[RE-wrenches] Thermal paste for battery connections

[Steve Higgins]

Scott,

Three things cause corrosion on battery terminals. Usually, it's a
combination of issues.

Loose or poor connections:

Connections should be loosened and retorqued every 9-12 months on
stationary installs, while mobile installs every 4-6 months.   Don't just
tug on the cable as if it's already been loose it could have a weld that is
building heat.

Poor Ventilation:

Every battery bank should have some sort of ventilation to prevent
hydrogen-sulfide gas buildup.   YES, agms gas, not as much as wet cells,
but they still can gas.   Your average L16 AGM will gas at about 4-6 liters
of hydrogen sulfide gas every hour while voltage is at Bulk/Absorb
Voltage.   In the same condition, FLA's gas at about 25-40 liters per hour
per battery.  Ambient temperatures also accelerate this gassing, so an
explosion-proof fan is necessary in warmer locations.

Under normal conditions, Lithium batteries do not emit gas, but if they go
thermal, they will, and having a fan extracting air is a good idea in an
emergency.

It always cracks me up when I see batteries installed under
inverters/chargers. These are just time bombs waiting to go off.   There
are relays in those inverters/chargers that can ignite that gas.   Not to
mention Hydrogen-Sulfide gas is very corrosive, so any non-conformally
coated parts inside that power electronics can become corrosive and
eventually accelerate failure.

Overfilling:

We see this all the time. Simply put, people put too much distilled water
in the cells, and while under charge, this pushes out the electrolyte and
accelerates corrosion. Not only does this cause corrosion, but it also
degrades the battery as you have lost Sulfate, which is the key
component that makes the battery work.

You can use Petroleum Jelly or dielectric grease on most installations on
the terminals.  Petroleum Jelly has a low melting point, so this will need
to be replaced, usually every 4-6 months, depending on the ambient
temperature.   Die-electric grease is good as well, but it does not melt
away.

Using a thermal compound or paste is okay, but good-quality pastes can be
expensive.    I generally only use this in locations with high ambient
temperatures, usually in the Southwest US, Africa, Middle East....

If you use any of this stuff, you must ensure the connections are made
first (Unless It's Conductive). Do not apply it before connections.
 When you apply it, put a little on a gloved hand, and then apply it to the
terminals, a little goes a long way!   It drives me nuts to get to a site
only to find that someone purchased that red corrosion inhibitor and
spray-painted the tops of the batteries with it!   In those cases, I
generally add a few hours to the bill to clean that crap off my tools!


I hope this helps...



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Steve Higgins ⋅ Technical Services Manager
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On Wed, Jun 21, 2023 at 8:50 AM Scot Arey via RE-wrenches <
re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:

> After returning from the NABCEP CEU forum, I am finally getting around to
> following up on application of thermal paste to battery connections to
> mitigate corrosion and improve the connection.
>
>
>
> What are the preferred products and is there a generic name that will
> facilitate my search and purchase?
>
>
>
>
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