Stubborn bus bar
Bought a couple of small Insulated bus bars from AZ WindSun. It has 6 set screws: 2 big for AWG 1-14, and 4 small for AWG 6-14. Big screws are flush, small ones have button-head. Nothing special ...
Forum Discussion
Round 2:
Penetrant: 1, Bus Bar: 0.
Heating in the oven at 500F and quenching - loosened one screw, then had to stop the experiment because smoke alarm went off. Never use oven at more than 350, so at 500 it did some "self-cleaning" :)
Picked the most expensive penetrant that was in store - PB Blaster. Sprayed, washed, and with a lot of grunting loosened last 5 screws.
Here is how the bus looks without insulators:
Mine of course is not as shiny now.
Q: After heating the aluminum has darkened. Does this affect surface contact, do I need to clean it?
Q: Corrosion was under the button-heads - I could see whitish traces around the heads perimeter. This wouldn't have happened if they didn't drive it all the way up to the hilt (just like on the photo). Screws with wires will stick out a little, and I will make sure to leave inactive screws slightly out.
BUT... If it corroded in warehouse, I wonder how it will fare on Mexican shores. Should I replace screws with stainless? (have doubts that current ones are SS). Or - brass screws? Or use a conductive grease like Noalox?
I like these bars and would like to keep them. They are small and fit well in a small breaker box that I bought.
Penetrant: 1, Bus Bar: 0.
Heating in the oven at 500F and quenching - loosened one screw, then had to stop the experiment because smoke alarm went off. Never use oven at more than 350, so at 500 it did some "self-cleaning" :)
Picked the most expensive penetrant that was in store - PB Blaster. Sprayed, washed, and with a lot of grunting loosened last 5 screws.
Here is how the bus looks without insulators:
Mine of course is not as shiny now.
Q: After heating the aluminum has darkened. Does this affect surface contact, do I need to clean it?
Q: Corrosion was under the button-heads - I could see whitish traces around the heads perimeter. This wouldn't have happened if they didn't drive it all the way up to the hilt (just like on the photo). Screws with wires will stick out a little, and I will make sure to leave inactive screws slightly out.
BUT... If it corroded in warehouse, I wonder how it will fare on Mexican shores. Should I replace screws with stainless? (have doubts that current ones are SS). Or - brass screws? Or use a conductive grease like Noalox?
I like these bars and would like to keep them. They are small and fit well in a small breaker box that I bought.
