Disconnecting OSE 8mm connectors

[Timothy L]

I am using OSE 8mm connectors. They are high quality and definitely do not spark. The downside is that they are VERY difficult to disconnect. My understanding is that this is true for all 8mm connectors. Has anyone found a way to make disconnecting more easy? Thank you for any suggestions.

[koen]

i had the same problem with castle 6.5 polarized connectors ,but after a while it gets beter

[BlakeT]

Use some electric grease on them, you can get it at the auto parts store.

[Timothy L]

Thank you Blake. I had to look up dialectic grease. It sounds like a reasonable idea - have you tried it or are you speculating that it might help? Thanks again ��.

[BlakeT]

Oh no I use it all the time, I use it on the anti spark and also the 8mm bullets that go on my motor leads. It really makes it easier to connect and disconnect the anti spark.

[Timothy L]

Thanks Blake! That's a great tip and I'll try it out!

[Timothy L]

I understand dialectic grease does not conduct electricity. Are you putting it on the actual metal connectors - or just on the sides of the plastic which encloses the connectors?

[ray schrauwen]

I understand dialectic grease does not conduct electricity. Are you putting it on the actual metal connectors - or just on the sides of the plastic which encloses the connectors?

You are correct. IMO...

[BlakeT]

I put it on the metal part of the connector, the electric grease does not eliminate your point of contact. Now if you took an undersized connector and tried to “fill the gaps” with the grease then it wouldn’t work because of it not being conductive but on the right size connectors you only get a light film of grease on there and your points of contact are not hindered in anyway.

[Timothy L]

By golly Blake you are right - that is exactly what I needed. They still keep a good lock but are way easier to disconnect. What a great tip - thank you!

[BlakeT]

Happy to help!

[jkflow]

Alternate solution, after soldering many of them, I found that the heat does spread the contacts a little more than standard.
You can use needle nose pliers and slightly squeeze on the male and put the prongs closer together. If you go too far, you can use a screwdriver and bend them back out.
Only very small adjustments are needed.

[Timothy L]

Jkflow - that's an excellent suggestion as well. The dielectric grease solution works well, but I will experiment with your method also. Thank you!

[fweasel]

The "squeeze" trick works well, I do it on a lot of the Castle 6.5mm bullets, but as mentioned, do it with the idea of putting a little pressure on the points, and not actually trying to bend things. It doesn't take much, and if you make the connection too loose, you will dramatically increase resistance which causes heat and can even un-solder the connector in some cases.

I use the OSE 8mm anti-spark connectors on all of my 6S packs. It takes a hot iron, with a lot of of heat capacity to solder them on quickly and cleanly. If you apply heat for too long, with an under powered iron, you will melt the plastic housings and can cause misalignment of the metal connectors inside the housing. The anti-spark plastic rings in the female connectors can also get deformed from too much heat. When I solder on a new connector, I attach it's counterpart to keep the metal connectors aligned and add thermal capacity. In some cases, I grab the exposed tip of the other end of the connector with a needle nose pliers to act as a heat sink. Heat soak is the enemy of those connectors.

[Timothy L]

F weasel - good points, thank you. I like the suggestion re. heat sinks!

[Timothy L]

To conclude this thread, I would like to sum up:
1) the OSE 8mm anti-spark connectors are excellent well made connectors
2) make SURE you seat them fully when connecting
3) two suggestions for making the connectors easier to disconnect were excellent a) use dielectric grease OR b) tweak the male posts with needle nose pliers. Both methods work well. I tried each.
4) for myself, I favor the tweaking method but that's just personal choice.

I appreciate all the input. I learned a lot and am grateful others are willing to help. Thank you !