Arctic Silver Replacement???

woodbender · Mar 6, 2003

The few mods that I've done have all been done with mounted leds so I never needed any epoxy. I am about to do my first mod using an emitter. What can I use to glue the emitter down since I don't have any arctic silver? Got any recipes for mixing in heat sink compound to get the same results? I have heat sink compound, regular epoxy and jb weld. Thanks for your input. I am ready to finish this mod and will post the results when finished.

Slick · Mar 6, 2003

You could use Arctic Alumina...

When I mix my own (for larger amounts and longer pot life) I use JB weld (overnight cure) mixed with Arctic Silver thermal compound. I mix them in equal parts and it sets up good.

LEDmodMan · Mar 6, 2003

I remember seeing a post saying you could buy Arctic Silver at BestBuy now. I havn't personally verified this yet, so don't kill me if they don't have it.

Doug S · Mar 6, 2003

Another option is to use you favorite HS compound under the slug and epoxy under only the plastic part of the housing. If you view the LED from the bottom, the plastic part of the housing is recessed about 0.3mm relative to the slug. Use the epoxy sparingly to minimized the amount that squishes under the slug. Similarly, be sparing with the heatsink compound so that it doesn't squish out and displace the epoxy. The thinner the joint the better.

woodbender · Mar 6, 2003

Thanks for the options. I've got it setting up right now and will finish it up tomorrow. I wish I could snap my fingers and it be done. 2 solder points tomorrow and it is ready to use.

N162E · Mar 6, 2003

[ QUOTE ]
woodbender said:
The few mods that I've done have all been done with mounted leds so I never needed any epoxy. I am about to do my first mod using an emitter. What can I use to glue the emitter down since I don't have any arctic silver? Got any recipes for mixing in heat sink compound to get the same results?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've used regular 1 hour epoxy mixed 50/50 with computer chip heat sink compound. Take longer to harden but seems to work fine. Hope this /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gifs