[DaveC113]

In the course of the last couple years I have been asked to re-terminate other cables and they have all, without exception, had some degree of corrosion in the interface between the wires and the connector. Including one set of very expensive cables (IC and SC) that specifically stated their conductor was immune to corrosion. This was true, but the interface between the conductor and connector was badly corroded. There are multiple reasons for this but all depend on the presence of oxygen so unless your cables are potted they will require maintenance to keep their performance maximized.

At least once a year, more in some climates, remove the connector body and inspect the cable and spray it with an electronics cleaner followed by Caig D100 or use D5 in one step. If you can't easily remove the connector body I'd flush the cable end with cleaner followed by Caig D5 and skip the 100 unless you can apply it directly to the connector/wire interface and any bare wire. I use the corner of a dishtowel soaked in cleaner for spots that need it, a small brush of some sort would be even easier...

All platings should be cleaned with Caig D5 or cleaner followed by D100. Unplated AC plugs need regular maintenance as well, the shiny brass fades to brown pretty quickly, which is why I like plated connectors. Many receptacles are unplated, if you're going to clean them please flip the breaker first! If you are serious about your system I would buy at least one gold or rhodium plated Furutech FPX or GTX receptacle to plug your power distribution into. See sticky thread on power for more info there.

Issues with corrosion inside components seem less frequent than with cables but it won't hurt to unplug the component and take the cover off to inspect it and dust it out once a year.

All ZenWave cables are cleaned with electronics cleaner (that is also labeled as a flux remover) followed by Caig D5 or just D5 if no soldering is involved. I am considering potting my plugs or using an enamel, varnish or PU coating, which would eliminate the need for periodic maintenance. I have always had more of a purist view because adding potting or a sealant will degrade the sound a tiny bit, so why chance it? But there is a high likelihood that a significant number of people will not do this kind of maintenance, in which case a potted cable would be best. Also, potting would change the mechanical resonance of the plug, possibly for the better, but it would be a try and see thing as to what it'll do to the sound. I don't expect a major change, most likely it'll be a smaller change in sound. Also, potting will make the connector impossible to reuse, the cable can still be re-terminated by cutting it at the base of the connector though.

EDIT: I am currently considering a Silicon coating that has similar dielectric properties as teflon and is removable. If that changes the way you would vote you are able to do so.

So, my question is would you prefer your cables to have potted connectors or no?

[jtwrace]

Potting is certainly the way to go but as you say the connector is unusable for the future if one wants to shorten the length. 

Also, I use DeOxit Gold on my breaker connections.  Those want to corrode too! 

[paul79]

Deoxit D5 works great for everything BUT AC connectors IME. I use a no residue cleaner for all AC connections. Deoxit leaves a grey build up on them that is difficult to clean.

Deoxit is fine for low level signal stuff. I will say that I have never tried Deoxit Gold on AC connections, so this may be the way to go.

Potting sounds like a good idea, but it may be somewhat difficult to do properly in some instances. Wouldn't surprise me if some potting materials break down and become corrosive also.

[DaveC113]

Yes, corrosion on panels can be an issue for sure...

I guess if you don't like the results of Caig you could wash it off with electrical cleaner, I haven't heard any complains about it's performance but it's easy to try out.

It might be helpful to point out that some electrical cleaners leave an oil residue, don't buy that stuff, I use Caig for the protective film. It will say on the label.

I was looking at mgchemicals brochure and the Silicon Conformal Coating has the lowest dielectric constant of any of the silicon or epoxy based coatings or potting compounds. There's even a coating stripper so you can take it off. I'm thinking this may be the way to go...

http://www.mgchemicals.com/downloads/catalog/index.html#page/18

[paul79]

Yes! I think that is a winner there....

[*Scotty*]

I would say it kind of depends on whether potting the connection degrades the sound quality of the cables. I solder all of my cable connections on ICs and use a gas tight crimp on speaker cable terminations and have not experienced any failures or intermittent connections.
 The Silicon Conformal Coating looks like an easily applied coating and as long as the sound quality remains the same you're golden.
Scotty

[paul79]

Another issue I have found with after market power cables is the terminations at the cord ends. I have taken some apart and the wire is barely hanging on. They should be torqued and locked somehow. A simple blob of paint after tightening would suffice, and easy to remove with MEK or Thinner of a sort, if needed.

