Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox
I had some experience using Noalox, I hope the following is useful ... Way back in my early EV years, when heard the snoWhite Electric race car http://web.stanford.edu/dept/SUL/library/extra4/sloan/EVonline/evaosc/9404/page8.htm http://www.cafeelectric.com/images/Snowhite1.jpg was using Noalox on its battery connectors to improve conductivity / reduce resistive loss on the power connections, I wanted to try it. On my a PbSO4 battery change I tried using Noalox to help offset the losses I was having driving a heavy wind-pusher S-10 Blazer EV conversion. I cleaned my battery connections using rubbing alcohol (the connectors and battery posts did not have any severe corrosion). The small bottle of Noalox I bought was not cheap, but I applied it as I was instructed (I used the correct amount) on all metal to metal surfaces (the battery posts/terminals, and the inside of the battery connectors). After all of that, did I see a difference in using Noalox on my metal to metal power connections? Yes. Not much difference, but slightly less wasted power from connector resistance (after a long run or mountain climbing, my connectors and posts/terminals were cooler when using Noalox, added 3 to 5 miles on a 60+ mile 132VDC T145 pack). Later, I used up what Noalox I had left on the next battery changes. But after I ran out of Noalox, I was not doing long distance driving with my EV any longer, so I just use regular connections on a battery change. The performance and range was a little less, but IMO for regular city driving, it is not worth the Noalox cost. But, if I wanted to slightly push the performance and or range of an EV conversion again, I would consider using Noalox again. {brucedp.150m.com} ... https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Noalox+conductive - On Thu, Aug 7, 2014, at 08:22 PM, Rick Beebe via EV wrote: REAP Systems in England did test that in a lab last year. You can see a video presentation they did on the EVTV web site. Go to video archives, August 16, 2013. A direct link is http://media3.ev-tv.me/news081613-iPhone.m4v. The presentation starts at 23 minutes and the results are around 36 minutes. Instead of sanding they used a steel bristle brush to remove the tarnish from the terminals and busbars. They discharged the cells at 300 amps in 60 second bursts 30 times. The BMS was monitoring individual cell temperatures and if they exceeded 45C it would reduce the current. They strapped 7 100Ah cells together. With uncleaned terminals they got one cycle before having to reduce the current because of temperature. The warmest cell got up to 55C after 10 cycles. With cleaned terminals there was no reduction in current until after 11 cycles when the warmest cell got up to 45C. The warmest cell eventually got just above 50C but after those 11 cycles they'd already drawn half the capacity of the cells. Interestingly there was virtually no difference when they added the grease. So if you think the grease will help prevent corrosion that's fine. But it doesn't seem to do anything to help the connection. --Rick On 7/31/2014 12:43 PM, Michael Ross via EV wrote: With aluminum, you just cannot expose bare un-oxidixed metal, it is not possible to do this, so I am not happy with the sanding idea. The sanding has to be helpful on some other basis if it is indeed helpful. Be interesting if someone has compared greased un-sanded to greased and sanded. - -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Re-To-Noalox-or-Not-to-Noalox-tp4670881p4670885.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox
I think REAP's results speak for themselves. Brushing is quite a bit easier than sanding but just watch you dont short a pair of terminals if you are using a long steel-wired brush! But as Michael suggests, in a damp environment, such as a marine application for example, the Noalox might prevent moisture from penetrating the joint and increasing its resistance over time. On the other hand, just using some petroleum grease (or similar) would probably work just as well. MW On 8 Aug 2014, at 04:38, Michael Ross via EV wrote: The theory that is being proposed is that the noalox or grease will provide better results over some time in service - particularly where there are dissimilar metals in contact. That makes sense to me. I like the idea of brushing much better than sanding. But, fine grit polishing sounds OK to me. I guess you have to buy the idea that the zinc particles in noalox do bind up free oxygen, providing anodic protection within the joint. If the joint was dry, and the grease does not deteriorate, then I I think it might be speculative marketeering, and product differentiation that touts the zinc. It would be interesting to see this tested somehow. On Thu, Aug 7, 2014 at 11:22 PM, Rick Beebe via EV ev@lists.evdl.org wrote: REAP Systems in England did test that in a lab last year. You can see a video presentation they did on the EVTV web site. Go to video archives, August 16, 2013. A direct link is http://media3.ev-tv.me/news081613-iPhone.m4v. The presentation starts at 23 minutes and the results are around 36 minutes. Instead of sanding they used a steel bristle brush to remove the tarnish from the terminals and busbars. They discharged the cells at 300 amps in 60 second bursts 30 times. The BMS was monitoring individual cell temperatures and if they exceeded 45C it would reduce the current. They strapped 7 100Ah cells together. With uncleaned terminals they got one cycle before having to reduce the current because of temperature. The warmest cell got up to 55C after 10 cycles. With cleaned terminals there was no reduction in current until after 11 cycles when the warmest cell got up to 45C. The warmest cell eventually got just above 50C but after those 11 cycles they'd already drawn half the capacity of the cells. Interestingly there was virtually no difference when they added the grease. So if you think the grease will help prevent corrosion that's fine. But it doesn't seem to do anything to help the connection. --Rick On 7/31/2014 12:43 PM, Michael Ross via EV wrote: With aluminum, you just cannot expose bare un-oxidixed metal, it is not possible to do this, so I am not happy with the sanding idea. The sanding has to be helpful on some other basis if it is indeed helpful. Be interesting if someone has compared greased un-sanded to greased and sanded. ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/NEDRA) -- Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? *Dalai Lama * Tell me what it is you plan to do With your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver, The summer day. To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 550-2430 Land (919) 576-0824 https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell (919) 513-0418 Desk michael.e.r...@gmail.com michael.e.r...@gmail.com -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140807/6140844a/attachment.htm ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox
REAP Systems in England did test that in a lab last year. You can see a video presentation they did on the EVTV web site. Go to video archives, August 16, 2013. A direct link is http://media3.ev-tv.me/news081613-iPhone.m4v. The presentation starts at 23 minutes and the results are around 36 minutes. Instead of sanding they used a steel bristle brush to remove the tarnish from the terminals and busbars. They discharged the cells at 300 amps in 60 second bursts 30 times. The BMS was monitoring individual cell temperatures and if they exceeded 45C it would reduce the current. They strapped 7 100Ah cells together. With uncleaned terminals they got one cycle before having to reduce the current because of temperature. The warmest cell got up to 55C after 10 cycles. With cleaned terminals there was no reduction in current until after 11 cycles when the warmest cell got up to 45C. The warmest cell eventually got just above 50C but after those 11 cycles they'd already drawn half the capacity of the cells. Interestingly there was virtually no difference when they added the grease. So if you think the grease will help prevent corrosion that's fine. But it doesn't seem to do anything to help the connection. --Rick On 7/31/2014 12:43 PM, Michael Ross via EV wrote: With aluminum, you just cannot expose bare un-oxidixed metal, it is not possible to do this, so I am not happy with the sanding idea. The sanding has to be helpful on some other basis if it is indeed helpful. Be interesting if someone has compared greased un-sanded to greased and sanded. ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox
The theory that is being proposed is that the noalox or grease will provide better results over some time in service - particularly where there are dissimilar metals in contact. That makes sense to me. I like the idea of brushing much better than sanding. But, fine grit polishing sounds OK to me. I guess you have to buy the idea that the zinc particles in noalox do bind up free oxygen, providing anodic protection within the joint. If the joint was dry, and the grease does not deteriorate, then I I think it might be speculative marketeering, and product differentiation that touts the zinc. It would be interesting to see this tested somehow. On Thu, Aug 7, 2014 at 11:22 PM, Rick Beebe via EV ev@lists.evdl.org wrote: REAP Systems in England did test that in a lab last year. You can see a video presentation they did on the EVTV web site. Go to video archives, August 16, 2013. A direct link is http://media3.ev-tv.me/news081613-iPhone.m4v. The presentation starts at 23 minutes and the results are around 36 minutes. Instead of sanding they used a steel bristle brush to remove the tarnish from the terminals and busbars. They discharged the cells at 300 amps in 60 second bursts 30 times. The BMS was monitoring individual cell temperatures and if they exceeded 45C it would reduce the current. They strapped 7 100Ah cells together. With uncleaned terminals they got one cycle before having to reduce the current because of temperature. The warmest cell got up to 55C after 10 cycles. With cleaned terminals there was no reduction in current until after 11 cycles when the warmest cell got up to 45C. The warmest cell eventually got just above 50C but after those 11 cycles they'd already drawn half the capacity of the cells. Interestingly there was virtually no difference when they added the grease. So if you think the grease will help prevent corrosion that's fine. But it doesn't seem to do anything to help the connection. --Rick On 7/31/2014 12:43 PM, Michael Ross via EV wrote: With aluminum, you just cannot expose bare un-oxidixed metal, it is not possible to do this, so I am not happy with the sanding idea. The sanding has to be helpful on some other basis if it is indeed helpful. Be interesting if someone has compared greased un-sanded to greased and sanded. ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/NEDRA) -- Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? *Dalai Lama * Tell me what it is you plan to do With your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver, The summer day. To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 550-2430 Land (919) 576-0824 https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell (919) 513-0418 Desk michael.e.r...@gmail.com michael.e.r...@gmail.com -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140807/6140844a/attachment.htm ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox (was: Lithium battery setpoints...)
