We often hear that electrical appliances should always have an insulated covering. But why is that? How does it help the appliance? Is there a difference between regular brake grease and dielectric grease? Let’s find out all those answers in this article.
What is Dielectric Grease?
The dielectric grease is such an insulator. It helps in insulating the electrical parts from moisture.
The texture and density of the grease are very much like an oil that provides an external coating to the electrical wires from corroding. There must have been times when we have observed rusty switch joints or plugs. This rust sticks on the appliances due to the moisture. You can use rust converters as well to avoid this.
To answer what is dielectric greases, they are non-insulating and non-conductive. The oily coating blocks the electric flow off the rubber coatings of the wires and keeps the wire smooth.
Another use of this grease prevents the rubber coating around the wire from melting when exposed to heat. It can even make a difference between a car sputtering and a smooth engine start. You can also check our best brake caliper grease article to find the best grease for your brake calipers.
Now, you must wonder that this dielectric grease does everything that an ordinary grease can do. Then why is the preference biased? To know about this, keep reading further.
What makes dielectric grease different from regular grease?
A regular grease can act as an efficient substitute, but the difference between the two lies in their physical properties. Regular grease is very sensitive to high temperatures. They tend to melt when exposed to such high heat because of their low melting points. That weakens their fundamental property and cannot always get used as a coating for electrical appliances.
On the other hand, dielectric grease can easily withstand high temperatures. These greases are designed in such a way that they have very high melting points.
Another reason apart from the high melting point is that the grease is purely silicon-based. In other words, they are silicone dielectric grease. It ensures that the grease stays on the surface in extreme conditions.
The Making of Dielectric Grease
So, we have talked about some essential properties of dielectric grease. Furthermore, we have also established some properties about it, such as it is oily and silicon-based. However, what about how is it made?
The dielectric grease is made by adding some silicon oil to the thickener. This mixture of oil with the thickener causes a particular disturbance in the electric flow. The silicon oil, generally preferred as a material to make this grease, is called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The thickener, however, is of several types, such as amorphous fumed silica, stearates, and powdered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).
Using any of these thickeners with silicon oil providing some favorable conditions will make the dielectric grease.
Guide to What Does Dielectric Grease Do
While we know that the dielectric grease is waterproof and fireproof, one must still carry thorough knowledge of using this grease. Initially, to ensure whether a dielectric grease is acting as the insulator or not, a thermal paste is used on the wires. This thermal paste, also known as thermal grease, is used to drain the excessive heat from the appliances.
The dielectric grease inflates around the body or the outer surface of the part. A point to keep in mind is that you should not apply grease on any junction point. The reason being that the dielectric grease tends to stop the flow of the electric current where it gets applied. Hence, if the grease is used at any point that facilitates electric discharge, the appliance may stop working.
Furthermore, a little more care needs to be taken when applying brake grease for automotive purposes. Suppose you are greasing a spark plug. Here are some points that might come in handy.
- Make sure to park the car in a safe place, and the hood is relaxed.
- The spark plug boot has to be removed next.
- Make sure you spotlessly clean the spark plug and the plug boot
- Now take some dielectric grease on a piece of cardboard.
- Then use cotton and start by applying a tiny amount of dielectric grease to the inside walls of the spark plug.
- Remove the excess grease, if any, and the work here is done.
Why Apply Dielectric Grease Only on the Insides?
The dielectric greases are applied only on the inside walls because the grease blocks any high voltage leak through the boot. In addition to this, the boot plug has a ceramic insulator into which the boot plugs in. When the grease is applied to the inner walls, the plugin becomes smooth without causing any damage to the parts. When it comes to automobiles, every part needs to be free of dust and water penetration. The dielectric grease ensures that the plug is away from any water, and there is no scope for the dust to enter.
Using Dielectric Greases on Gaskets
Using dielectric grease on gaskets is relatively simple than using them on automobile parts. The gaskets have pin connectors. That’s where the grease is to be applied. The gaskets get majorly used in boats and recreational vehicles. Moving on to how to use it, all you have to do is follow these steps.
- Smear some dielectric grease on a cardboard sheet
- Dab the grease on the pin connector gasket in small amounts
- Make sure that you grease both sides of the gasket thoroughly
- The greasing should get done before the gasket is attached to the connector
While doing this, make sure that you do not put the grease on the junction point. That would block all the electrical flow.
