Maintenance sprayed WD-40 in receptacles

G

gene6

Senior Member
Location
NY
Occupation
Electrician
Maintenance sprayed WD-40 in a bunch of receptacles in and out of a commercial building, some are GFCI's. Should these all be replaced? Some are not working.
 
gene6 said:
Maintenance sprayed WD-40 in a bunch of receptacles in and out of a commercial building, some are GFCI's. Should these all be replaced? Some are not working.
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I’d replace along with maintenance getting a stern talking too.

WD-40 if flammable if I’m right and though will probably be dry and dissipated by time someone pulls out a cord under a load and causes a spark.

What was there reasoning behind blasting them with WD-40?
 
The WD in WD-40 stands for "Water Displacer" (40 is because this was the 40th version of the formula), it is SPECIFICALLY suitable for use on electrical devices that may have gotten wet, because it makes the water molecules separate and not be able to conduct. If you ever get in a situation where your car engine gets wet and dies, WD-40 can save the day.

It is totally inert with respect to electrical components and insulation. It is flammable in a gaseous state, so WHILE spraying, AND there is a spark for ignition, so it is always best to KILL POWER before spraying, but once it has been sprayed, there is little risk of ignition. I wouldn't get worked up over this, in fact I recommend it to people all the time, especially around the holidays when they have string lights causing GFCIs to trip. I just tell people to turn off power first, and in this case it's possible they did.
 
Jraef said:
The WD in WD-40 stands for "Water Displacer" (40 is because this was the 40th version of the formula), it is SPECIFICALLY suitable for use on electrical devices that may have gotten wet, because it makes the water molecules separate and not be able to conduct. If you ever get in a situation where your car engine gets wet and dies, WD-40 can save the day.

It is totally inert with respect to electrical components and insulation. It is flammable in a gaseous state, so WHILE spraying, AND there is a spark for ignition, so it is always best to KILL POWER before spraying, but once it has been sprayed, there is little risk of ignition. I wouldn't get worked up over this, in fact I recommend it to people all the time, especially around the holidays when they have string lights causing GFCIs to trip. I just tell people to turn off power first, and in this case it's possible they did.
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Thanks and good info!
 
Being a maintenance electrician , I'll view this post as a tiny win since we usually get a good bit a smacking around on the forums. :sneaky:
 
Dsg319 said:
What was there reasoning behind blasting them with WD-40?
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Moving / replacing equipment that had been in place a long time in a high humidity area, stuck twislocks, corrosion, difficult plugs and paint on receptacles (apparently removes the paint). There also are some of the newer GFCI's and WR receptacles that are TR style and were giving them trouble.
He also says he's used it for years also when relamping parking garage lights so I guess its not an issue if not energized, my concern was it would degrade the plastic or leave conductive residue.
 
My brother in law catches catfish using pieces of hot dogs soaked in WD-40 as bait. I wouldn’t have believed fish would eat that if I hadn’t seen it myself.
 
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