Thanks for the level-headed reply Bill. You described three functions - grease excluding moisture, zinc as a sacrificial anode, and somehow removing aluminum oxide by sanding. Here on this list I have been persuaded that the grease excluding moisture is likely a good idea. Pick one that won't dry or bake out. I can't for the life of me figure out why a highly resistive dielectric grease (mentioned by others) is a better choice than a conductive grease...noalox is essentially a conductive grease given the Zn content. If you really do exclude the moisture then the zinc would be redundant, seems like. With aluminum, you just cannot expose bare un-oxidixed metal, it is not possible to do this, so I am not happy with the sanding idea. The sanding has to be helpful on some other basis if it is indeed helpful. Be interesting if someone has compared greased un-sanded to greased and sanded. I suppose if you used really fine grit paper you might actually improve intimate mechanical contact, but I have my doubts. I admit I have not yet used any cells with aluminum terminals. One pack has all the cells welded to stainless steel strips, the other are what look like stainless or nickel plated something, stamped and formed with a tapped holes (38120 size cells). I have a group of used Thundersky cells, but I have not used them yet. On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 11:17 AM, Bill Dube via EV ev@lists.evdl.org wrote: Here is an article describing how to make aluminum to copper connections, and when to use (and when not to use) oxide inhibiting paste: http://www.stabiloy.com/NR/rdonlyres/AD9F20D3-FA28-4662- A013-A154C569435C/0/AluminumBuildingWireInstallationandTerminations.pdf The cell manufacturer gives no guidance as to the use of oxide inhibiting paste, so one must try it both ways. I tried it without Noalox, and then with Noalox. I have installed cells without the light sanding and paste, and the connections were unsatisfactory. They got quite hot. The car performed poorly and had limited range. The cells would not balance well. I then performed the lightly sand and apply Noalox procedure, and did nothing else, and all those issues vanished. No additional torque. No added or removed components. No change whatsoever than to lightly sand and to add Noalox. Some time later, a friend had identical issues with his conversion, and I recommended the same treatment. He performed the lightly sand and Noalox procedure, and it cured his issues in the identical manner as it had cured mine. I now routinely use Noalox and I have not had any high resistance connections. The Noalox prevents galvanic corrosion between the dissimilar metals in the terminal by excluding moisture. Additionally, it has zinc particles that provide a sacrificial anode, further guarding against corrosion between the copper, aluminum, and the stainless steel bolt. In theory, this is what one does to prevent galvanic corrosion. It also appears to work in practice as well. I have actually done the experiment, and the results agree with theory. If anyone else has performed a similar experiment and had contradictory results, then I would enjoy hearing about it. Bill D. ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/NEDRA) -- Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? *Dalai Lama * Tell me what it is you plan to do With your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver, The summer day. To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 550-2430 Land (919) 576-0824 https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell (919) 513-0418 Desk michael.e.r...@gmail.com michael.e.r...@gmail.com -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140731/dc0ba8a0/attachment.htm ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox (was: Lithium battery setpoints...)
That is the theory and it seems to be confirmed by two experiments. When the cells arrive, the terminals are often noticeably covered with corrosion. Perhaps this corrosion is due to prolonged exposure to the sea environment during shipment, or to corrosive chemicals used during manufacture. It seems only prudent to remove it. Light sanding seems to be a simple and effective method to remove the bulk of that obvious corrosion. Since that initial experiment and subsequent success with Noalox, I have built a number of packs and I have not had any more trouble with high resistance connections whatsoever. It may not be necessary in every case, but it is not much trouble to lightly sand and apply Noalox, and it does not appear to be any detriment. Bill D. At 11:11 AM 7/31/2014, Lawrence Harris wrote: Remember that in almost any connection there is always an oxide layer. The purpose of the sanding is to remove enough of this so that a reasonable pressure between the wire/strap and the connection can break through this layer and form a gas tight connection. The grease is just there to keep moisture out, fill any small gaps and prevent surface corrosion. The the added zinc will likely take up any remaining oxygen and further prevent corrosion for a time, as far as I know it does not contribute to the conductivity of the connection. Lawrence Harris ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox (was: Lithium battery setpoints...)
