Dow-Corning Silicone High Vacuum Grease-any reason to not use it as Dielectric Grease?

[bunnspecial]

Suppose one finds themself out of "proper" dielectric grease, but has on hand large volumes of the above grease, the same as in this link

https://www.amazon.com/Dow-Corning-...lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A3IHZ5U56GDR3K&th=1

Is there any particular reason why this would not be a suitable substitute for dielectric grease? I've used this stuff in the lab for years, smearing it on O-rings, glass joints, and plenty of other things that see wide temperature variations, mechanical vibration, and other properties.

As best as I can tell, proper dielectric greases are not terribly different in composition from this...

 

[supton]

Don’t know anything about the makeup of either grease, but in an automobile I’d think the temperature range etc are less than what this grease is meant to see in some of its applications. Might be worth trying on some wiring harness that is being tossed, checking for resistance between wires (due to usage in the connector.

Maybe they don’t guarantee its electrical insulation ability? or test for it. But maybe it’s there inherently.

Interesting question.

 

[twX]

Most types of grease will work fine as a dielectric at low voltages, but some might break down at 10,000+ volts. I'd use proper dielectric grease for things like high voltage ignition system connections. If you just need some grease to waterproof a 12 volt connection, any grease should be fine, so long as it isn't metal-based, like anti-seize or thermal grease.

 

[ripcord]

Most types of grease will work fine as a dielectric at low voltages, but some might break down at 10,000+ volts. I'd use proper dielectric grease for things like high voltage ignition system connections. If you just need some grease to waterproof a 12 volt connection, any grease should be fine, so long as it isn't metal-based, like anti-seize or thermal grease.

Isn't lithium a metal?

 

[kschachn]

Isn't lithium a metal?

Compounds rarely reflect material properties of the elements. For example, sodium chloride isn’t conductive but sodium certainly is. And NaCl won’t kill you either unlike Na or Cl.

 

[JHZR2]

As I recall, it’s a one-component silicone oil-based grease. So it’s just a really, really viscous heavy silicone oil.

Probably will be fine. It will be less “workable” than less viscous greases. My favorite dielectric is an NLGI 1.5, while others are much firmer.