Gardner Bender OX-100B OZ ALU Compound

I replaced ignition control module in our Buick Lesaber. These in turn are what handshake and communicate with the sparkplug coils. I typically use dielectric grease until one Amazon reviewer drew my attention to the vast superiority of this product in resisting oxidation, the proverbial enemy of sound electrical connections and function. Don't be fooled by the product picture, this is no small tube. I have enough to last me the rest of my lifetime. I do recommend that prior to opening it and seeking to squeeze the product out that you kneed the tube for a bit. Otherwise your initial squeeze of the product is proceeded by a strange liquid that has separated from the product itself. Peace of mind in electrical connections mean taking extra time as well as quality parts and materials. A large tube of this product is not incredibly expensive -- particularly since it will almost certainly be more than you and even your heirs will use in one lifetime. It is good to go the extra mile and use the best quality part and products.

As is obvious, I headed this review with an omnibus question, and I shall begin by sketching a brief response thereby. To begin with, I don't know what it is, nor what it sold and (presumably) used for. Apparently (to me) it is employed to facilitate conductivity, ameliorate corrosion, provide anti-seize properties, etc. in electrical arrangements, especially those employing aluminum, which is, of course, an excellent conductor, and very often used in electrical applications, such as, for instance, wiring. As the name promises, apparently it may be well considered as an anti-oxidant compound (in the form of a light grease) especially often or typically used with aluminum. I only assume this to be so, but I indeed believe it is so. But yet, even if this is entirely, or at least substantially, true, it is irrelevant to me. I have no such tasks or applications. Still, I do use it in just the way I have outlined for its intended (I suppose) application, but with the more relevant (to me) application of typical electronic and/or electrical connections and fixings, which, of course, typically employ copper or brass. In other words, I take it to be, as its name implies, and its title claims, to be an anti-oxidant compound used as such an item typically would be in electrical work, but especially involving aluminum. I use it in just this way, but with copper and/or brass (and sometimes involving steel or iron, as in, say, automotive work, wherein electrical fittings might be, for instance, bolted to steel panels or iron castings). Now, the crucial point to be understood here is that, in my understanding, this material is not simply an anti-oxidant in that sense typical to dielectric grease, which is as an oxygen displacing substance with no conductive properties per se. Rather, and indeed, it has an additional property, and therefor use, of being a conductivity facilitator since, and indeed because, it is in itself an admixture of small conductive balls (I suppose) and grease, so it is in fact itself conductive in and of itself, and, more to the point, promotes and enables superior conductivity in its use, as well as displacing oxygen-containing air, which thereby precludes corrosion, or shall we say oxidation, which as its name tells requires oxygen to enable corrosion, or indeed rust particularly. So then, used as a replacement for ordinary dielectric grease in, say, plug-and-socket applications, but used in the same way - that is, packing the socket with dielectric grease before inserting the plug - it not only excludes all air, precluding corrosion, but promotes conductivity in that connected plug-socket interface. That difference is, of course, valuable, and that is how and why I use it. There is, however, a caveat in this use, which is that, being conductive, it can also lead to mis-connected or indeed shorted connections in, say, the close confines of a fuse box. The answer to that is to be careful in how you use it, in a manner which, while wasteful, would be irrelevant when using dielectric grease, by which I mean applying it so liberally that it bridged connections, etc. So then, I indeed employ it just as a dielectric grease, but also - when called for - as an aelectric grease. To a bodger, this would no doubt seem a trivial, if not entirely irrelevant, variation of use, based on an intrinsic distinction of no meaning - but then, Mr. Bodge wouldn't use dielectric grease at all would he? In fact, the distinction between these products is real and useful, and I very carefully use them variously thereby. That then is what this stuff is (as I understand and use it), and how and why I indeed use it.

The intended use for this product is, of course, improving the reliability of mechanical joints involving aluminum wires used for AC mains circuits where oxidation can pose a severe safety (fire) hazard. I bought it to try for something a little different. I have a small single-cell, single-mode (Yay! for simple on/off) LED flashlight which I really like except for the fact that the electrical connection between the end cap and the body seems to be surprisingly unreliable, presumably due to rapid oxidation of aluminum (aluminum oxide is an excellent electrical insulator). I frequently had to loosen and retighten the end cap to restore a low-resistance connection and the brightness of the light. Nothing seemed to work reliably to fix this problem. A very tiny amount of this product applied to a small area of the threads did the trick! Presumably the "oil" in the compound helps prevent oxidation while the zinc particles form electrically-conductive bridges between the cap and body threads.

I use this for threaded connections on my aluminium tube mech mods , works very well , threads are noticeably less crunchy .

Must have for LFP battery assembly. This was a game changer in unlocking the full performance of my 120AH battery. Polished terminals with scotch pad and this compound, left the slurry mix on the terminals and assembled the bus bars. Pulling 200-300A without any detectable terminal heating.