Conductive electrical grease?

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by sonicj

..........
white lightning? like the bicycle lube? ................

No. Untaxed distilled spirits of fermented corn.

I use Ethanol to thin the "ALOX" lubricant I use on lead bullets, so it covers more evenly and consistently.
Straight from the tube will be fine between contact surfaces, but I suspect "NO-OX-ID A-Special" will need to be thinned some to paint it on exposed surfaces.

[options89]

ideal Noalox- you can get it at almost any electrical distributor. prevents corrosion of 2 disimilar metals in contact. improves connections aswell.
On the low/High voltage breakers and switches we build at work we use synthetic bearing grease (aviation grease) to improve contact resistance. I work for Schneider Electric (square d).

a quick search online I found http://www.cool-amp.com/conducto_lub...FQkEQAodV15vVA

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by options89

ideal Noalox- you can get it at almost any electrical distributor. prevents corrosion of 2 disimilar metals in contact. improves connections aswell.
On the low/High voltage breakers and switches we build at work we use synthetic bearing grease (aviation grease) to improve contact resistance. I work for Schneider Electric (square d).

a quick search online I found http://www.cool-amp.com/conducto_lub...FQkEQAodV15vVA

Undoubtedly great stuff, but at $78.10 per ounce, it ought to be.

It was at the top of my list until I saw the price, then I decided to pick the collective brains of the forum members in hopes of finding something more in the price range of an old retired geezer.

Thanks for the response.
John

[kab69440]

Hey Johnnie! I had a thought... (I know, you're nervous already, right?)
What if you took some copper brazing paste, spread it on a mixing board and let it dry in the sun until the water and alcohol evaporated? Then you could easily chop it into powder with a wide putty knife or similar implement. Take your now extremely fine copper powder and mix in enough dielectric grease to make your conductive anti-oxidant. That'd work, wouldn't it?

[JohnnieB]

So that is what the glow in the north-western sky was.
I thought it was the aurora borealis reaching further south from all the sun spots we've been having lately and it was Kab having a thought.

Kidding aside, I've been thinking about adding metallic copper to a lesser conductive (and less expensive) anti-oxidant and copper brazing paste might be a good source for the copper dust.

Thanks for the thought.
John

[yurtle]

FWIW,

According to their website:

http://www.sanchem.com/aSpecialE.html

Falicy of adding metals to increase Conductivity:

Many contact greases have copper, zinc or other metals blended into a grease to increase conductivity. In a study for an aerospace company in 1985 it was concluded that putting a metal into grease does not help conductivity. In many cases it reduces conductivity. The United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation in their Facilities instruction Journal Volume 3-3 Electrical Connections for power circuits states in Sec. 6.3.2 that "Use of grease with embedded zinc particles will cause a poorer connection due to the lower conductivity of zinc".

[multifasited]

Whoa ! Your so far over my head your indanger of hitting you heads on the space shuttle ,very interesting ,I must say ,GB and Ideal are common ones I've used ,Ever since a house I owned had copper clad and alum . wire s clamped together in a disconnect box with out a disconnect for my electric furnace ,It caught the house on fire ,7:00 A.M. thank God ,So I was able to get it out before real damage done and before F.D. arrived ,that was my interduction to No-Lox
Cause there was none ,a master electrican friend ,re-did the house and new furnace. He explained why it happened and why and what the stuff did and what it could stop !So I have been a fan of the stuff for 20 plus years ,no additives ,no corrosion no etching ,no problems . When you guys find something Affordable better ,I would be interested ,There are some guys out with some real brains ,and I proud you let me eves drop !
M.V.B. Carl

[sonicj]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

No. Untaxed distilled spirits of fermented corn.

I use Ethanol to thin the "ALOX" lubricant I use on lead bullets, so it covers more evenly and consistently.
Straight from the tube will be fine between contact surfaces, but I suspect "NO-OX-ID A-Special" will need to be thinned some to paint it on exposed surfaces.

Ahh... No idea if NO-OX will "thin" with alcohol, but I do know it cleans up nicely with 91% IPA. It is a wax-based compound, so warming it up 20° or 30° lowers the viscosity quite a bit. You could try running your dispenser under hot water from the tap or tossing it into a cup of hot water, etc. Personally, I just apply it at whatever ambient temperature is with a acid brush, rag, medical q-tip, nitrile gloved fingers, etc.

Originally Posted by kab69440

Hey Johnnie! I had a thought... (I know, you're nervous already, right?)
What if you took some copper brazing paste, spread it on a mixing board and let it dry in the sun until the water and alcohol evaporated? Then you could easily chop it into powder with a wide putty knife or similar implement. Take your now extremely fine copper powder and mix in enough dielectric grease to make your conductive anti-oxidant. That'd work, wouldn't it?

Im not that familiar with brazing, but I would suspect that the pastes contain corrosive fluxing agents that would be difficult if not impossible to separate from the powder. ie: boric acid, borax, etc. Copper powder is available from arts & crafts store, laboratory supply sources, etc.

I personally don't think adding copper, silver, mercury, etc. will produce any significant, or even insignificant, difference in a properly torqued battery connection. Lead is pretty soft and will conform under pressure... my 2¢ fwiw.
-sj