Best Practices For Applying Dielectric Grease to RJ45 Jacks & Connectors

[CaptainCalculon]

Following @TonyR's suggestion here, I ordered the Permatex Tune Up Dielectric Grease from Amazon.
I managed to find the 85g paste (Part #22058) since I will be needing it for future outdoor camera and PoE devices.
Besides, buying in bulk is always cheaper.

Even after reading tutorials / howtos on this forum and elsewhere, here are the questions that I am grappling with which I am hoping some of you experienced installers can help me with.

Q1. From what I have read... After completing your initial connection testing, you are supposed to drop a tiny pinch onto the RJ45 jack of the camera pigtail.
Since this a non-conductive silicone material, would it not potentially act as an insulator between the jack and the plug?

Q2. Should you still use the waterproof capsule for the RJ45 jack and plug provided by the camera manufacturer?
I am guessing the answer is YES, if this part of the pigtail is sitting outside the junction box.
However, if all the pigtails are inside a junction box, could I dispense with having to install the waterproof capsule for the RJ45 jack and plug since the dielectric grease is acting as an waterproof membrane (if applied correctly).

Q3. If I am using a UniFi USW-Flex PoE passthrough switch for powering multiple cameras nearby, should I apply the dielectric grease to all the RJ45 ports of the switch which will be encased inside the Flex Utility enclosure?

Q4. I am also using an external outdoor / weatherproof mic for one or two Dahua cameras. Is it overkill to apply the dielectric grease to the DC power and the RCA jacks?

Q5. What's a good chemical to use to clean up the excess mess that comes out of the RJ45 jack after connecting the plug?
I am using a old rag for now. Is it a bad idea to wet the rag using isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle?

 

[TonyR]

Following @TonyR's suggestion here, I ordered the Permatex Tune Up Dielectric Grease from Amazon.
I managed to find the 85g paste (Part #22058) since I will be needing it for future outdoor camera and PoE devices.
Besides, buying in bulk is always cheaper.

Even after reading tutorials / howtos on this forum and elsewhere, here are the questions that I am grappling with which I am hoping some of you experienced installers can help me with.

Q1. From what I have read... After completing your initial connection testing, you are supposed to drop a tiny pinch onto the RJ45 jack of the camera pigtail.
Since this a non-conductive silicone material, would it not potentially act as an insulator between the jack and the plug?

Q2. Should you still use the waterproof capsule for the RJ45 jack and plug provided by the camera manufacturer?
I am guessing the answer is YES, if this part of the pigtail is sitting outside the junction box.
However, if all the pigtails are inside a junction box, could I dispense with having to install the waterproof capsule for the RJ45 jack and plug since the dielectric grease is acting as an waterproof membrane (if applied correctly).

Q3. If I am using a UniFi USW-Flex PoE passthrough switch for powering multiple cameras nearby, should I apply the dielectric grease to all the RJ45 ports of the switch which will be encased inside the Flex Utility enclosure?

Q4. I am also using an external outdoor / weatherproof mic for one or two Dahua cameras. Is it overkill to apply the dielectric grease to the DC power and the RCA jacks?

Q5. What's a good chemical to use to clean up the excess mess that comes out of the RJ45 jack after connecting the plug?
I am using a old rag for now. Is it a bad idea to wet the rag using isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle?

Since this a non-conductive silicone material, would it not potentially act as an insulator between the jack and the plug?

Q1. Not in this case.
Q2A. Yes.
Q2B. No
Q3. Yes
Q4. I would.
Q5. Just wipe it off the surfaces, don't spray. I'd use the alcohol on my fingers and hands on a second, clean rag.

The idea is this: there is some amount of moisture, even if not fully condensed into liquid, surrounding all the connections, even inside of a "waterproof" junction box where it can just be high humidity. You'd have to surround connections in a vacuum and perhaps fill all voids with an inert gas and hermetically seal the enclosure to keep the air/humidity mix out and away from the connectors and that would be costly and bulky. So the quick, convenient and effective alternative is to use the purpose-made dielectric gel/grease on ALL connections if they are outdoors. The audio connections for the mic are carrying equally low current, DC voltages similar to the video data and are subject to corrosion of the metallic finders fingers of the connectors as well.

You cannot really mis-use the application of the dielectric grease, IMO....except if you get it in your eyes.

 

[TonyR]

@CaptainCalculon,
On a side note regarding corrosion prevention of splices and connections outdoors, you may not have seen these in your earlier years since you are 41 now according to your profile AND I'm not sure they were in use in Australia. I surely didn't notice any when I was there in '72. Also I'm not sure when they began to gradually disappear as many metallic lines gave way to fiber.

What I'm talking about are the black gas cylinders strapped to telephone poles and the associated small tubing/line running up to a black splice box on the phone lines. That gas cylinder contained nitrogen gas and it applied a slight positive pressure to the sealed spliced box to keep humidity and oxygen away from the splice connections made in the copper conductors. They too are low voltage, low current and are susceptible to the slightest amount of corrosion that can affect connection integrity. Nitrogen is a dry, inert gas that won't affect the copper and it would keep the oxygen and moisture away from the splice / connections. I haven't seen one of these bottles at the base of a telephone pole in probably 15 years or more.

 

[d5775927]

@CaptainCalculon,
On a side note regarding corrosion prevention of splices and connections outdoors, you may not have seen these in your earlier years since you are 41 now according to your profile AND I'm not sure they were in use in Australia. I surely didn't notice any when I was there in '72. Also I'm not sure when they began to gradually disappear as many metallic lines gave way to fiber.

What I'm talking about are the black gas cylinders strapped to telephone poles and the associated small tubing/line running up to a black splice box on the phone lines. That gas cylinder contained nitrogen gas and it applied a slight positive pressure to the sealed spliced box to keep humidity and oxygen away from the splice connections made in the copper conductors. They too are low voltage, low current and are susceptible to the slightest amount of corrosion that can affect connection integrity. Nitrogen is a dry, inert gas that won't affect the copper and it would keep the oxygen and moisture away from the splice / connections. I haven't seen one of these bottles at the base of a telephone pole in probably 15 years or more.

Do you refer to this black thing?

 

[TonyR]

Do you refer to this black thing?

View attachment 201284

That's likely a sealed splicing box in which companies like 3M have made splices encapsulated with gel like their "jelly beans". Before that tech came about, the big regulation style gas cyclinder sat at the bottom of the pole with a line running up to a sealed splice enclosure and the cyclinder was strapped to the pole, It wasn't dangerous because it's inert and non-flammable. We breathe about 75% nitrogen anyway.

 

[TonyR]

Do you refer to this black thing?

View attachment 201284

More like this: