Conductive electrical paste

James Mcquade

Member
Join Date
Oct 2007
Location
Nashville, Tennessee area
Posts
3,640
Hi all,

i have this project in which we have to replace an AB 400 amp contactor used as the panel power contactor that is 20+ years old with a new one, had to buy a 460 amp one, all we could get on short notice. we will be pressure crimping 4/0 lugs to the 4/0 thin strand flex wire and use (2) cables per phase going to the contactor and from the contactor to the main power rail to avoid any corrosion issues, i suggested using conductive paste on the connections and the boss has agreed. i will place the paste onto the wire and then into the lug to be crimped.
Also, what about using this paste in rigid conduit fittings.

Any bad experiences or comments?

thanks in advance,
james
 
I honestly wouldn't put anti-oxidation compound inside of a crimp. I've never seen it done, and honestly don't have much of a need to. Crimps that big should be a cold-weld, or very close to it, and corrosion shouldn't be an issue. I see no problem using it for the connection to the lug or to coat the copper under the heat-shrink (if you are using heat shrink).


You would want to use copper antioxidant joint compound for something like this.


For rigid conduit fittings, use conductive anti-seize. Loctite Nickel and Copper both work very well for the purpose.
 
I always use Anti-Ox in crimp terminals, also works for bolted connections.


Quick search found THIS brand, but others are available. Also sold at local electrical distributors, in the Detroit area at least.



Also works on car battery terminal wire connections.
 
I honestly wouldn't put anti-oxidation compound inside of a crimp. I've never seen it done

These are what we use in our plant, generally in the more corrosive areas. The anti-ox compound (they call theirs Penetrox) is prefilled in the connector and can also be purchased by the bottle.
 
For me, I just never see those larger connectors fail inside of a nice, tight crimp. I see connections fail on terminals / busses / lugs and at the exit of the crimp. To be fair here, I don't see any problem with using an antioxidation compound rated for copper connections inside of the crimp. I also don't have a clue if connections tend to fail like this in humid / saline parts of the country either.


It just isn't something I'm going to go out of my way to do unless specified.


One more thing I noticed. Make sure your antioxidation compound is rated for copper connections. The Penetrox linked to by MikeyN that comes in those connectors is a copper-rated de-ox, while the one linked to by I_Automation is only rated for Aluminum to Copper and Aluminum to Aluminum.
 
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