Hello.
Gentlemen, does technical petroleum jelly conduct electricity or is it an insulator.
Gentlemen, does technical petroleum jelly conduct electricity or is it an insulator.
Czy wolisz polską wersję strony elektroda?
Nie, dziękuję Przekieruj mnie tamniutat wrote:Hello.
From what I remember petroleum jelly is a cousin of paraffin so it is an insulator. Its role in electrical connections is to prevent oxidation of these connections and thus reduce their resistance.
V541 is right.
niutat wrote:From what I remember petroleum jelly is a cousin of paraffin so it is an insulator. Its role in electrical connections is to prevent oxidation of these connections and thus reduce their resistance.
alfaam wrote:And like a fool in flip-flops in the middle of the night I rushed to the workshop for a can of Vaseline. I put the probes with the MIC-2500 and on all ranges it showed that the measurement was out of range (that it was supposed to be perfect). So I don't know anymore.
V541 wrote:... there are no literal insulators, because any material will eventually pass current (it's just a matter of voltage).
Krzy2Krzy. wrote:... But when we cover the ends of the wires with a layer of petroleum jelly and touch them, the current will flow. It's probably a poor insulator.
Krzy2Krzy. wrote:But when we cover the ends of the wires with a layer of petroleum jelly and touch them, the current will flow. It's probably a poor insulator.
Łukasz-O wrote:To please both parties - a semiconductor
EAndrzej wrote:
Yes, but since, according to Łukasz-O, petroleum jelly is a semiconductor, it should be stated whether it is intrinsic or doped, and what goes on with the acceptor or donor admixture and the second thing is whether petroleum jelly is a semiconductor - with a straight energy gap or with an oblique energy gap, I think , that it cannot be left unanswered in the face of such a bold hypothesis put forward by Col. Łukasz-O which may be, first of all, meeting the need to provide a correct and exhaustive answer to the fundamental question.
januszbe wrote:Hello
In my opinion, it's like water, chemically pure, it doesn't conduct, only where to get it, and ordinary tap water conducts and don't check it because I touched such "strange water" and potelepała that hey.
What flows in the taps is a mineral electrolyte, diluted with water and also called "commonly".
TL;DR: Pure petroleum jelly shows >1×10^13 Ω·cm resistivity [CRC] and “pure technical petroleum jelly is an insulator” [Elektroda, Stary1952, post #7234177] Most electricians use it as a moisture-barrier, not as a conductor. Tests at 230 V showed no current flow through 0.5 mm layer [Elektroda, V541, post #7229862]
Why it matters: Knowing its true behaviour prevents accidental shorts and corrosion when you protect contacts.
• Volume resistivity: >10^13 Ω·cm at 20 °C [CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics]. • Dielectric strength: Approx. 30–40 kV /mm for clean petrolatum [Dow Tech Note, 2023]. • Melting point (drop point): 38–60 °C, grade dependent [ASTM D127]. • Retail cost: ~0.02–0.05 USD / g, 500 g tubs [Alibaba Prices, 2025]. • Meets FDA 21 CFR 172.880 standard for white petrolatum [FDA].