My take on this is that the zinc is redundant. I use petroleum jelly. Certainly not a conductor. At a microscopic level each metal surface in the joint has pronounced peaks and valleys. Only the peaks touch. The grease, being a fluid, displaces to fill the voids and the many localized pressure points ensure good metal-to-metal contact. I've been doing this for years and never had even a warm contact. Chris On Jul 31, 2014 11:20 AM, Bill Dube via EV ev@lists.evdl.org wrote: Here is an article describing how to make aluminum to copper connections, and when to use (and when not to use) oxide inhibiting paste: http://www.stabiloy.com/NR/rdonlyres/AD9F20D3-FA28-4662- A013-A154C569435C/0/AluminumBuildingWireInstallationandTerminations.pdf The cell manufacturer gives no guidance as to the use of oxide inhibiting paste, so one must try it both ways. I tried it without Noalox, and then with Noalox. I have installed cells without the light sanding and paste, and the connections were unsatisfactory. They got quite hot. The car performed poorly and had limited range. The cells would not balance well. I then performed the lightly sand and apply Noalox procedure, and did nothing else, and all those issues vanished. No additional torque. No added or removed components. No change whatsoever than to lightly sand and to add Noalox. Some time later, a friend had identical issues with his conversion, and I recommended the same treatment. He performed the lightly sand and Noalox procedure, and it cured his issues in the identical manner as it had cured mine. I now routinely use Noalox and I have not had any high resistance connections. The Noalox prevents galvanic corrosion between the dissimilar metals in the terminal by excluding moisture. Additionally, it has zinc particles that provide a sacrificial anode, further guarding against corrosion between the copper, aluminum, and the stainless steel bolt. In theory, this is what one does to prevent galvanic corrosion. It also appears to work in practice as well. I have actually done the experiment, and the results agree with theory. If anyone else has performed a similar experiment and had contradictory results, then I would enjoy hearing about it. Bill D. ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/NEDRA) -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140731/93f581ec/attachment.htm ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox
Michael Ross via EV wrote: I can't for the life of me figure out why a highly resistive dielectric grease (mentioned by others) is a better choice than a conductive grease... The grease is only filling the gaps (asperities) between the two metals. There is no grease at the contact points -- it's squeezed out by the high pressure. noalox is essentially a conductive grease given the Zn content. Marketeers make a big deal about how conductive their grease is (sticking the probes of a multimeter into it, etc.) That just marketing BS. The conductive grease is still many orders of magnitude less conductive than the metals. Its conductivity is meanigless compared to the metal-to-metal contact. If you really do exclude the moisture then the zinc would be redundant, seems like. Like Bill says, the zinc particles are supposed to act as a sacrificial anode (corrode first) in case water does manage to get into the joint. With aluminum, you just cannot expose bare un-oxidixed metal, it is not possible to do this I agree. But you can reduce the thickness of this coating so it is effectively gone. Be interesting if someone has compared greased un-sanded to greased and sanded. I've done so, and so has Bill Dube' -- probably others. I agree completely with Bill; sanding and noalox (or just about any grease) works. I suppose if you used really fine grit paper you might actually improve intimate mechanical contact, but I have my doubts. Well, I'm not talking about heavy sanding that removes any noticeable amount of metal. I'm just polishing the surface, to remove the dull finish and make it look shiny. I admit I have not yet used any cells with aluminum terminals... I have a group of used Thundersky cells, but I have not used them yet. That will be a good test case. I find it depressing to see how badly designed the terminals are on these cells. My first reaction was what idiot would use aluminum for high-current connections in a high harsh automotive environment? Besides the aluminum itself, the other issue to address is the screw or both. Threads in aluminum tend to stick, gall, or seize. You get erroneous torque readings, and can even tear out the threads without ever achieving enough contact pressure. The grease helps here, too. And, they tend to use any old thing for the interconnects between cells. You wind up with a mish-mash of incompatible metals. Aluminum terminal with a steel screw, holding a copper strap that may or may not be tin plated, etc. The cells themselves provide the voltage to enhance corrosion. Put them in a car where they get wet or dirty, and you have a wonderful environment for corrosion! -- The definition of research: Shoot the arrow first, and paint the target around where it lands. -- David Van Baak -- Lee Hart's EV projects are at http://www.sunrise-ev.com/LeesEVs.htm ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox
At 01:41 PM 7/31/2014, Lee Hart via EV wrote: I find it depressing to see how badly designed the terminals are on these cells. My first reaction was what idiot would use aluminum for high-current connections in a high harsh automotive environment? I agree totally. However, you get what you pay for. They are _astoundingly_ cheap for the capacity you get. If they put some nifty corrosion-resistant plating on them, or made them from a better material, they would cost slightly more and folks would buy a different brand. Bill D. ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
Re: [EVDL] To Noalox, or Not to Noalox (was: Lithium battery setpoints...)
