Such a thing as conducting lube?

[Yenster]

Is there something I can put on spring contacts in my flashlight, or on the ends of batteries, to increase electrical conductivity and prevent oxidation/corrosion? Maybe some kind of gel to ensure good electrical contact? Thanks.

 

[Curious_character]

Is there something I can put on spring contacts in my flashlight, or on the ends of batteries, to increase electrical conductivity and prevent oxidation/corrosion? Maybe some kind of gel to ensure good electrical contact? Thanks.

Yes, but you shouldn't use conductive grease. The vast majority of conductive greases are only conductive enough to bleed off static electricity. Any grease which is conductive enough for flashlight level current is exotic, expensive, and shouldn't be used in a flashlight anyway since it could make its way to places it doesn't belong. Ordinary non-conductive greases improve contact by preventing oxidation and corrosion of the parts not in direct contact. Contact pressure is adequate to squeeze the grease from between the contacts, allowing a proper metallic path for the conductive current. Some of the favorites are various Nyogel formulations and ProGold. Even WD-40 will often greatly improve the contact performance. Just put a thin dab of it on all contact surfaces.

c_c

 

[Yenster]

Yes, but you shouldn't use conductive grease. The vast majority of conductive greases are only conductive enough to bleed off static electricity. Any grease which is conductive enough for flashlight level current is exotic, expensive, and shouldn't be used in a flashlight anyway since it could make its way to places it doesn't belong. Ordinary non-conductive greases improve contact by preventing oxidation and corrosion of the parts not in direct contact. Contact pressure is adequate to squeeze the grease from between the contacts, allowing a proper metallic path for the conductive current. Some of the favorites are various Nyogel formulations and ProGold. Even WD-40 will often greatly improve the contact performance. Just put a thin dab of it on all contact surfaces.

c_c

That's exactly what I needed. Thanks! :twothumbs (sure is easy to search on this forum once you have a product name)

 

[Fallingwater]

While we're on the subject, does such a thing as conductive epoxy/glue exist?
I'm often in the situation where I have to connect electric stuff together and can't/don't want to solder, so I have to resort to various gimcrack solutions such as clamps and magnets and fasteners and whatnot.
It'd be much easier if I could just glue the darn things together and be done with it.

 

[MikeLip]

Yes, silver loaded epoxy exists. It's much faster to solder if you're in a hurry since it's always an overnight setup, or requires heat to cure. Silver epoxy should only be used where you simply cannot solder, weld, crimp or anything else.

It's also quite expensive.

Oh the subject of conductive grease - this is mainly intended as stated for draining away static charges. It is not very conductive. It is also used in inverter drive motors to divert bearing currents which damage rolling elements and races, although it doesn't work all that well for that either.

Avoiding it is a good idea. Use Deoxit or Nyogel. I also have found that Mobil 1 synthetic seems to work OK and it's cheap at $6 a pound, which will last approximately until the sun burns out.

 

[Gerhard]

Graphite.

 

[Curious_character]

While we're on the subject, does such a thing as conductive epoxy/glue exist?
I'm often in the situation where I have to connect electric stuff together and can't/don't want to solder, so I have to resort to various gimcrack solutions such as clamps and magnets and fasteners and whatnot.
It'd be much easier if I could just glue the darn things together and be done with it.

As MikeLip said, it definitely exists. It's commonly used for such purposes as attaching components to hybrid electronic circuit substrates. I was looking for some a while back and discovered that some of the available conductive epoxies don't have adequate conductivity for carrying flashlight level currents without an objectionable voltage drop unless a very large area is used. This includes the MG product which I've seen at Fry's. Good quality products are expensive and not so easy to find.

My experience in using conductive epoxy for hybrid circuits (and we used the very best quality epoxy we could find and used meticulous application and curing regimens) is that it can also be subject to microcracking which raises the resistance, and it's typically pretty brittle and not very strong.

c_c

 

[Fallingwater]

So, no instant "cold soldering" alternatives yet. Oh well.

 

[soapy]

Not really sure why you want this? Glue/epoxy isn't reversible, unlike solder, it takes hours to cure or set, unlike the few seconds for solder, and it doesn't conduct well, unlike solder. It also wouldn't only stick to the conductive metal parts. Unlike solder.

I can only think that you must have some really obscure purpose for it?

 

[chmsam]

Wow! This is the third or fourth time this topic had popped up in less than a week. This topic can be easily searched for a ton of more information and how to find DeOxit.

For me it's plain and simple -- just use Caig DeOxit Gold. It is designed to remove oxidation and prevent it from coming back. Lightly coat the contacts and allow to dry for a few minutes. Use it on all of the contacts that you can. Works great and is well worth the small amount of effort. I find anything else is just a substitute for what you should be using in the first place. Try it on a flashlight that has significant oxidation and you'll think you put new batteries in it. Seems to last quite awhile, too. I do my lights only once or twice a year and I can tell the difference. Switches are more reliable and the lights are brighter due to the improved conductivity.