Dielectric grease is great in connectors that stay connected and aren't left unplugged and exposed to the environment. A vehicle charge connector does not meet this definition, so any dirt/sand blowing in the air will land on the grease and its high surface tension will cause it to become trapped, then it will act as abrasive and insulation when you later reconnect the EV. The benefits of dielectric grease to displace air and water are lost when they are allowing even worse contamination to literally "stick around"!
If dielectric grease was good for EV inlets, the manufacturers would specify it, and they most certainly do not. EV inlets are designed so the main contact wear occurs on the EVSE side so it can be more easily replaced. We tell our commercial users that charge every day to replace their outdoor EVSE "whips" every 2 years minimum, as we have found that around that time the contact resistance starts to go up, and most of our vans charge at 48A, so if this gets too bad heat will also damage the vehicle side inlet. One of our first customers was a San Diego airport parking company that runs vans about every 15 minutes, and when they return, they plug in, and they have multiple vans. Their whips don't make it to 2 years, so we've had to replace inlets on their vans at great expense: Pic: http://ingineerix.com/pic/?j1772-fail1 On Sun, Jul 23, 2023 at 9:11 AM Lee Hart via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote: > Mark E. Hanson via EV wrote: > > I've been using 3M dielectric grease on all outside (weather exposed) > > connectors (solar panels) and light bulb sockets since I was knee-high > to a > > grasshopper (after seeing it used on automotive/boating connectors). > > > > What would be a good lubricant for charging connectors if dielectric > grease > > is not? > > Like Mark, I've always use dielectric grease (or even vaseline in a > pinch) to maintain good connections over time. It doesn't affect the > connection resistance, and keeps out air, water, and dirt. > > High-current connectors must have a high contact pressure to maintain a > low resistance despite any surface corrosion. Pressure and sliding > surfaces will rub off any minor amounts of pre-existing surface > oxidation or corrosion. > > Dielectric grease is formulated so the pressure is enough to keep it out > of the contact surfaces themselves, but will surround them to keep air, > water, and other contaminants from corroding the connection over time. > > This is especially important with aluminum, where it is very difficult > to create and maintain good connections. > > Lee > > -- > Never doubt that the work of a small group of thoughtful, committed > citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever > has! -- Margaret Mead > -- > Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com > > -- > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > www.avast.com > _______________________________________________ > Address messages to ev@lists.evdl.org > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/ > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20230723/8ecfbd03/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ Address messages to ev@lists.evdl.org No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
