Switch Cleaner
 

Farnell are selling 200ml cans of pro-power contact cleaner on special offer for £2.21 plus vat each.

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

CPC seems even cheaper at £2.08 including VAT ...

http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/displayPr...=aballbrochure

It's a good price, but is this stuff any good compared to the more expensive brands like Servisol?

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

I wonder if ProPower is a brand name for Farnell/CPC?

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

It is Michael.
Might be OK for some things though!

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

Talking of which, is Servisol Super 10 good for 30-40 year old pots? Will it clean and lube? :dunce:

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

Hi,
Yes, it's good for any pot no matter how old. But it won't cure a crackly pot if its track is worn out!
Cheers, Pete:wave:

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

Hi
I'm always very wary of switch cleaner near plastic - distant memories of GEC and ITT televisions whose on-off switch fell into the set due to the fumes rotting the plastic! Of course on real metal chassis this isn't a problem.
I remember a colleague was repairing a Thorn 1400 and sprayed the system swith with cleaner to complete the job. On changing channels the switch burst into flames taking the set - and very nearly his workshop - with it!
The Philips cleaner in the red can (now sadly obsolete) was the only one I'd trust - more expensive but I could sleep soundly at night - or was that due to the tricloroethane?
Glyn

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

Just a quick on-topic contribution: 'Servisol' switch cleaner does act reasonably well as sticky label remover - but only it seems with some types of sticky labels.

Al.

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

Indeed Glyn: rotting the plastic - and even worse horrors: I do recall well! I suspect that the prime reason for those 'faults' was that some switch cleaners - then and possibly even now - contain various petroleum distillates! :o For many years since I have always used 'Servisol': no disasters . . . yet.

Al.

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

I was about to start a thread on recommended switch cleaners wnen I saw this one which sort of makes the point.

I have used Servisol and I have to say that after a short while I have found that the switch returns to the state it was before I started. I have read a few threads where Deoxit is mentioned. This is far more expensive than the others at over £10 (if not over £20) for a can. If it works I would willingly buy it and I would be interested to know the views of others about it. There also seem to be several versions of it - which is the best?

Thanks

Paul

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

Sometime ago, one member of the forum gave Deoxit a very favourable report after he had used it on the coil-pack contacts of his HRO. He was convinced that it had solved a problem which other cleaners had failed to do so. Subsequently, I bought a Deoxit aerosol can (£26) and tried it on a few things but I've yet to see any result which would convince me that it is anything special or worth the price.

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

When I started in my current job last November I was suprised to find no switch cleaner in the workshop. When I asked the boss he told me the same as what Al/Glyn have said about it rotting plastic over a period of time. I'd never heard of this until then!
We use silicone lubricant in spray form which works well... now what should I do with my stock of "normal" switch cleaner?!?

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

I was under the impression that silicone is the last thing you want on an electrical contact, but I guess it depends on how the two surfaces move against each other, and what sort of voltage is present. A friend who worked at a company making electronic sensors told me that silicone sprays were banned from the building, even for polishing surfaces in the offices.

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

Yes, I have heard a number of horror stories about silicone.

It's nasty feature is that it will creep along surfaces and so reach contacts that were not hit by the spray directly.

Being a super insulator it doesn't help switch contacts at all.

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

And keep away from relays - some have silver/palladium contacts. Palladium is nearly as good a catalyst as platinum, and silicone can easily form a polymer, or thin film of plastic, bonded to the contact!

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

I have to say that I've never had any plastic-related problems with Servisol 10 (in the red/white can) in the 25 years that I've used it.

Maybe I've been lucky, but I suspect that it was older formulations that caused problems like this.
Nick.

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

The one to avoid was the old RS switch cleaner in the tin with the metal dropper. This has been unavailable since the early nineties since it contained trichloroethane, a banned substance. It was fine for use around bakelite housings but not anywhere near polystyrene where it would do some damage.
Neil

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

De-Oxit is indeed superb,though read latest PracticalWireless re WD40.

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

I used the RS stuff Neil in the 60s and it certainly melted the plastic! Had a can for years but think I must have disposed of it.

Re: Switch Cleaner
 

I have just had a look at a Vega Selena that Chris Wood gave me last weekend.

It seems to have some damage to the turret tuner; the plastic bar that holds the static contacts is cracked in 3 places and it is discoloured and there is evidence that somebody sprayed it liberally with contact cleaner instead of cleaning it properly. I don't know which cleaner was used of course, but it seems to have done the damage!

The radio actually works (after a fashion), after a good clean of the contacts using a fibre glass pen.

Cheers,
Andy