[Earwax]

Reading the stuff on audioasylum about tosh 3950 mods, I came across mention of using JBWeld epoxy for attaching heatsinks to the chips. The stuff is good to 500 deg. F but it doesn't say anything about its' thermal transfer characteristics. Web surfing for more info about the stuff I found mention that it's been used for PC CPU heatsinks succesfully. I picked up some from Home Depot and tried it for attaching the heatsinks on one of my Szekeres, it seems to work. Interesting, eh?

 

[bg4533]

Artic Silver makes an adhesive specifically for this purpose. I am sure other companies do to. They probably are better thermal conductors.

Is JB Weld electrically conductive?

 

[doobooloo]

I've tried the Arctic Silver thermal epoxy, and it works very well.

 

[Earwax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bg4533 Is JB Weld electrically conductive?

No, it isn't.

I've heard of Artic Silver but couldn't figure out where to buy the adhesive. The only thermal adhesive I could find at Mouser was insanely expensive and only available in bulk quantity.

J-B Weld is around $5 at any HomeDepot or auto parts store. I wish I knew more about the thermal properties, but I was impressed by the overclocker's story that said it was more effective than thermal grease.

 

[Ozymand]

You can find the Artic Silver adhesive at NewEgg. It's $11, and you do have to remember that it is electrically conductive. I've been hoping for them to come out with an epoxy version of their Artic Ceramique (takes a bit of setting time, but works well and is non-conductive to boot), but haven't seen such a beast yet.

 

[Illah]

Arctic Alumina is non conductive (well, much less conductive - just don't gob it all over the place). For the purposes of amp building the thermal advantages of Arctic Silver or Ceramique aren't much - they are niche products for the PC overclocker market where a few degrees can make a difference. For an amp it won't matter.

www.svc.com should have all their products at great prices, and they ship fast. Should be less than $10 shipped for a small tube.

--Illah