Silicon Grease

[postrestant]

Is there any reason why not to put silicon grease in a mini / micro usb port? (I'm wanting to do it to add some protection while charging in the wet. Edges and other electrical stuff.) Thanks.

[Kim]

Main argument against would be that it would encourage the accumulation of dirt, but I don't think that's anything a squirt of IPA wouldn't solve.

I don't do it myself, simply because I don't use USB connectors in wet environments.

[Ben T]

er... cos there's no need to?
Seems like far too much effort to go to to avoid having an etrex 

[postrestant]

+1 for etrexs.  But the silicon grease has solved my intermittent connection problem on a micro usb port. (I think these things corrode fast when they get a bit of water in them.)

[Kim]

Yep, DC voltages on small connectors in the wet is a recipe for corrosion.  It'll be far worse than, say, dynamo wiring.

[grams]

Most USB connectors aren't sealed at the back, so as long as you're happy with grease being pushed inside of the device each time you connect something...

[Kim]

The mini-B connectors used by Garmin are the exception here.  Indeed, I suspect the reason they've stuck with them for so long while the rest of the world was standardising on micro is because they've got a design that's waterproof.

[frankly frankie]

Yep, DC voltages on small connectors in the wet is a recipe for corrosion.  It'll be far worse than, say, dynamo wiring.

"twitch"