"Wire Glue"

[dbowers]

Anyone have any information re: "Wire Glue"? I'm thinking of using it on track joint joiners for continuity instead of soldering ALL of those joints.

[jonathan]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/b70c/

Interesting looking stuff.

I have a few rail joints I never got around to soldering.  Now they are too hard to reach with a soldering iron.  But I could use a toothpick to shmear some wire glue on the joints.

Another new chemical for my tool box is just what I need.

Regards,

Jonathan

[richg]

There are some caveats. It can be messy to use. Do a Google search for:

wire glue conductive glue reviews

I just did a search and did some reading.

There are some simple applications where it will work. Attaching wires to a decoder speaker might work.

Rich

[jonathan]

Just did a little reading as Rich suggested.

This stuff reminds me of Neolube.  It is a graphite(carbon) emulsion.  It's anyone's guess what the 'glue' is.  I use neolube to paint smokeboxes, fireboxes, wheels and drive rods.  The color is nice, it's a lubricant and is conductive.

Most reviews warn that the glue is not a strong bond.  However, I can see a railjoint application as the rails are already held in place.  One is merely trying to ensure a constant flow of current over time.  

Soldering is definitely the right choice.  This could be a standby choice for those hard to reach areas.  You need two hands to solder.  You only need one hand to apply the wire glue.

I wouldn't use it on any kind of wiring that will experience movement.  Sounds like the bond is too weak or crumbly.

Search also for 'silver paint', 'nickel paint', or 'conductive paint'.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Doneldon]

db-

Gee. I dunno. This sounds like a great product at first but when you begin to think of the various problems it has (not a strong bond, low voltage only, unknown half-life) it starts to fade, at least in my opinion. It might be okay for non-stressed joints or perhaps for rail joints but there are already excellent materials for those applications. I can see it being useful to connect wires to tiny incandescent light bulbs which seem to burn out too quickly but those are rapidly being replaced by LEDs with much longer lives. And I don't know how this stuff stands up to the heat of an incandescent bulb. Hobby bulbs might be small but they get plenty hot. Just ask someone with a melted structure or headlight. I guess I think that soldering is still the gold standard for electrical and electronic connections.

                                                                                                         -- D

[Jim Banner]

Sounds rather like a mix of AquaDAG, a conductive coating used on and in TV picture tubes and Liquid Solder, a suspension of fine aluminum in a cellulose acetate cement.  I used Liquid Solder on electrical joints when I was a kid, thinking it made solder when set.  It didn't.  Nor was it conductive.  But if copper wires were twisted tightly together and coated with it, the liquid solder insulated the joint and excluded air from the joint, giving a long lasting electrical connection.  (Long lasting to a kid is months to years.  Long lasting to an old guy is decades to centuries.)

I was about 8 or 9 when my father caught me trying to solder with his soldering iron.  Instead of the chastisement I expected, he taught me how to do it properly using rosin core solder.  That is when I found out what really long lasting joints were.  Never had much use for glued together electrical joints after that.

Jim

[dbowers]

Thx to everyone for their input. This is the way we learn. Donn B.

[mabloodhound]

You really do NOT want to solder all track joints.   First, the track needs to be able to move a little with temperature changes.   Second, you may need to remove a section and if it's soldered in, it is more difficult.   And third, there is no need for soldering joints if you dropped wire from each rail to the buss wires  for you section.
Save some time and headaches and use the proven wiring method.

[jward]

just curious. soldering the joints isn't a proven method?

[Jim Banner]

Actually, I agreed with mabloodhound if any of the following are true:

- you have straight sections of track more than 10 feet long.

- your layout is an unheated building that undergoes temperature changes of more than about 40^o over the year.

- your layout is built on a wooden frame work and located in a space where the relative humidity changes from dry to damp over the year.

If any of these are true, leave unsoldered joiners about ever 10 feet or 3 metres.  Otherwise, solder all the joints except where you need rail gaps.

Jim

[jward]

i don't think i've ever built a layout with more than 10 feet between insulated joiners. most of mine are gapped on both rails for the eventual installation of a signal system. maybe that's why i never had problems.