Re: Stabilant

[Bryan Lally <bryan@mst.lanl.gov>]

At 05:31 PM 2/17/97 -0500, D Conner wrote:

>Is Stabilant a unique product or is it similar to the dielectric grease
>(Permatex brand) I've been using on electrical connections?  
>If not the same thing is it a replacement/better product than the dielectric
>grease?
>I hear Stabilant is great stuff but maybe some of us already have this base
>covered.

They're not the same thing.  Definately different.  Which works better?  Can't
tell you the answer to that.  Here's what I know about Stabilant 22a, having
just recently purchased some.

Name:			Stabilant 22a
Manufactured by:	D. W. Electrochemicals Ltd.
			97 Newkirk Road North, Unit 3
			Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4C 3G4
			tel: 905.508.7500
			fax: 905.508.7502
NATO part #		5999-21-900-6937
NATO supplier #	38948

You can get it in the US through Car Quest automotive parts stores.  They
will probably not stock it.  The part # is SL-5.  It will probably be called
"Engine Controls" on the computer.  The Car Quest label says:

	Engine Controls
	SL-5
	Contact Stabilant

It costs $50, US.  Ouch.  For that $50, you get a 15ml bottle.  About the
size of a bottle of prescription eye drops.  Of that 15ml, 80% is alcohol.
So, you are getting 3ml of active ingredients.  Then again, if you can fix
an electrical intermittant for $50, it was well worth it.  Ask me how I
know :-(

The active ingredient is a polymer, identified by CAS 9003-11-6.  A chemical
engineer friend of mine looked up what that is, and drew a picture of the
molecule on the board.  I forgot the details ...

The literature that comes with it (oh, yeah - for your $50, you get a little
piece of paper, in both English and French, a nice little cardboard tube to
protect your investment, and 5 cotton swabs) says:

	"Stabilant 22 is the world's first electronic contact enhancer.  Applied
to the contact points of electronic connectors, this innovative new liquid
polymer itself becomes conductive between the mating surfaces of the contacts
while staying non-conductive between adjacent contact pairs.  Stabilant 22,
unlike any other contact treatment, thus actively improves conductivity and
connector reliability in any electronic system, from mainframe computers
and PCs
to bio-medical electronics and avionics."

It didn't fix my problem, but nothing else has yet, either.  Guess I'll go
back to the garage and pull the FI computer out yet again.


	- Bryan

'94 BMW K75S		_red_
'94 Honda XR250L	with extra needles and thread
'89 Audi 80		I think I can, I think I can ...