[DaveC113]

Hi Paul, yes AC plugs need a lot of torque, one tip for assembly is to spray the internal contacts and threads with Caig D5, this not only protects the metal from corrosion but it lubricates the threads and makes it possible to tighten the screws much tighter than without lube as the torque goes into compressing the wire rather than overcoming the friction in the threads.

Scotty, the silicon coating has similar dielectric properties as teflon so I do not think it will affect sq to any audible extent. The only way to know is to try. So far the "no" response to the poll is leading but not many votes so far. Maybe the no's would reconsider if the coating has no audible effect on the cable?


Please remember to vote in the poll! 

[jtwrace]

Hi Paul, yes AC plugs need a lot of torque,

No, they just need to be properly torqued like any other fastener. 

[paul79]

So what is proper?

[DaveC113]

No, they just need to be properly torqued like any other fastener.

Lol, thanks but this is a very simple issue and I do happen to have a ME degree. Lubing threads allows the fasteners to be properly torqued, without lubricated threads some of the torque applied to the fastener is lost in friction between the threads instead of used to actually turn the fastener. Paul is right that A LOT of AC fasteners are improperly torqued leading to loose connections both in AC plugs and receptacles. When assembling an AC plug lubing the threads is a good idea, it's as simple as that. If you want to measure the fastener diameter and threads, figure out it's material properties and specify a type of thread lube than we can do some basic calculations and specify an exact torque but I don't think anyone does this (I've never seen an electrician torquing receptacles and plugs with a torque wrench) which results in loose AC connections. So i will just keep it simple and recommend using D5 to lube the the threads and protect the interface simultaneously while using a calibrated wrist to torque the fasteners. 

[jtwrace]

Perfect! 

[paul79]

Elbow click torque

[DaveC113]

It takes a while to calibrate the wrist but it's possible to get pretty close... before I finished my ME degree I owned a small auto and welding shop. I did a lot of custom fabrication on trucks and off road vehicles... outfitting non-Chevys with Chevy Saginaw power steering and Vortec V8s    I've probably built 10 or so motors too, doing that kind of work it's critical to get the torques right. After going to school I had a better understanding of what is involved, they should teach more of that to mechanics because it's an integral part of the job and the more you know the better. As far as lubricating threads, a simple way to put it might be more of the torque you apply is transferred into tension on the bolt instead of lost to friction. If you lubricate threads the proper amount of torque to apply will be lower. There's a considerable difference in torque between different lubricants as well, critical engine bolts come with torque charts to address this. But for AC plugs... Caig D5 + "a lot" of torque works, you want to stay pretty far away from breaking something, but use a lot of torque. It's easier to get it right with the threads lubricated, if you don't get it right you will end up with a loose connection so if you're not sure try to re-torque the connection after it's been sitting a few days or so... if you didn't get it right you'll get 1/2+ more turns on the screw to get it to the same place it was when you first put it together.

Ok, I think we've got this one covered, back to the coating/potting issue... 

Thanks for voting in the poll to those who did, given the silicone coating has such good dielectric properties I'm thinking I will give it a try. It's either that or maintenance instructions should come with the cables, which seems like a lot more work to deal with than brushing on a sonically neutral coating.  I can always build to order without it if someone doesn't want it.

[maxima95]

Ok, I think we've got this one covered, back to the coating/potting issue... 

Thanks for voting in the poll to those who did, given the silicone coating has such good dielectric properties I'm thinking I will give it a try. It's either that or maintenance instructions should come with the cables, which seems like a lot more work to deal with than brushing on a sonically neutral coating.   I can always build to order without it if someone doesn't want it.

I'm glad you said that. 

I imagine it would dry to a fairly thin flexible coating?  Even with the remover, it would likely be a nuisance to remove all of it if you wanted to change a connector.  Would not likely change an IC connector; might change power or speaker cable ends.

[DaveC113]

I was hoping for a larger sample but it looks like the issue is fairly well split. I will have to consider the best approach, I do feel like a coating is a good idea as long as it is sonically neutral but I don't want to force it on folks that would rather not have it.

Please vote if you have not! Thanks!