Grease for bulb bases

[weressl]

A quick search of the forum didn't turn up any results...

Does anyone here use some kind of grease for the bases of outdoor floods to keep them from seizing up in the socket? If so, what kind do you use/recommend?

Some automotive lamps come with a little greese packet within and they instruct you to coat the contacts with it. My ususal curiousity got the best of me so I strated hunting for the enswer. It appears that they are trying to prevent contact oxidation, which makes sense, especially if you live up North with salted roads. Temperature is a problem of course on larger incandescent bulbs with more wattage. I've seen heat runs on Class I, Division 2 lamps certification tests where they stick 50-60 thermocouples all over the fixture to determine the hottest point on the fixture for T-rating an it was always at the lamp base. One number sticks in my mind is 177Centigrade, but I can't recall what type and wattage fixture that was.

Most lamp contacts are designed to perform a wiping action either when inserting or twisting and that action removes the oxide layer from the contact surface. As the lamp heats up the 'grease' flows all over the area and forms a barrier to the contact area, so corrosion can not start.

 

[nakulak]

one word of caution. It is not advisable to use the nose grease subsequent to the application of the other.

 

[electricalperson]

one word of caution. It is not advisable to use the nose grease subsequent to the application of the other.

why not? .

 

[tkb]

Is a dielectric grease conductive or an insulator?
Does it help a connection under pressure or hurt it?

 

[electricalperson]

Is a dielectric grease conductive or an insulator?
Does it help a connection under pressure or hurt it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric

its an insulator. check out that wikipedia article its pretty good

 

[weressl]

That said I am not sure about the wisdom of using nose grease based lubricants in electrical sockets.:grin:

Depends on where that nose has been before.......

 

[K8MHZ]

This is all starting to make sense to me now.

 

[K8MHZ]

even GOOGLE has no clue what "tail grease" is... so I have to ask :wink:

Well (pun intended) it has a double meaning.

If you lift up the handle on an old well pump, it looks like you are holding up the tail of an animal. Sometimes the leather washer on the shaft attached to the handle on the pump would dry out and you had to stick some grease in so the water would come out the spout instead of shooting up into the air. The application of said grease looked rather humorous and thus spawned it's name.

The second meaning came from where we told kids to go get the grease from so we could get a drink of water without going all the way back to the house.

I guess you had to be there.....

 

[weressl]

On the farm we always used tail grease.

Tail grease could refer to the gland that is located toward the tail on the waterfowls faily, such as goose, duck, swan, etc. that they use to waterproof their feathers. When you observe them grooming, you can see how they repeatedly come back to that point, peck at it, they wipe their beak all over their body.

 

[mivey]

Tail grease could refer to the gland that is located toward the tail on the waterfowls faily, such as goose, duck, swan, etc. that they use to waterproof their feathers. When you observe them grooming, you can see how they repeatedly come back to that point, peck at it, they wipe their beak all over their body.

So the next time you have a light bulb issue, grab the nearest duck...

 

[K8MHZ]

Tail grease could refer to the gland that is located toward the tail on the waterfowls faily, such as goose, duck, swan, etc. that they use to waterproof their feathers. When you observe them grooming, you can see how they repeatedly come back to that point, peck at it, they wipe their beak all over their body.

And I just thought it was because they were agile!

Anyway what you have described might be what is called duck butter.

We learned a lot of stuff that was never taught in school.

 

[weressl]

So the next time you have a light bulb issue, grab the nearest duck...

That just sounds soooooo wroooong......

 

[K8MHZ]

That just sounds soooooo wroooong......

I thought it sounded pretty daffy to me.

 

[LarryFine]

So the next time you have a light bulb issue, grab the nearest duck...

That just sounds soooooo wroooong......

I thought it sounded pretty daffy to me.

All of you guys are quackers!

 

[ohmhead]

Well there is this kinda carbon conductive grease !! Take care

 

[jeremysterling]

Your not crazy my grandfather taught me that when I had a 2 piece fishing pole that was hard to get apart. He took it and rubbed it in the crease of his nose and it worked well. I did it to my other poles and it worked well. I never forgot that and I have done it many times to bulbs. SOmetime I think people will see me and think I am crazy. Be careful if you hands are dirty or the socket is dirty you will get gray marks on your face.

Boy scouts teaches nose grease is lubricant for the line of the firebow, so that if the electric lamp doesn't work you can resort to firelight.

 

[LarryFine]

Boy scouts teaches nose grease is lubricant for the line of the firebow, so that if the electric lamp doesn't work you can resort to firelight.

Do they suggest how to apply it?

 

[jeremysterling]

Do they suggest how to apply it?

Nope, only how to collect it.

I suppose its like the most of the jobs I work, that is, installer's choice.