Lube for ceramic light sockets?

[Brian Penning]

Been having trouble screwing in light bulbs into a light fixture due to the rough texture of the ceramic bulb base.
Any lube I can use?
Graphite?
Thanks

[Ken Whitney]

Brian,

I use some stuff called Deoxit. It is electrical contact cleaner, but seems to help with balky light bulbs.

Ken

[John Lanciani]

Definitely don't use graphite, it is conductive and you just may get a little excitement when you turn the light on. I use silicone grease (not spray), it is cheap, safe, and a little goes a long way. (It's also what we use to put together high voltage terminations at work so it's readily available to me)

[David G Baker]

I have used Vaseline and it has worked fine for me.

[Jim Koepke]

I have a small tube of light bulb lube that I picked up somewhere when we lived in California.

So there is a product made specifically for your application.

jtk

[Brian Penning]

A buddy mentioned Vaseline?
I didn't think so but he says electricians often use grease.

[Matt Meiser]

Auto parts stores carry dielectric grease which is intended to keep connections from corroding, but being a grease it would also lubricate. One of the recommended uses is bulbs.

[David Weaver]

Auto parts stores carry dielectric grease which is intended to keep connections from corroding, but being a grease it would also lubricate. One of the recommended uses is bulbs.

Ditto this. It'll also come in handy if you actually follow the suggestions when changing plugs in a (some but not all?) car and you don't have enough slop left over from the prior set.

IIRC, it wasn't that expensive.

[ray hampton]

I would be careful when using any grease or Vaseline on light bulbs. a drip onto a hot bulb will cause the bulb to break

[Matt Meiser]

For those like me who are a little slow and were trying to figure out why Ray though he'd be applying it to a hot bulb, think about a bulb in a ceiling fixture. :)

[ray hampton]

HAHA , thanks Matt , I need a good laugh

[Jim Koepke]

For those like me who are a little slow and were trying to figure out why Ray though he'd be applying it to a hot bulb, think about a bulb in a ceiling fixture.

A very small application at the base of the threads is unlikely to find its way on to the glass envelope of the bulb.

In the case of someone thinking that they need to fill the socket full up grease before installing the bulb… Well, they are going to have to buy about 10 tubes of the bulb thread lubrication and have a big mess to contend with anyway.

In order for the grease from a proper application to go through the socket and fall on the bulb, it would have to be warmed up enough to become thinned to a viscosity that it would drip. Then it would not be likely to cause damage to the bulb.

Bulb Grease (http://www.google.com/search?q=bulb+grease&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivs&source=univ&tbs=shop:1&tbo=u&ei=Y-P_TOT6AYeqsAPoku2vCw&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CD0QrQQwAg&biw=1307&bih=892)

Bulb EZ (http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=light+bulb+lubricant&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#q=light+bulb+lubricant&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivs&source=univ&tbs=shop:1&tbo=u&ei=d-L_TNnzBIHCsAP7lNyvCw&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CEAQrQQwAg&biw=1307&bih=892&fp=b7a1eaa3c3d3cc37)

Buy the tube, read the directions, enjoy the season of lights.

jtk