is appropriate such as plugs and sockets.

Another fan of Corrosion X. Use both the aerosol spray can and liquid in a bottle that I apply with a very small brush. My battery terminals and cabling ( which usually are one of the worst areas for corrosion) still look brand new.

Ted

dhays said:

I think I may have messed up one of the harness connectors on my engine. I may end up disconnecting and reconnecting them one by one. I was thinking of using something like CRC to clean them as I go. Is that a good product to use for such a purpose?

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dhays,

It depends a bit....if it's corroded bad about the only way to remove the corrosion is mechanically, with a steel brush or file.

For general cleaning of connectors, plugs, knife connections, blades, etc. I'd argue to pull them apart, clean with a good contact cleaner (CRC makes one), and perhaps wire brush them clean with those small wire brushes.

If it's really bad, and if you had enough slack in the wire, I'd put new solder connectors in (solder connectors have the solder built in so you heat them up after crimping and the solder finishes the connection, leaving no exposed wire, excepting the spade, or blade that comes apart, and I'd put shrink tubing over that.

For continued protection, I like corrosion X, that you can "mist" and spray everything down with, including electrical connectors. However, you don't want to spray belts, air filters, if you can. If you're going to "mist" the product, you need a tank, and wands for that purpose. The corrosion X one that I have (from aviation work), but there's others like: http://www.triconsprayers.com/product/tri-con-atomized-sprayer-o-1800-1/
Very handy to have, especially in salt water environment.

CRC is commonly sold as a lubricant and or degreaser, not the thing for electrical, but probably won't hurt.... maybe.... get the CRC contact cleaner, or someone else's.

Another product I like is Deoxit. Seems like a higher end product aimed at the computer, high tech, small electrical stuff, and works quite well. I haven't used much on the boat, but would be something to try perhaps to help

First, it's not part of the original thread, but "solder filled" crimp terminals are not a good idea and not necessary. A proper crimp makes a solid connection but if there's solder in the connection and you melt it, you've destroyed the solid crimp connection you worked so hard to make.


Back on topic, many products and sprays (like WD40) are oil based and while they will protect against corrosion, they attract and hold dirt. Wax based protectants are a much better choice. You do want a product intended for electrical connections though. You don't want to create a conductive path to other circuits.

A second vote for NoAlox. That's what I've used for decades.

Bob Cofer said:

We use this on every connection aluminum and copper. I install electrical systems (both low and medium voltage) in a highly corrosive environment and have been using this stuff for years. I also use it on my shore power connections to help mitigate corrosion. Use what you want but this is the right stuff for the job.

http://www.idealind.com/ideal-elect...tallation-supplies/1-noalox-anti-oxidant.aspx

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Yes I use this stuff as well.

Question:

Are there a lot of boats with aluminum wiring these days?

Seevee said:

Question:

Are there a lot of boats with aluminum wiring these days?

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No, but tinned wiring or terminals could be mistaken for aluminum by those who don't know any better.

There really is no place for solder on a boat, except, perhaps, as an emergency repair. Proper tinned crimps are the preferred method, not automotive, not Marretts; solder adds another metal to the mix in salt air, can fail ("cold joints") in such a way that is very hard to detect. Solder is a quick, cheap fastening process that works fairly well in producing devices with circuit boards but has absolutely no intrinsic strength. Most solder connections are only expected to last to the end of their warranty, which is obvious to anybody who has tried to maintain a 10 year old Volvo or Mercedes car...on a boat, that just doesn't work.