Dielectric Grease

[oregon_phil]

Just curious, do most people put dielectric grease for connections inside the inverter? In order to get a state rebate two years ago, my energy trust required dielectric grease on all inverter connections. With our wet and humid winter weather in Oregon, I can see why this is totally necessary.

[bob-n]

It is a good practice but we have never use it in our installs.

I don't know of a case where it is required by code so I doubt that professionals use it. It's one of those odd situations where the connectors are tested without it, so the installers use the connectors as they are tested, even though it may be better if used with it.

[azdave]

I use di-electric grease, Noalox or NO-OX-ID on electrical connections that could see anything short of perfectly dry conditions. An old practice (now habit) from many years ago when working for several utility companies. NO-OX-ID seems to be the reining king around here per the expert's comments over the years I've been reading here.

[Ampster]

NoAlox was freguently used on aluminum busbars on electrical panels in the little beach I used to live in because of the moist salt air. I continue to use it on battery busbars on aluminum terminal tops on batteries. With aluminum it is important to remove the oxide that forms on aluminum before making connections.

[oregon_phil]

Thanks everybody for the feedback on dielectric grease. I thought a lot of people were using it, but nobody really talks about their best practices because it's just normal to them.

[Ampster]

Thanks everybody for the feedback on dielectric grease. I thought a lot of people were using it, but nobody really talks about their best practices because it's just normal to them.

It should be noted that NoAlox is not the same as dielectric grease. NoAlox is actually conductive and improves conductivity because it contains small particles of zinc. Years ago I used dielectric grease on coaxial antenna connections to keep moisture out of the connections. Water would degrade the shield to power isolation. Vaseline is apparently dielectric.