Ceramic grease for light bulb sockets?

[ezombie]

Hello,

what do you think about this? I'm thinking of using ceramic paste (aka metal free paste) on light bulb sockets throughout the home to prevent seizing.
I haven't seen anyone using ceramic grease for this purpose. But I think it's ideal. It shouldn't be electrically conductive (unlike copper grease) and it has a wide temperature range (up to 1400C = 2550F). It is also stable in corrosive environments. The only thing I'm not sure about is dielectric stability.

I have a choice of using Super Lube for this purpose (resistant up to 232C = 450F).
But somehow I think ceramic grease would perfectly fit this application. What is your opinion?

 

[Quest]

I'd stay away from applying grease or paste of some form on residential housing (120V/240VAC) lamp sockets, citing the gumming, potential electrical leak (unless you use grease with dielectric properties), conductivity, and also possible fire hazard.

residential electrical devices shouldn't have grease of any kind applied to the lamp sockets anyways....obviously for safety reasons.

Q.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Another way to go but probably not for you home....

 

[larryinnewyork]

I myself would not apply any grease to residential sockets.
Could be messy in the future.
But, I always worry about screwing a bulb in to tight.

To find out exactly how tight it needs to be, I do this:
1) Remove old bulb from socket
2) Turn light switch 'ON'
3) Begin screwing bulb in
4) When bulb lights, tighten slightly more.

 

[RF Overlord]

In all my 57 years on this earth, I've never heard of a household lightbulb being seized.

 

[ezombie]

Well then, let me share my experience.
I barely managed to remove a bulb from my oven today. It was sitting there for several years.
And in some places I use 200W bulbs. They seize easily. Plus, by the end of their life, the glue that holds the glass becomes so dried out that I frequently end up with a glass balloon in my hand. And that happens because the threads aren't lubricated.

Until now, I've been using Dow Corning DC-4 Electrical Insulating Compound. But it seems that it tends to gum up due to very high temperature. So I just had an idea about using ceramic paste instead. I didn't find anything against it so far and what better place to discuss this than here.

 

[The_Jeff]

When you do this you get an arc that can char the contact, though the additional torque should scrape it clean.

Originally Posted By: larryinnewyork
I myself would not apply any grease to residential sockets.
Could be messy in the future.
But, I always worry about screwing a bulb in to tight.

To find out exactly how tight it needs to be, I do this:
1) Remove old bulb from socket
2) Turn light switch 'ON'
3) Begin screwing bulb in
4) When bulb lights, tighten slightly more.

 

[spackard]

Brass base bulb looks like it would help.

Shouldn't use a non-food-grade grease in the oven.

 

[ezombie]

A little bit of ceramics could be a great addition to my favourite dishes

The bulb is basically on the outside of the oven. No possibility of food contact and all that...
That's still not exactly by industry standards, but hey.

 

[SHOZ]

It's common for the large industrial HID lamps to be stuck in the socket. 5 years and plenty of heat usually. I've found that a quick shot of WD 40 or similar on the threaded area will pop them loose easily.

 

[Merkava_4]

I use silicone grease in my lightbulb sockets around the house.

I apply it to the lightbulb threads and it works its way into the socket.

 

[ezombie]

What temperature is that grease rated for?

I'm not sure how hot bulbs can get but here's what happens with famous Syncolon Super Lube which is rated for 232C.

It burns. So it must be getting much hotter than 230C. And this bulb wasn't enclosed.
I tried measuring the temperature with IR thermometer and couldn't get more than 200C on the bulb itself. However, I doubt the accuracy because IR thermometer requires black body to work accurately.