Why is dielectric sometimes called "bulb grease"

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In times where people think it's normal to load a pickup from 10 feet too high why do they invite problems by doing things like this. It's just electronic contact protection and is dielectric grease so why the occasional name change. You just know someone is going to smear it on the bulb.
 
If you smear grease on a light bulb there's no help for you and you probably shouldn't even think about doing your own repairs.

Problems like that fix themselves.
 
Probably because the average person doesn't know what dielectric means, but bulb grease is more intuitive to put on the light bulb contacts to keep corrosion down.
 
The flexibility of our language is a double edged sword. It can ease communication or confuse things.

My personal bug-a-boo is that people will employ shortcuts or slang because they're too lazy to assemble the few necessary words or sentences.
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
The flexibility of our language is a double edged sword. It can ease communication or confuse things.

My personal bug-a-boo is that people will employ shortcuts or slang because they're too lazy to assemble the few necessary words or sentences.


"Wutev. IDC."

LOL
 
People tend to call things by what they're used for or known for colloquially, e.g.:

"Hey, grab the Fluke [brand name of a well known digital multimeter] and meet me down in the basement, so we can troubleshoot the breaker panel."

"Hey, the blinker burned out. Grab a spare bulb and some bulb [dielectric] grease, would ya?"
 
I put dielectric grease on the bulb threads to keep it from sticking as I'm screwing it into the lamp socket. Never heard of the term "bulb grease."
 
I also use dielectric grease a lot, but don't think I ever heard it called "Bulb Grease".
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
Reduces resistance...wire insulation may last longer...bulbs may last longer...automotive contacts (sockets) don't corrode. It's a must do.
A dielectric is an insulator, but if it keeps metal parts from corroding it preserves good electrical contact. Since it does NOT support conduction there's no danger of that protection causing a short circuit. The question has always been .... if you fill a connector with that stuff does it degrade the actual connection through which current SHOULD flow, and the answer seems to be no. In the "radio" business even weak radio signals do not seem to suffer from losses caused by dielectric in the connector, if the connector has
properly designed contacts. In a high current 12 V battery application for example those parts of the connector which make contact will squeeze the dielectric out of the way and make contact anyway. There are compounds which DO lower resistance, DeOxit by Caig labs is one of the best, but that should NOT be applied to a connector in a way that it could create an alternative path to ground.
 
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lol I know you don't actually put it on the glass, but it's setup as an impulse purchase at autozone or advance auto checkout. Where the idea is to buy cheap things impulsively without much thinking. So it's inviting trouble to call it that when it doesn't go on the bulb and is used on more than the contacts of light bulbs.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I put dielectric grease on the bulb threads to keep it from sticking as I'm screwing it into the lamp socket. Never heard of the term "bulb grease."


Lightbulb wax, the waxy substance that is spread on screw in bulb threads so they do not bind is somewhat of a different product than the dielectric grease being discussed-but carries the same type of misnomer for its name.
 
Originally Posted By: Balrog006
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I put dielectric grease on the bulb threads to keep it from sticking as I'm screwing it into the lamp socket. Never heard of the term "bulb grease."


Lightbulb wax, the waxy substance that is spread on screw in bulb threads so they do not bind is somewhat of a different product than the dielectric grease being discussed-but carries the same type of misnomer for its name.
That's a bigger problem than you might think considering all the "import" bulbs out there with slightly out of spec base dimensions. I bought an LED made in Unknownistan which had an out of spec base such that when installed it would back slightly out of the socket with time. A little silicone grease and it could be screwed in far enough that it stopped giving a problem.
 
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