Hello once again folks. I am at the stage of beginning to wire my layout (finally have about 75% of my track laid). While looking at eletrical supplies, I ran across a product called Conductive Glue. I am starting to consider this stuff rather than soldering who knows how much wire, but was wondering if anyone has used anything like this product? If so, what are your thoughts on this stuff.
Thank you so so much,
LilBeckett
Good question. I have no answer but will be waiting on the answers that you get. I’ve seen the product and it appears to not be a substitute for solder, rather a coating for copper to aluminum connections like between a copper wire and a terminal strip terminal.
The fact that it is a liquid indicates that it is some form of medium with metallic particles in it. Since the particles are not continuous (solid) the resistance is going to be much higher then in wire. Even in wire the thicker it is the less the resistance so I don’ t think itis a good idea to use in place of wire. Where would you look for a problem if it stopped working?
LilBeckett, I have to say that I am a little skeptical of this stuff. For one thing the package contains very little material so I think it might end up being quite expensive to use. IMO you need both a good electrical and mechanical bond for feeder wires to bus wires. Unless this stuff is like a conductive superglue it may not give you a long term reliable connection. Since it does not specify anything for voltage or current I would be a little wary. While our voltages are not mains level, they are not very low and also we have the potential to pass a fair amount of current. It might be worth experimenting with, but I would not invest too much in it until you are happy with the experiment. Let us know if you do anything as I would be interested in the results.
If you want your layout to run years from now, learn how to solder. It is faster and easier than glue and it works. It takes some learning, but so does everything else in this hobby. I still struggle with the soldering iron, but when its done, its right and it works.
I use it for installing resistors on my wheelsets (for block detection). It works, but it isn’t as easy to use or as reliable as solder…
Get a good temperature controlled soldering iron (for the light stuff ) and some good quality solder rosin cored solder (I like Kester) and practise! Save the other stuff for the situations where you can’t apply heat…
Villy
I would never use anything like this in any area where you’re likely to be pulling on a wire in the future, whether on purpose or accidentally, because it is not going to have the strength that a soldered joint will.
If you don’t know how to solder, consider the use of crimp-on terminals and barrier strips for your connections. That’s how I connect all of my feeder wires, because it’s an easier process than trying to solder while kneeling or laying on my back under the layout.
I’m hip deep in wiring. And I’m not a fan of undertable soldering. I ran my buss, sans feeders, and marked the feeder locations by drilling a small hole at the finish position by the track, stuck a small wire down the hole so I can see the locations from underneath, mark the spots on the buss with a marker, pull the buss out and strip, solder, and seal each feeder at the workbench, leaving more than enuogh feeder length. then I refeed the buss and everything comes out lined up{at least so far}. Only screwup was not making the holes large enough to the solder joints will pass through. had to redrill the first half dozen holes. after that I used a larger bit. Seem to work slick and my aging knees and back are none the worse for wear.
soldering is one of those skills that you’ll use in many areas of life , not just in wiring your layout (although that’s the most important !) take the time to learn how to solder properly , it’s not that hard