Compatibility of Dielectric Grease with Electrical Connections
While dielectric grease is a very useful component to ensure the durability of electrical appliances and connections, several myths surround the use of this grease.
The most common myth that people have is that grease hinders the connections of electrical appliances. According to the conjecture, the grease gets between the connecting metals, and the appliances fail to work.
However, this is not at all true.
Although the dielectric grease acts as an excellent insulator, the metal connections are tight enough to pass the electric current between them. The grease might insulate the wires and appliances, but it cannot hinder strong and steady connections. Given that the grease is not to be used in excess amount, the efficient insulator does not get in the way by any means.
Where to Use Dielectric Grease?
Before stepping on to the concern of the right places to use dielectric grease, let us first be clear about the areas to avoid using any insulator coating.
Connecting Junctions
One must ensure that the grease steers clear of the connecting point between a plug and a connector. The connecting junctions are vital points for electric energy sources.
Insulating such areas will be like taking away the distilled water off a generator. This situation might result in the inappropriate functioning of the electrical appliance.
Wire Junctions
There are times when specific wires are needed to be blended to make a significant connection work. Many a time, such wires leak due to various reasons such as heavy current flow or improper junction connection.
The dielectric grease gets applied on the outer surfaces of such wires for two significant reasons:
- To stop the rubber from galvanizing because of heat
- To provide proper insulation even if any current is leaking
Hence, it is essential not to apply the grease in the junction where two wires are connected. That would result in improper energy flow.
Finally, coming on to the point:
Where Exactly Should Dielectric Grease be Used?
The answer is, there are many places where a dielectric grease is useful. Let us list some applications for you.
High Energy Points
The origin of any electrical energy has some amount of observable leakage. These places need some insulation to ensure that the leakage does not harm any surrounding appliance or people. Hence, this grease gets used to insulate the outer surfaces of the high-energy points to prevent any further hazards.
High Energy Ignition System
Any ignition system generates a large amount of heat. The heat results in turning the temperature of the wire and the insulating rubber to a much higher level. With such high heat, the protective rubber coat mustn’t melt. By applying the grease, the rubber stays intact as the insulating jacket can withstand enormous temperatures.
Gaskets
The gaskets get embedded in recreational vehicles and boats. They are one of the valuable energy sources for these motors to function. Now, since the motors are very valuable, there should be no score for any dust or water to enter these. The after-effect of such intrusion might lead to corrosion and improper functioning of the appliances.
The gaskets and pin connectors, therefore, get dabbed with the grease. It ensures that the dust stays away, and not even a single drop of water hinders these heavy-duty motors.
Spark plugs
The spark plugs in a car and other road-running vehicles are of utter importance. These plugs shed the extra load off the motors and keep the engine from breaking down. These spark plugs need greasing from time to time because of their heavy-duty functioning. The inner walls of these plug connectors are lubricated so that the plugging process becomes hassle-free.
The greasing is also done on the outer surface so that the over-coat may withstand such heavy temperature bursts while the engine ignites.
Trailer Connectors
In this, the dielectric grease acts as a non-conductive mating surface for the connectors. However, a word of advice, not to connect the actual electrical connecting areas.
On Rubber Surfaces for Lubrication
Of all the accessories and applications discussed, lubrication on various appliance coatings surfaces is the most crucial point. Without this lubrication, the rubber coatings might melt, especially of parts like tires, resulting in accidents and leakage.
Therefore, to prevent such a situation, greasing the surface using this is necessary.
Pros and Cons
Everything that exists in the world has a plus and minus to it. No matter how much we try to focus on the positives, we must also be aware of the negatives. Hence, here are some of the pros and cons surrounding this dielectric grease.
Pros
- Prevents any voltage leaks
- Prevents unnecessary metal fusions
- Keeps the materials from damage due to heat
- Keeps away dirt and grime
- Prevents overheating of electrical wires
- Prevents corrosion
- Keeps away water damage and water penetration
- Acts as an excellent insulator
Cons
- When applied inaccurately, it can be detrimental.
- Silicon rubber may melt after years of continuous use
- Can irritate the eyes and skin
- It can irritate the respiratory system due to the presence of formaldehyde.
Final Words
To cut a long story short, dielectric grease is an invention done for good. The grease has an excellent insulating capacity and can withstand high heat. The application of this material is cost-effective, and the affordability does not cut holes in our pockets.
