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Soldering tools | Miscellaneous hand tools | Bench top tools => Miscellaneous hand tools, Workbench improvements => Topic started by: Kiriakos GR on May 02, 2017, 06:19:03 PM

Title: Transistors thermal compound (paste) with expiration date ?
Post by: Kiriakos GR on May 02, 2017, 06:19:03 PM

I have a new project ahead and this is about making a large scale DCV power supply, and I did realize that I have run out of thermal paste.
Bellow are pictures of what I got today and most interesting part this is expiration date over the package.

What is also interesting, this is that in past decade I did get involved with computers overclock madness but what I did was not to overclock the hardware that much, instead what I did was to use best thermal compounds and best heat-sink and DC motors in favor of Low-Noise & highly effective air cooling.

Thermal compound with higher efficiency this is made by mixing metallic particles with regular silicone paste.
Theoretically regular silicone paste has only one enemy and this is extreme heat which makes it dry as a brick.

In applications of transistors TO-3 package, temperature never expended be higher of 45C, therefore regular silicone paste life-cycle this is endless. 

I think of expiration date of unused thermal compound as marketing trick.
An manufactured Game of mind, in favor of enlarging demand for one unpopular product.

Title: Re: Transistors thermal compound (paste) with expiration date ?
Post by: Kiriakos GR on July 31, 2020, 10:42:25 PM

I believe that this Blog post worth an update.   :)

The thermal paste  this is now three years old in my hands, and there is no indication of aging.
I am also assuming as origin an German supplier.