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

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

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.

Oh, please, not this again.

Dielectric grease is MADE for electrical connections, and should be used liberally to prevent corrosion.

The action of making the connection displaces the grease from the actual contact area, leaving a film measured in single-digit microns, and sealing out oxygen and moisture which causes corrosion. IT DOES NOT INSULATE CONTACTS.

If you want to read more about it, try here and here.

 

[bcp]

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.

Problem with an ice pick is the wooden handle. I used to have a pin punch that had a sharp tip ground on it for punching holes.

Bruce

 

[CalG]

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

Oh, please, not this again.

Dielectric grease is MADE for electrical connections, and should be used liberally to prevent corrosion.

The action of making the connection displaces the grease from the actual contact area, leaving a film measured in single-digit microns, and sealing out oxygen and moisture which causes corrosion. IT DOES NOT INSULATE CONTACTS.

If you want to read more about it, try here and here.

Yes, any grease, even petroleum jelly will inhibit corrosion (I use PJ all the time)

So explain the enhanced lamp life time from the perspective of "dielectric grease" over any other.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

PJ won't hold up to heat as well as a silicone grease, but otherwise I'd expect it to work just fine.

I have never seen improved lamp life from using dielectric grease. The variability of light bulb lives is such that I'm skeptical of it. Other than fighting corrosion, I can't think of any way it would improve lamp life. The resistance it adds is essentially zero.

 

[Sodo]

So explain the enhanced lamp life time from the perspective of "dielectric grease" over any other.

I suppose this observation is based on just using it, the enhanced 'connection' and not testing against any other similar coatings that exclude moisture/oxygen. When used in a vibration environment, if the lamp contacts 'buzz' then the grease can exclude oxygen from the "disconnection" preventing a spark, preventing burning. Motorcyclists rely on dielectric grease, the lamps last much longer (actually the connections). This can apply to other high-vibration environments.

 

[2ndhalf]

Fighting corrosion is the very thing for improving lamplife. If anything becomes corroded it can and does usually get worse contact. That includes: Batteries, electrical connections and bulbs. More corrosion means worse contact, worse contact often means more amps (more heat) more heat means the bulb will burn hotter and have a shorter life span.

The only thing causing the light to be a light is the little electric wire that is inside the bulb and has electric passing through it. If that little wire burns too hot; it melts off... now you have no light. Check out any burned out bulb and you can see that little wire is burned off.

I had a friend at work that told me he had a light on a pole that kept burning out quickly and I told him to add some electric grease to the bulb when he put it in. a little dab on the bottom of the bulb and a little on the threads.

 

[MossRoad]

My guess as to why it seems to improve bulb life is that anyone that actually takes the time to use it probably also takes the time to treat his/her equipment well, thus prolonging the life of said equipment.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

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.

I also use antioxidant on every electrical contact I can reach - battery terminals, light bulbs, breaker lugs, wire splices, extension cord ends, antenna connections, or whatever. I keep a couple tubes around so it's always handy.

 

[2ndhalf]

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

Yes, any grease, even petroleum jelly will inhibit corrosion (I use PJ all the time)

So explain the enhanced lamp life time from the perspective of "dielectric grease" over any other.

Dielectric grease is nonconductive.. PJelly is probably conductive. Big difference if you are using it on electric connections. Like using water (conductive) or something non conductive. You want it to prevent corrosion but not cause a short.

 

[CalG]

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

Dielectric grease is nonconductive.. PJelly is probably conductive. Big difference if you are using it on electric connections. Like using water (conductive) or something non conductive. You want it to prevent corrosion but not cause a short.

petroleum oil is not conductive, It is a "dielectric".

Oils conduct electricity minimally under normal conditions, which makes them useful as insulators. The extent of electrical conductivity depends on the concentration of impurities. The presence of salts and other substances generally increases the electrical conductivity of oil. [end]

2ndhalf. I'm not sure how conductivity at the base has anything to do with filament temperature.

Just a note, filament lamps designed for DC current (automotive etc. ) have a prolonged life when energized with single phase AC due to the periodic "cooling" while the alternating cycle crosses zero. However, when there is a sufficient time delay that permits sufficient cooling, the current inrush though a "cold" filament can contribute to shorter filament life.

Perhaps , by using an anti corrosive on the lamp base, those annoying flickers are reduced due to enhanced mechanical and electrical contact. This leads to a reduction in ON/OFF flicker and so, amperage fluctuations.

I have noticed, that the bases of common incandescent bulbs seem to burn and deform more readily these days. Cost savings in manufacture of both bulbs and bases, no doubt.