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Soldering No-Ox treated track Track and electrical/DCC
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Prolific poster 8,841 posts railandsail Prolific poster 8,841 posts
railandsail

I just finished attaching all my feeder wires to the 4 individual buss wires coming into my helix space. And I cleaned all the track with mineral spirits and extremely fine emery type sandpaper.

My thoughts are this is a good time to apply some No-Ox to the tracks in the helix, and leave it set for a week or so before wiping if off (BTW I do know the caution about applying it lightly). My question is if I should eventually decide to put additional feeder wires on some of the track sections, how difficult is it to solder track that's been treated with No-Ox ??

Any one with that experience?

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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Russ Bellinis Prolific poster 3,335 posts
Russ Bellinis

I have no experience, but since there have been no responses,

I'll give you my professional experience with solder.  I was a transport refrigeration mechanic for over 30 years soldering copper pipe with 95/5 (strong soft solder) and silver solder for high side connections that needed to hold against pressure of 300-450 psi depending on the type of freon used.  The key to successful soldering is cleanliness!  If the track is clean, and you use a good flux for the solder you are using, you won't have a problem.  If you have painted the rails, or used no ox, you will need to clean off the areas where you want to solder.  If you are soldering your drops to the foot of the rail, just clean it where you wish to solder, and if you clean it shiny, and use the correct flux for your solder, it should work fine.  If you are soldering to the underside of the base of the rail, there is no reason for paint to be there anyway.  Since no-ox is applied to the top of the rails, it should not affect the soldering at all.  If you want to solder to the web of the rail on the inside out of sight from normal viewing angle, you need to clean off the side of the rail completely where you wish to solder.
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joef MRH Founder 17,521 posts
joef

You don't solder feeders to the tops of the rails

Easy answer: you don't solder feeders to the tops of the rails. I'm not even sure it's possible to apply NoOx to the rail web and base without a lot of extra work. If you do, you're wasting the NoOx since its intended for the railhead top and inner face to improve loco wheel conductivity. Regardless, I always use a fiberglass abrasive pencil on the side and base of the rail and then use a no-clean paste flux. It doesn't matter what has gotten on the base of the rail if you follow soldering best practices, the solder sticks guaranteed. You're trying to create a solution for a non-problem if you're using proper soldering best practices.

Joe Fugate​
Publisher, Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine

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marcfo68 Frequent poster 656 posts
marcfo68

You don't solder feeders to the tops of the rails

OH boy!...  This is all going down hill
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eastwind Super User 3,620 posts
eastwind

OH boy!...  This is all going

Quote:

OH boy!...  This is all going down hill

All the best helixes do.

You can call me EW. Here's my blog index
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railandsail Prolific poster 8,841 posts
railandsail

Electrical Conductivity vs Oxide Prevention

My use of this NoOx product on my helix tracks is prompted more by its oxide prevention capabilities than by its electrical conductivity.

Quote:

NO-OX-ID “A-SPECIAL” is the electrical contact grease of choice for new electrical installations and maintenance. NO-OX-ID is an electrically conductive grease that keeps metals free from rust and corrosion. This electrically conductive grease which has been used in the power industry for over 65 years to prevent corrosion in electrical connectors from low micro-power electronics to high voltage switch gear. NO-OX-ID electrical grease prevents the formation of oxides, sulfides and other corrosion deposits on copper, aluminum, and steel surfaces and conductors.

For this reason, and the fact that my helix tracks are operating in an outdoor atmosphere even while they are in an enclosure, I am looking to lessen the oxidation of all of the metal trackage there. I've even thought I might apply the NoOx a little more heavily, .....then give it time to 'soak in' before wiping it clean. As i understand it from lots of reading it somehow permeates slightly the surface of the metal in order to do its job?

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I will subsequently be applying graphite to facilitate the electrical conductivity of all my rails, including the helix tracks.

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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railandsail Prolific poster 8,841 posts
railandsail

the reason I ask about soldering additional wires

Long feeder Wires?       https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/multiple-staging-areas-access-to-them-perhaps-subloop-in-the-helix-12209513

 

 

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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jeffshultz MRH Staff 7,990 posts
jeffshultz

No-Ox slippery stuff

One thing to be aware of with No-Ox is that it is slippery stuff. So if you apply it too heavily to your helix, you're going to have trains with problems going uphill. 

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Jeff Shultz - MRH Technical Assistant
DCC Features Matrix/My blog index
Modeling a fictional GWI shortline combining three separate areas into one freelance-ish railroad.
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dantept Regular poster 265 posts
dantept

No-Ox

If you apply No-Ox, forget the graphite-unneeded. I have had years of success with the No-Ox.

Dante
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Ken Rice Super User 5,938 posts
Ken Rice

Try it

Brian, if you really want to know, try it.  Take a piece of track similar to what you’ve got in your helix and cut it into two pieces - a control, and one to put no-ox on however heavily you plan to apply it to your helix.  Wait a few days for the no-ox to soak in or whatever.  The try cleaning and soldering feeders to both pieces.  That should give you the answer.

My blogspot blog: http://rices-rails.blogspot.com/
My MRH blog index
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