What is that whiteish stuff on bad batteries (ruins stuff)?

Vinegar is a mild acid, not much danger to metals. Rinse after, to remove the dissolved ionic solids.

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Christopher A. Young 
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Before DioxIT, it was Cramolin. Both concoctions had an assortment of formulations and a checkered history. Both have also been cloned at various times. The acid involved is oleic acid, which is food safe and is used in a variety of cosmetic potions and nostrums: However, there were some problems. If it wasn't wiped off, it would slowly attack copper and brass contacts. This was deemed a bad thing and the oleic acid was removed from the formulations leaving only mineral oil and no weak acid. Cramolin MSDS: The MSDS for Caig DeoxIT is listed as a trade secret concoction but is generally presumed to be the same as Cramolin. If this is correct, then using DeoxIT to "clean" battery contacts just coats the contacts with a layer of mineral oil.

Caig has a large selection of cleaners and lubes, many of which contain some manner of unspecified oxide remover available. That would be quite suitable if we were removing an oxide. Assuming an alkaline battery, the white residue is mostly potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and some potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte. Just about any acidic cleaner will remove that. I use 409 household cleaner and smear it around with an acid brush. You can tell it's working by the foam and bubbles produced. When the white crud has been removed, just wipe it clean. Both chemicals are soluble in water, so you don't really need an acid, but I like to see the foam and bubbles. After that, smearing the contacts and PCB with mineral oil (DeoxIT) does nothing useful becaue the contacts don't need a lube job.

The history of Cramolin, DeoxIT, ProGold, etc.

The topic appears quite often in the antique radio forums: Plug "DeOxit" into the search box.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
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Yep. Nothing removes battery spooze faster than plain old water.

Only in the morning: In a pH balanced body. urine is slightly acid in the morning, (pH = 6.5 - 7.0) generally becoming more alkaline (pH = 7.5 - 8.0) by evening in healthy people primarily because no food or beverages are consumed while sleeping. Whereas, during the day the body buffers the pH of the food and beverages consumed by releasing electrolytes and the pH level goes up. This process allows the kidneys to begin the elimination process slowly.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
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Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Also, if you're a meat eater or cannibal: A diet which is high in protein from meat and dairy, as well as alcohol consumption can reduce urine pH, whilst potassium and organic acids such as from diets high in fruit and vegetables can increase the pH and make it more alkaline.

So, if you're going to clean up your leaky battery residue with urine, do it in the morning, after a steak breakfast.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
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Stearic acid, oleic acid,....

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

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Dr Philip C D Hobbs 
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deoxyribonucleic acid... (Not sure about the "mild", though!)

Mike.

Yesterday I stopped to offer a jump start for a fellow. Turns out that his positive battery calmp (automobile) had corroded off, due to battery acid. In this case, I'd say the problem was lead suplphate, and some copper sulphate. Real shame. Sunday about 5 PJM, in a parking lot at a shopping center. Myself and the security guy both tried jumping, and no luck. Fortunately, he had a cell phone. Hope he was able to get his adult son (talking to him on phone) to bring out a new cable. I suspect a new cable would have done the job.

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Christopher A. Young 
learn more about Jesus 
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Simple Green ? organic acids are in your tummy working at the Iowa state fair pork chops.

The white stuff may harden to the point where it needs filing or grinding off if dissimilar materials are in contact within a salty environment.

Battery and ground contact areas eg terminals, clamps, frame connection areas are coated with a thin film of

the grease conducts electricity but not ions in transfer: no white build up

AE6KS back to Jiffy Lube !

or today:

versatile.

Wal sells bags o brushes for $5 in Arts n Crafts. I bought one today of various types needing actual paint the holes brushes and brushes for PCblaster.

here's a normal pack

PCb's nozzle tube needs siliconing then work the nozzle cap left and right with thumb while holding brushing against nozzle.

Allied sells real mil spec cleaners if your Collins recently surfaced from storage in 1955.

I was thinking products like 409 were alkaline. Some of the more potent forms, castrol super clean, and greased lightning, etch glass.

From what I know, the current cramolin, still available, sold as contaclean, is a cleaner, and must be washed away after cleaning. The can I have got real sticky around nozzle, and the can seems to be eating itself. I think someone compared spectral components of deoxit vs cramolin, and were different. Wished I knew more without always comming up with my own findings on web search.

I usually just wipe clean with water, then lube with something like CRC

2-26.

Greg

Oleic acid. Stuff found in olive oil. Oleic acid and naphtha, popular electronic cleaner. Yo can mix with alcohol. Deoxit is a formulation replacing cramolins formula.

