Bulb, dielectric, silicone??? Questions

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Are these different? I want a grease for electric purposes like bulb contacts, or to make speaker connections from corroding or possible enhancing the connection.

I found a four gram pack of bulb grease at AZ but thats it.


Thanks for any insight.
 
you want dielectric grease which is good for most electrical connections. bulbs, plugs, spark plug wires, CPU pins, ect.

I got mine from autozone in a good size tube made by permatex. I think they call it dielectric tune up grease. It is in the isle with the other permatex products and gasket sealers.

But the bulb grease will work fine, it is repackaged dielectric grease.
 
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My current favorite water-proof grease is Dow Corning 111:
http://www.amazon.com/Dow-Corning-Valve-Lube-Sealant/dp/B000LDLGEU

There are plenty of different silicone greases out there but the better ones seem to be 'plumbers grease'. These will not improve connections but that isn't really necessary at all. What you want to do is protect the connections from moisture and contamination. They are also great for low-stress, exposed areas like brake-sliders, rubber bushings, shifter-linkage, hinges, etc.

There are greases and fluids that will improve/clean the connection like DeOxit or NO-OX-ID. These will not be very beneficial on 'new' connections. Some of these are questionably expensive but I can confirm that DeOxit is an effective 5-minute cleaner (NO-OX-ID is still being tested):

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.188/.f
http://www.sanchem.com/aSpecialE.html

You can find similar products at industrial/electrical suppliers.
 
I have a can of CRC dielectric grease that Ive used for years. Its over 10 years old I know that. My parents have a tube of Ford dielectric that must be at least 30.

Its what we use on all that kind of stuff. Perfect.
 
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
Thanks, but I think I want conductive grease and I assume dielectric grease is not this. But the NOOXID is "an electrically conductive grease."


That could potentially be a mistake. If a grease acts as a good conductor of electricity that might allow for a short around the load (such as a light bulb) and is not suitable for that sort of application. For a speaker connection (provided separate connectors are used for the positive and negative which is not always the case) it might be suitable.
 
Dielectric means insulating. It works on bulb bases where the contact scrapes away the dielectric grease for a good electrical contact, and the remaining stuff serves as a lubricant and a water seal.

Ox-Gard and similar industrial electrical products chemically clean the contacts. I use them where the wiring is subject to weather corrosion and on aluminum light bulb base threads.

Caig DeoxIT has high quality contact cleaner and G5 contact conditioner that are audio quality.
 
I was looking for he same thing - something to use on bulb contacts. And the choice came down to the following products:
Super Lube: Silicone Dielectric Grease
CRC: Dielectric Grease Compound
Dow Corning: DC-4 Electrical Insulating Compound

I prefer a spray but DC-4 was the only thing available to me. Temperature range of CRC and Dow Corning is up to 400F and Super Lube up to 500F.
I use DC-4 to prevent corrosion on the contacts. I don't know what temperature is around a 150W or 200W incandescent bulb, I hope it's not more than 200F.
 
Originally Posted By: yonyon
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
Thanks, but I think I want conductive grease and I assume dielectric grease is not this. But the NOOXID is "an electrically conductive grease."


That could potentially be a mistake. If a grease acts as a good conductor of electricity that might allow for a short around the load (such as a light bulb) and is not suitable for that sort of application. For a speaker connection (provided separate connectors are used for the positive and negative which is not always the case) it might be suitable.
+1 Yes, grease for electrical connections shouldn't conduct. Yes, it seems like a contradiction.
 
So,are dielectric, bulb, brake and silicone grease all the same product?


Will dielectric harm anything?


Certain metals?
plastic?
rubber? glass?

Is there anything to be on the lookout for; when applying it that is.
 
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They probably are more or less all the same.

Silicone grease should be very non-reactive and shouldn't hurt anything. I just push a little into the connector and wipe off any excess that squeezes out.
 
real bulb grease
Above are ordered from thinnest to thickest, in my experience.
The Permatex is about the consistency of Crest toothpaste, while the Ace hardware silicon grease in a small cup is close to a chilled tub of margarine.
 
I use the permatex stuff on all the grounds and plug connecters in my vehicles, have had good luck with the CRC as well. It seems to dry out a bit in high heat apps like spark plug boots, but I don't think that degrades performance much.
 
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