Pro tip: Stop using anti-oxidant paste on aluminum SEU terminations

I had to re-torque 12 terminals on a 400 amp service in a new condo building last Tuesday because the paste caused the connection to slip under load and every one was loose after six months, has anyone else seen this happen on big commercial jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy82427d ago

Six months back I put anti-oxidant on a set of 200 amp residential lugs and went back last week to find three of them loose enough to spin by hand. The paste acts like a lubricant no matter how careful you are with the torque wrench, and that lesson cost me a Saturday I’ll never get back. I guess I’m just old school now - clean aluminum and a good cinch, no goop required.

margaretj4027d ago

Oh man @nancy824, that's brutal. I'd be ready to throw my torque wrench across the job site after that. Sounds like the anti-oxidant turned those lugs into greased pigs at a county fair. I've seen that stuff make connections feel tight but actually they're just swimming in slippery goo. My old foreman used to say "if it squishes, it'll loosen" and he was right. Now I just wire brush the aluminum and crank it dry too.