Remember that in almost any connection there is always an oxide layer. The purpose of the sanding is to remove enough of this so that a reasonable pressure between the wire/strap and the connection can break through this layer and form a gas tight connection. The grease is just there to keep moisture out, fill any small gaps and prevent surface corrosion. The the added zinc will likely take up any remaining oxygen and further prevent corrosion for a time, as far as I know it does not contribute to the conductivity of the connection. Lawrence Harris On Jul 31, 2014, at 9:43 AM, Michael Ross via EV ev@lists.evdl.org wrote: Thanks for the level-headed reply Bill. You described three functions - grease excluding moisture, zinc as a sacrificial anode, and somehow removing aluminum oxide by sanding. Here on this list I have been persuaded that the grease excluding moisture is likely a good idea. Pick one that won't dry or bake out. I can't for the life of me figure out why a highly resistive dielectric grease (mentioned by others) is a better choice than a conductive grease...noalox is essentially a conductive grease given the Zn content. If you really do exclude the moisture then the zinc would be redundant, seems like. With aluminum, you just cannot expose bare un-oxidixed metal, it is not possible to do this, so I am not happy with the sanding idea. The sanding has to be helpful on some other basis if it is indeed helpful. Be interesting if someone has compared greased un-sanded to greased and sanded. I suppose if you used really fine grit paper you might actually improve intimate mechanical contact, but I have my doubts. I admit I have not yet used any cells with aluminum terminals. One pack has all the cells welded to stainless steel strips, the other are what look like stainless or nickel plated something, stamped and formed with a tapped holes (38120 size cells). I have a group of used Thundersky cells, but I have not used them yet. On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 11:17 AM, Bill Dube via EV ev@lists.evdl.org wrote: Here is an article describing how to make aluminum to copper connections, and when to use (and when not to use) oxide inhibiting paste: http://www.stabiloy.com/NR/rdonlyres/AD9F20D3-FA28-4662- A013-A154C569435C/0/AluminumBuildingWireInstallationandTerminations.pdf The cell manufacturer gives no guidance as to the use of oxide inhibiting paste, so one must try it both ways. I tried it without Noalox, and then with Noalox. I have installed cells without the light sanding and paste, and the connections were unsatisfactory. They got quite hot. The car performed poorly and had limited range. The cells would not balance well. I then performed the lightly sand and apply Noalox procedure, and did nothing else, and all those issues vanished. No additional torque. No added or removed components. No change whatsoever than to lightly sand and to add Noalox. Some time later, a friend had identical issues with his conversion, and I recommended the same treatment. He performed the lightly sand and Noalox procedure, and it cured his issues in the identical manner as it had cured mine. I now routinely use Noalox and I have not had any high resistance connections. The Noalox prevents galvanic corrosion between the dissimilar metals in the terminal by excluding moisture. Additionally, it has zinc particles that provide a sacrificial anode, further guarding against corrosion between the copper, aluminum, and the stainless steel bolt. In theory, this is what one does to prevent galvanic corrosion. It also appears to work in practice as well. I have actually done the experiment, and the results agree with theory. If anyone else has performed a similar experiment and had contradictory results, then I would enjoy hearing about it. Bill D. ___ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ group/NEDRA) -- Put this question to yourself: should I use everyone else to attain happiness, or should I help others gain happiness? *Dalai Lama * Tell me what it is you plan to do With your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver, The summer day. To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasaed125362.html A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought. *Warren Buffet* Michael E. Ross (919) 550-2430 Land (919) 576-0824 https://www.google.com/voice/b/0?pli=1#phones Google Phone (919) 631-1451 Cell (919) 513-0418 Desk michael.e.r...@gmail.com michael.e.r...@gmail.com -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140731/dc0ba8a0/attachment.htm