Maintaining battery terminals

[Geo]

You, Nikorman & Wotever may well be right, but what about the other point I raised earlier: If you apply Vaseline only to the assembly rather than the separate parts prior to assembly, how would external air and moisture be able to get to any microscopic gaps between the connections? The answer is that it wouldn't because you've got an effective barrier. Therefore you've got all the advantages of terminal protection without the potential disadvantages of insulating grease between the connections. Anyway, I've only ever put terminal protection onto the assembled terminals and I've never had any corrosion problems so that's what I'll continue to do.

 

I appreciate what you do, but there is a hole in it. How do you make sure that it has seal the bottom edge and down the edges of the termination. Where you are using spade terminations onto a bolt type connector I can see it working. But with standard "car" type terminations I see and have had problems with getting a full seal and had corrosion start in the gap and from the bottom. Once in of course the corrosion wriggles its way in.

[nicknorman]

You, Nikorman & Wotever may well be right, but what about the other point I raised earlier: If you apply Vaseline only to the assembly rather than the separate parts prior to assembly, how would external air and moisture be able to get to any microscopic gaps between the connections? The answer is that it wouldn't because you've got an effective barrier. Therefore you've got all the advantages of terminal protection without the potential disadvantages of insulating grease between the connections. Anyway, I've only ever put terminal protection onto the assembled terminals and I've never had any corrosion problems so that's what I'll continue to do.

Unfortunately a little bit of moisture goes a long way! There will be some air and moisture entrained in the undulating / pitted surface of the lead surfaces before you join them together. Anyway the point is that putting grease or Vaseline doesn't affect the resistivity of the joint as witnessed by my 200A not creating any detectable voltage drop, and thus there is no downside and probably a long term upside.

[WotEver]

I'm sorry but I disagree with you. A microscopic gap only becomes finite in terms of how small it can get when you get right down to the molecular level. So even those points of contact between post and terminal will have even smaller gaps between them and depending on how small the molecules of Vaseline become when hot they may well get into those ultra-microscopic gaps and create resistance.

Nope, your logic is flawed. If there are microscopic pits between the mating surfaces into which microscopic bits of Vaseline can enter then they're not making electrical contact in the first place. Because they're voids.

 

The Vaseline can't get between two electrically bonded surfaces and force them apart.

[Geo]

I'm sorry but I disagree with you. A microscopic gap only becomes finite in terms of how small it can get when you get right down to the molecular level. So even those points of contact between post and terminal will have even smaller gaps between them and depending on how small the molecules of Vaseline become when hot they may well get into those ultra-microscopic gaps and create resistance.

 

Interesting thought, this only applies to very high current 500A, if there is a resistance there will be heat, now that will do one of two possible things cause an arc, thus mark the battery post or boil the petroleum grease off. In the former case I have only seen such arc markings on battery posts that were cleaned thoroughly and assembled with nothing. Similar sets assembled with a smear of PG had no marks.

 

I think basically each makes their own choice, personally I would either use PG or one of the specifically made greases. Never silicone which unfortunately sets or at a minimum its viscosity increases and I do not think moves out of the way in the same way as PG.

[ditchcrawler]

Well is something over 55 years of looking after batteries acceptable?

Just forget it

[Geo]

Just forget it

 

lol I will when the dementia arrives lol

[ditchcrawler]

Nothing like a good disagreement so I thought I would try to find out what the makers say. Here is Granville's instruction to apply AFTER the connection is made. https://www.granvilleoil.com/techData/pdfTechData?ptdID=167

Having said that these where the only manufactures instructions I could find, but found loads of sites saying apply grease before asembling

[blackrose]

 

I appreciate what you do, but there is a hole in it. How do you make sure that it has seal the bottom edge and down the edges of the termination. Where you are using spade terminations onto a bolt type connector I can see it working. But with standard "car" type terminations I see and have had problems with getting a full seal and had corrosion start in the gap and from the bottom. Once in of course the corrosion wriggles its way in.

Well it's never wriggled into my connections. I appreciate that it's difficult to apply grease to some parts of the assembly by hand, but I've also used a green spray terminal protector from halfords and that will go anywhere you want it to go using the plastic straw. There's no hole in that system as far as I can see.

Edited December 2, 2016 by blackrose

[Geo]

Well it's never wriggled into my connections. I appreciate that it's difficult to apply grease to some parts of the assembly by hand, but I've also used a green spray terminal protector from halfords and that will go anywhere you want it to go using the plastic straw. There's no hole in that system as far as I can see.

 

Not with a spray, lol you changed the rules

[Geo]

Nothing like a good disagreement so I thought I would try to find out what the makers say. Here is Granville's instruction to apply AFTER the connection is made. https://www.granvilleoil.com/techData/pdfTechData?ptdID=167

Having said that these where the only manufactures instructions I could find, but found loads of sites saying apply grease before asembling

 

This is for their own grease which is a bit of an unknown with a melting point of 50C. Petroleum Jelly I think you will find starts to melt on the skin 37C and I seem to remember on a hot day it can almost be liquid in the jar, certainly more liquid.

[ditchcrawler]

 

This is for their own grease which is a bit of an unknown with a melting point of 50C. Petroleum Jelly I think you will find starts to melt on the skin 37C and I seem to remember on a hot day it can almost be liquid in the jar, certainly more liquid.

I don't think they give instructions for battery terminals, is it the same as babies bums ? http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=258614798&sc_cmp=ppc-_-sh-_-msh-_-bg-_-px_%7c_shopping_gsc_%7c_all_products-_-&gclid=CP64q8eK1tACFRAo0wodj5IMVg&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Geo]

I don't think they give instructions for battery terminals, is it the same as babies bums ? http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=258614798&sc_cmp=ppc-_-sh-_-msh-_-bg-_-px_%7c_shopping_gsc_%7c_all_products-_-&gclid=CP64q8eK1tACFRAo0wodj5IMVg&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

lol Could be lol