Put a dab of dielectric grease on the bottom of light bulbs.

[sixdogs]

You can make light bulbs last a lot longer by putting a dab of "dielectric" grease on the bottom of the bulb contact before installation and the bulb will last a lot longer. Not sure why but I'll guess the grease improves the contact and stops minor shorting that can reduce the life of the bulb. Now,not too much; just a light dab is all that's needed. Works for me.

 

[CalG]

Re: Put a dab of dialectric grease on the bottom of light bulbs.

Look up the definition of the term Dielectric. It is NON CONDUCTIVE, so acts as an insulator, and in thin films, as a resistor. Dropping the voltage to the filament, reducing current and extending life.

Or at least that is the logic....

The dialelectric stuff must be difficult to find. ;-)

 

[ovrszd]

Re: Put a dab of dialectric grease on the bottom of light bulbs.

I use it on every electrical connector that I unplug/plug in. Good stuff.

 

[TractorGuy]

I use petroleum jelly. Had a tube of dielectric grease once that seemed to cause corrosion.

 

[check]

I used it on the electrical contacts on our air conditioning compressor. It was a 7 ton, and quite old, although the compressor itself had been replaced seven years earlier, and there was a "hard start kit" that had been put on. Anyway, the wires and connectors kept frying on me, and of course the service people said "oh you need a whole brand-new system" – price – $8000! I figured out myself that the problem was that the posts on the compressor were steel, whereas the slide on connectors were something else – probably aluminum. So the wires were probably overheating because of arcing in the connection. I put a dab of dielectric grease on each of the two connections, and presto! Problem solved. That was several years ago. It has worked fine ever since.

I also use it on my boat battery posts.

 

[ovrszd]

I use petroleum jelly. Had a tube of dielectric grease once that seemed to cause corrosion.

What? You sure??

 

[k0ua]

I have been using NoOxId on everything electrical for a long time. Including Mobile antenna mounts, and connections. I has prevented corrosion every time it has been used. I have taken sheet metal screws that I have screwed into the cars sheet metal for trunk lid mounts that looked as good as the day I put them in. No rust or corrosion of any kind. I have done the same for transmission hump mounted radio and related equipment stacks, running the sheet metal screws directly into the hump. These screws are exposed to water and dirt for years. I always coat them with NoOxId before running them in and they always come out clean years later.

By the way, here is a tip for putting screws into automobile sheet metal. If you use an icepick instead of drilling a hole you will have more "meat" for the screw to self thread into as the metal is deformed in forming a small tunnel for the screw to grab. Also when mounting on the transmission hump an icepick will not tear up the carpet like a drill bit can. A drill bit can grab the carpet and unravel it. There, free advice, worth what you paid for it.

 

[PILOON]

Petroleum jelly was the good old standby B4 marketing people came up with dialectic products that they could patent.

Back to light bulbs, makes sense to dab something on the screw base as most of them today are simply tin and corrosion makes them difficult to unscrew, in fact the last dozen or so I attempted to change simply broke off leaving me with a hand full pf glass.

 

[Sodo]

=It was my understanding that dielectric grease simply excludes the oxygen from the connection, preventing a "burning" arc. You want the grease to be "non-conducting" because if it "jumps the gap" then electricity goes where you don't want it to. For example consider a battery case. If you put a conductive grease on the end of the battery terminal, if it drips just a little the wrong way it could drain your battery.

By the way, here is a tip for putting screws into automobile sheet metal. If you use an icepick instead of drilling a hole you will have more "meat" for the screw to self thread into as the metal is deformed in forming a small tunnel for the screw to grab. Also when mounting on the transmission hump an icepick will not tear up the carpet like a drill bit can. A drill bit can grab the carpet and unravel it. There, free advice, worth what you paid for it.

This is a good tip. The thread winds up around the drill bit resulting in a "line" of missing carpet pile; that points directly to the hole you drilled.

 

[k0ua]

=It was my understanding that dielectric grease simply excludes the oxygen from the connection, preventing a "burning" arc. You want the grease to be "non-conducting" because if it "jumps the gap" then electricity goes where you don't want it to. For example consider a battery case. If you put a conductive grease on the end of the battery terminal, if it drips just a little the wrong way it could drain your battery.



This is a good tip. The thread winds up around the drill bit resulting in a "line" of missing carpet pile; that points directly to the hole you drilled.

NoOxId is not conductive and is made especially for battery terminals. If the carpet and ice pick tip can help someone that is a good thing.