Is there any difference between Die electric grease and regular silicon grease?
Die electric grease the same as silicon lube
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yes, they are not the same. Di-Electric grease is used to conduct electricity in places where a grease should be used to ensure easy removal of parts or to prevent water from corroding parts. Examples of use:spark plug boots
Silicone grease isnt conductive (or it isn't supposed to be) and is used as a clean grease or to prevent rubber from craking/splitting. It usually comes as a spray of solid grease format. Uses: CV Boots, weatherstripping, etc.
I enjoy using the spray on my CV boots to prevent them from cracking due to age.
hope this helps
Silicone grease isnt conductive (or it isn't supposed to be) and is used as a clean grease or to prevent rubber from craking/splitting. It usually comes as a spray of solid grease format. Uses: CV Boots, weatherstripping, etc.
I enjoy using the spray on my CV boots to prevent them from cracking due to age.
hope this helps
Last edited:
Kestas
Staff member
Wrong. Di-electric grease and silicone grease are alike. The definition of dielectric is that it is non-conductive. So, silicone grease is a dielectric grease.
As you said, dielectrics are by definition non-conductive, but to a DC current. I'm not sure why they're called dielectric in this case. The current involved in firing a spark plug is not DC, i.e. it varies with time.
Isn't dielectric grease used in a spark plug boot? If so, I'd say it must conduct that timing changing current sent to the plugs.
Isn't dielectric grease used in a spark plug boot? If so, I'd say it must conduct that timing changing current sent to the plugs.
dielectric is a term used in capacitor/capacitance, loosing bearing a meaning of "barrier" or "separation" in electrical terms.
Depending on formulation, dielectric grease (silicone based) can be of same/similar electrical properties as silicone grease in that they possess:
(1) moisture displacing properties
(2) separating metal-to-metal contact ares from coming into contact with air, which helps in protecting from oxidation
(3) some dielectric grease has high breakdown voltage capability so that it can be used where HV arcing occurs or may potentially occurs.
using silicone (specifically, silicone dielectric grease) in spark plug boots is to keep the boots from binding/sticking to the other material, hence facilitating the remove of it afterwards.
Q.
Depending on formulation, dielectric grease (silicone based) can be of same/similar electrical properties as silicone grease in that they possess:
(1) moisture displacing properties
(2) separating metal-to-metal contact ares from coming into contact with air, which helps in protecting from oxidation
(3) some dielectric grease has high breakdown voltage capability so that it can be used where HV arcing occurs or may potentially occurs.
using silicone (specifically, silicone dielectric grease) in spark plug boots is to keep the boots from binding/sticking to the other material, hence facilitating the remove of it afterwards.
Q.
Ok, since we're getting technical....capacitance is a measure of a system's ability to store charge.
And a dielectric is material that relates the permittivity of a material to that of free space, often termed Eo or epsilon zero.
A capacitor is formed by separating two conductive surfaces with a dielectric. C = ErEo * A/D where Er is the relative permittivity (also the dielectric constant for a material), Eo is what I said before and A is the area of the surface(s) and D is the distance separating them.
In an electric circuit, the impedance of a capacitor, is given by 1/(jwC)...where w is the frequency of a sinusoidal voltage in radians/sec and C is the capacitance of course. Since a DC current is has a frequency of zero, then 1/(jwC) results in a value approaching infinity, i.e. it's an open circuit to DC current. Now of course this applies to sinusoidal steady state conditions. If we wish to discuss the differential equation that need solving to understand exactly what happens in a circuit containing a capacitor, let me know.
In the case of a spark plug boot containing a dielectric grease, if there is any separation between the two metals, that of the plug and that of the plug wire's end, then a capacitor is formed with the grease being the dielectric. Of course, if there is no separation, i.e. the grease is squeezed out...then of course the grease need not conduct.
And a dielectric is material that relates the permittivity of a material to that of free space, often termed Eo or epsilon zero.
A capacitor is formed by separating two conductive surfaces with a dielectric. C = ErEo * A/D where Er is the relative permittivity (also the dielectric constant for a material), Eo is what I said before and A is the area of the surface(s) and D is the distance separating them.
In an electric circuit, the impedance of a capacitor, is given by 1/(jwC)...where w is the frequency of a sinusoidal voltage in radians/sec and C is the capacitance of course. Since a DC current is has a frequency of zero, then 1/(jwC) results in a value approaching infinity, i.e. it's an open circuit to DC current. Now of course this applies to sinusoidal steady state conditions. If we wish to discuss the differential equation that need solving to understand exactly what happens in a circuit containing a capacitor, let me know.
In the case of a spark plug boot containing a dielectric grease, if there is any separation between the two metals, that of the plug and that of the plug wire's end, then a capacitor is formed with the grease being the dielectric. Of course, if there is no separation, i.e. the grease is squeezed out...then of course the grease need not conduct.
Oh and on second thought, what Kestas said is probably right. The grease is probably best to be non-conductive even if presented with a time changing current (i.e. that presented to a spark plug for ignition timing). Besides, the rate of change, that which is relative to frequency, is so low in a signal sent to a spark plug...that it's pretty close to DC. In other words, a few hundred spark plug firings per second is a very low frequency and a very high capacitance would be required to make this a short...as the 1/jwC equation implies.
No, I don't want get technical beyond this point and for that I just throw out an avg joe's term so that everyone on this board understands what "dielectric" means.
Don't forget that air is dielectric (equals 1), and so is various lubricating oil (less then one, but still possess dielectric properties). Hexk! even a dry sheet of toilet paper is "dielectric" until it reaches the breakdown potential (given other various factors).
Q.