Greg

WIKI- 'Certain types of RTV release acetic acid during the curing process, and this can attack solder joints, causing the solder to detach from the copper wire.'

Jiffy was acetic cleaner, as the CRC with plus silicone left on, not as the CRC

According to the MSDS, pH = 9-11.5 There's something in the formulation of 409 that reacts with something in the white crud to produce foam and fizz, but offhand, I can't tell what it might be. Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) are both bases, which should not react with a high pH cleaner. Digging through the possible K2CO3 reactions: None of the reactions with water produce a gas unless heated. Everything else is a reaction with an acid. I'm missing something here.

If it must be wiped off, then it probably contains a mild acid (used as an oxide remover), which might corrode the contacts if left in place. My ancient tiny bottle of Cramolin Red also mentions cleaning. If the can is corroding, it's probably from the acid.

I'm having a bit of a problem with the term "cleaner". We started with something to clean off the white residue from a leaking battery. Then, a "cleaner" for removing the oxide from electrical contacts. And now end up with a "lubricant" for battery contacts that don't move and probably don't need lubrication. Worse, the description reads much like a WD-40 clone, where the purpose is only to displace water. "Plastic safe lubricant, penetrant and corrosion inhibitor that helps prevent electrical malfunctions caused by water penetration, humidity, condensation or corrosion. Restores resistance values and helps stop current leakage."

Want to try an experiment? Find some phosphorescent powder or tracer additive. Mix it with the "lube". Apply to the battery contacts. Then use the device for a while. Inspect with a UV flashlight and I think you'll find the "lube" everywhere EXCEPT around the contact points. If true, one could probably do as well for battery contact protection with a giant blob of grease, as in automotive battery terminals.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Shorter URL's are better. Learn to edit Googlisms:

Incidentally, I like your mis-spelling of dielectric: Karl Marx should have used some in his writings to help his theories hold water.

Rubbish. Dielectric grease, is by definition an insulator. "Dielectric grease is a non-conductive, silicone-based grease that's designed to seal out moisture and prevent corrosion on electrical connectors. It also disrupts the flow of electrical current, which makes it good for lubricating and sealing the rubber parts of electrical connectors. It's commonly used in automotive spark plug wires, recreational and utility vehicles, and electrical systems in aircraft."

If you grease mating surfaces of electrical connections, you're not going to get a decent connection. Given enough current and a little dirt to get hot, you can also produce a small explosion[1].

[1]. In college, I had to deal with a few Persian foreign exchange engineering students. These were mostly the sons of government ministers and very important people under Shah Pavlavi. Few had any mechanical skills in a society where getting one's hands dirty was unbecoming of the uppper castes. Some, brought their servants.

Among the various classes was a semester of metalurgy and welding, which included operating a spot welder. In order to pass the class, one of the Persian students took to following me around and mimicking everything that I did. I decided that he needed to be taught a lesson. I hid my work and as expected, he asked me what to do next. I suggested that he grease his sheet metal pieces before spot welding and I directed him to the can of grease I had thoughtfully provided. I was almost out the door when the grease exploded in the spot welder and produced a rather wide black horizontal scorch line across his clean white shirt. I dissapeared for a day while friends and faculty tried to convince his servant that killing me was not a good idea.

Yes, grease is good, but not in the current flow.

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Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

There's formulations of grease that don't do that, of course; silicone takes high temperature, and some greases are intended for electrical conduction in thin films (they 'break down' at millivolts, and don't even get hot). I've used this grease on rotating connections, at 40A it's just like a solid wire connection.

????????????????????

HUERISM ? Brandt returns ...

but the spelling is prob from the laytest spell checker: GoogleFool

this is the 3rd or 5th time around for dialectics

the dialectic grease conducts electricity...smear some on your audio fuse....but does not conduct iconic transfers to and from dissimilar metals inhibiting serious corrosion.

Prob a Coaled Rechoirrment for the standard hose box main junkshuns.

Looks like aluminum dust, copper dust, graphite, and/or quartz(???). No clue if it's graphite spheres or flakes. Ignoring quartz, the others are not particularly great conductors because of the lack of sufficient contact area between particles. It's much like the conductive PCB paint used to "print" conductive traces. Even using silver, it's not very conductive. Graphite flakes are tolerable because the flakes overlap, but still produces high resistance connections.

One your rotating joint connection, did you use brushes or a commutator to make the connection? If so, the path of least resistance is through these connections, not through the grease. Grease will certainly help, but it works by burying any small arcing under a layer of grease, which blocks oxygen to the arc, and therefore reduces pitting and burning.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558