C9 Rubber O-Ring - Overkill or necessity?

[imacericg]

I am continuing to work on my C9 roof project. Got the LED C9 lights in today (thanks MITS).

Does everyone use O-rings to protect their bulbs? Or are they for suckers?

Its going to cost me around $140 for them.:shock:

Attached files

[Steven]

If the lights will ever point down, then using rings will be a big problem, because water will seep in through the holes for the cord, and won't be able to drain past the light.

I think you'd be better off using NoAlOx.

[LOR Staff]

I usually keep my mouth shut, and I'm no electrician....

That NoALOx looks like it is CONDUCTIVE. It's going to work great where the 2 conductors are the same polarity, but if you squirt that stuff into a socket you are going to create a short between the hot and neutral.

At least, I think that's what will happen. I would think you want a dielectric grease

[imacericg]

Steven wrote:

If the lights will ever point down, then using rings will be a big problem, because water will seep in through the holes for the cord, and won't be able to drain past the light.

I think you'd be better off using NoAlOx.

Thats good to know, all of my lights point up, so I think I am safe.

Is it worth $140 to protect my investment? Or is it overkill?

[rescue_653]

I'm going for a waste of time. C9 bulbs have been around for decades and worked fine as designed. So why fix something that is not broke?

[Max-Paul]

Mike,

Hate to tell you, but dont quit your day time job. NoAlOx or I known it as NoOx is a none conductive grease. What happens is that the grease is forced out of the way of the two contacting conductors. Yet is forms a seal around the junction of the two contacting surfaces. Thus keeping out both air and moisture.

[-klb-]

Looks like the product page noALox is claiming it is a dielectric grease (or similar) with zinc suspended in it.. Sounds great for working with aluminum wire, but no so good for most of the places I would use a dielectric grease. Maybe the zinc stays in suspension, or maybe it plates out across the insulator on the base of the bulb. But I wouldn't suggest trying it out large scale experimentally.

We have thousands of C7 LED bulbs on SPT2 lamp cord. We have more mechanical failures than anything else in 5 years of use. If you want to do something, I would go with dielectric grease before a gasket. It will take about the same length of time to install as the gaskets, and will likely provide more benefit.

Personally, I'm just going to keep spare C7 sockets on hand and replace the sockets as necessary.

[TGabriel]

Dow Corning DC4 is a dielectric grease.
This is what I use and have no problems with it.

Thomas

[LOR Staff]

Max-Paul wrote:

Mike,

Hate to tell you, but dont quit your day time job. NoAlOx or I known it as NoOx is a none conductive grease. What happens is that the grease is forced out of the way of the two contacting conductors. Yet is forms a seal around the junction of the two contacting surfaces. Thus keeping out both air and moisture.

That's why I'm a programmer and not an electrician.

[Max-Paul]

Thanks Keith,
Have to admit I did not know about the zinc. But I put a dab on the little contact tit on the back of my C9s I also put a bit on the threads also. Anyway, will keep an eye open for any problems.

[CDILighting]

I have used both the dielectric grease as well as the black o-rings, as well as the rubber gaskets that can go around the lip of the socket and sometimes all of the above. If you are using you lights on a GFI protected curcuit they are a must have. You will see a lot less "nuiciance" tripping by using some of these products.

I don't know how much they prolong the life of the bulb. Depending on the quality of the socket line you are using you may find the plastic begins to break down and get brittle before the LED goes bad.

They have them here for around $10 for 100.

http://store.christmasdesigners.com/C9-Rubber-O-Ring-for-Sockets-White.html