Don't forget that air is dielectric (equals 1), and so is various lubricating oil (less then one, but still possess dielectric properties). Hexk! even a dry sheet of toilet paper is "dielectric" until it reaches the breakdown potential (given other various factors).
Q.
Fair enough 
Only it's free space I think that has a dielectric of 1 (air is a very imprecise term in this context)
Only it's free space I think that has a dielectric of 1 (air is a very imprecise term in this context)
Wow, and I thought all it did was keep my plug boots from welding themselves to the plugs.............
I think you're pretty much right..only is it required to conduct the signal sent to the spark plug while doing so. I don't think so since there is metal to metal contact between the plug's anode and the connector on the end of the plug wire.
If dielectric grease conducted electricity then when you put it on spark plug boots it would cause a short to ground, especially with high voltage.
Its use in automotive application is to provide a seal and to keep electrical components from "sticking" together. Silicone grease may be a good dielectric but I'm not sure a dielectric specific grease would work as a high temp lubricant.
Its use in automotive application is to provide a seal and to keep electrical components from "sticking" together. Silicone grease may be a good dielectric but I'm not sure a dielectric specific grease would work as a high temp lubricant.
good point on the temp range.
Everything conducts a little. When I worked for a wire and cable company they tested all the insulation for its resistance. The common vinyl and rubber isn't good enough for high voltage. The utilities don't want to replace their cables as often as you do spark plug wires. Mostly they use polyethelene. Even it won't stand up to high voltage. They put a layer of semiconductive polyethylene between the wire and the insulation.
Getting back on topic. While some of you may suspect I am a Sil-Glyde salesman, I don' know that it is as strong of a dielectric as the stuff sold for the purpose. For all the more ignition work I do and the price of a little tube of the right stuff, it isn't worth finding out it won't work.
Getting back on topic. While some of you may suspect I am a Sil-Glyde salesman, I don' know that it is as strong of a dielectric as the stuff sold for the purpose. For all the more ignition work I do and the price of a little tube of the right stuff, it isn't worth finding out it won't work.
I use a pure silicone grease that's available quite inexpensively from the plumbing section of any home improvement store. It's "silicone plumbers grease" and works perfectly for spark plug boots. Just rub some inside the boot with a cotton swab, don't put any on the conductors.
I think there is a bit of salesmanship associated with dielectric grease. Current is conducted via the microscopic irregularitie in any metal to metal contact. The current is not going to leak through any lubicant that you apply, because that is not the way it is conducted. Grease any electrical connnector with anything high temp and you will not see any difference.
Here, these folks make both. You can click on the product at the right, then look as the msds sheet to see how it's made for comparison.
http://www.agscompany.com/products.php?line=5&category=17&subcat=97&product=212
http://www.agscompany.com/products.php?line=5&category=17&subcat=97&product=212
The AGS stuff is below, where it's clear that it's designed for it's dielectric properties. A dielectric is often characterized by it's breakdown properties, which is why the SilGlyde isn't marketed as a dielectric grease. Considering that most people probably don't use anything at all, and that you aren't really relying upon a thin, discontinuous layer to function as a strong dielectric, instead you just want to make sure that you aren't using something that is conductive or absorbs water. The simple way to do this is with a dielectric grease :^)
"DIELECTRIC Silicone Compound
DESCRIPTION: The material covered by this specification is a silica-filled, high viscosity polydimethyl siloxane fluid. The formulation compares to a NLGI No. 2 grease in consistency. Key performance properties are operating temperature, water repellent, dielectric strength, adherence, non-solidifying, chemically inactive, hydrolytically stable, and radiation resistant."
"DIELECTRIC Silicone Compound
DESCRIPTION: The material covered by this specification is a silica-filled, high viscosity polydimethyl siloxane fluid. The formulation compares to a NLGI No. 2 grease in consistency. Key performance properties are operating temperature, water repellent, dielectric strength, adherence, non-solidifying, chemically inactive, hydrolytically stable, and radiation resistant."
Originally Posted By: Georgiadave
I think there is a bit of salesmanship associated with dielectric grease. Current is conducted via the microscopic irregularitie in any metal to metal contact. The current is not going to leak through any lubicant that you apply, because that is not the way it is conducted. Grease any electrical connnector with anything high temp and you will not see any difference.
A degree of current is conducted by everything. The more a high resistance material conducts. the sooner it breaks down. Unless you are doing a lot of work, a $2 tube of the good stuff will last a long time. I am not about to smear anything of unknown properties on my spark plug boots.
I think there is a bit of salesmanship associated with dielectric grease. Current is conducted via the microscopic irregularitie in any metal to metal contact. The current is not going to leak through any lubicant that you apply, because that is not the way it is conducted. Grease any electrical connnector with anything high temp and you will not see any difference.
A degree of current is conducted by everything. The more a high resistance material conducts. the sooner it breaks down. Unless you are doing a lot of work, a $2 tube of the good stuff will last a long time. I am not about to smear anything of unknown properties on my spark plug boots.
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
I use a pure silicone grease that's available quite inexpensively from the plumbing section of any home improvement store. It's "silicone plumbers grease" and works perfectly for spark plug boots. Just rub some inside the boot with a cotton swab, don't put any on the conductors.
Yup! I've been using it on all the elect connectors in my truck. Keeps water out and doesn't breakdown, that $1 tube goes a long way.
I use a pure silicone grease that's available quite inexpensively from the plumbing section of any home improvement store. It's "silicone plumbers grease" and works perfectly for spark plug boots. Just rub some inside the boot with a cotton swab, don't put any on the conductors.
Yup! I've been using it on all the elect connectors in my truck. Keeps water out and doesn't breakdown, that $1 tube goes a long way.
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