Anyone ever use conductive oil?

This should work great for pickup rollers.  I haven't found a shop that stocks it though.  To order it directly from Bachmann could be expensive with the shipping.

 

Side Rod

Yes, and it works good especially on rollers like Side Rod said. I need to get some more.

I was thinking pick-up rollers too more so for passenger cars and lit rolling stock. Bachmann has it for $16.

I use Sanchem NoOXID and it works great.  I use it on the pickup wipers.

 

Larry

I had issues with it running on my kline E8 ABA set (all powered). This setup uses 2 power pickups to drive 6 motors and what I found is that my power pickups would get really hot. One would seize up and the engine wouldn't want to run. I switched back to the bachmann light gear oil and it works fine. No more issues. I stopped using this on the rest of my engines. I didn't have a problem with it on the rest of my MTH engines. I suppose the high current draw for 2 pickup rollers could have been my problem...

 

I bought mine from wholesaletrains dot com. Price is <$10.

I don't know if neolube is the same thing - it darkens in addition.  But it lubes, and conducts . . . I use it.

I bought it to lube my pick-up rollers, some of which had become very noisy and didn't roll well. It works great. No more squealing and I noticed that the lights in my passenger cars don't flicker as much.

If you read the specs on the Bachmann EZ Lube and the comparable Atlas lube, they sound identical to Aerocar Lubricants Conducta lube (ACT-3753) - but the Aerocar Lube is plenty cheaper.  There's something happening with the Aerocar Lubricants website right now, but Lichtfield Station has the Aerocar Conducta Lube for around $6.50 with reasonable shipping.  I haven't gotten around to trying a conductive lube, but when I do, I'll try the Aerocar product. I think they may rebottle for the bigger guys.

 

No-OXID seems like it would be a bit on the heavy side for wipers - I have a small can of it but have never tried it on my trains.  But it does work great - it is certainly a commonly used conductive grease for industrial electrical connections.

I have been using Atlas conduct-A-Lube on pick-up rollers for years. Works great, and also can be used as a cleaner for dirty rollers.

Chris, I see the word flammable on the bottle.  You will not see that stuff when you come to my house.

I used the Atlas conducta lube on my Williams passenger cars like Williams said to. It ruined all the rollers on all the trucks. There were no problems until I used it. After that the rollers would seize up and stop rolling every 30 minutes or so.  I thoroughly cleaned the rollers with electrical contact cleaner many times and the rollers would seize up again. I tried TV tuner cleaner/lube and even lighter fluid. Even after I stopped using the lube the rollers would seize up. I ended up having to buy new trucks because the rollers are not replaceable. The only place I will use the conductive lube now is where rollers have the external pin on the ends. 

Rob

Wahl Oil works terrific.  Caution one or two drops is a lot!  Russ

 

The Bachman oil is not conductive.   This has come up on the forum previously.  I suppose the bottle should say conductive-contact oil or "conductive contact"  oil if the meaning is that it is oil for conductive contacts.

Has been my choice for years: http://www.con-cor.com/Labelle.html

Correct me if I am wrong, but do you use this stuff on the outside of the rollers for track conductivity?

 

I asked my tech at my LHS about the concept and he had previously adviced strongly against it. But I am not sure that is the same thing here.

Now as I recall Bachmann brought this "Conductive Contact Lubricant" out with their release of the G-Scale Two-Truck SHAY about 15-years ago.

 

"Now apply a drop of Conductive Contact Lubricant to the back of each wheel.  This highly concentrated lubricant will enhance electrical conductivity and decrease the amp draw of your Shay.  It will also increase the life of the heavy duty ball bearing electrical contacts and springs.  Important!  Perform this electrical conduct maintenance every 5 to 6 hours of operation."  So states the instructions.  And this is the ONLY place where this lubricant is used.

 

At the time I recall discussions about "conductive" lubricants.  The consensus was that in fact most lubricants are electrically conductive.  Some more, some less then others.  Now this Bachmann stuff may have very fine metallic particles which improve conductivity.  But Bachmann specified it's use only on the backs of large Scale wheels with ball bearing contacts.  So I can see when used with tight fitting rollers and axles it would "gum up."