[TowerTalk] RTV? What Kind?

[Pat Barthelow]

Sealants

The professional, rubbery, tacky sealants that are often used in Cell Site installations, and come in a roll/sandwich paper can often be had for the asking at any cell site under construction.  The Site crew often works from a pre stocked shippng container that is often over stocked on some items, particularly boxes of the sealant.  A crew I checked with said, sure, take a bunch, they dont need it, and it solves their waste disposal problem.  By they way, the same goes for other useful items, like Andrews Coax, hangers, shrink boots, connectors, etc.  If you find a crew out on a site, wait until the site is almost complete, to see what the  crew has in excess, and are prone to donate...

The Crew foreman told me that after they complete the site, the removal of extras helps them, as they cannot just toss it to a trash container, and it costs to dispose of "waste" from the installation container.

All the best,
Pat Barthelow
aa6eg at hotmail.com
http://www.jamesburgdish.org
Project Manager,  Jamesburg Moonbounce Team


> From: doug at tricotower.com
> To: jimlux at earthlink.net; k1mk at alum.mit.edu
> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 11:18:45 -0600
> CC: towertalk at contesting.com; n4dd at embarqmail.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] RTV?  What Kind?
> 
> To all;
> If it is going outside in the weather atop a tower or you plan to leave it 
> where you can get to it,  may I suggest that you put at least two (2) layers 
> of Scotch 88 as a courtesy wrap under the RTV or what ever you use so if you 
> do need to re open for any reason you can do so. Especially over expensive 
> connectors (will keep the RTV out of threads and off of the actual 
> connection) . This is something we have used in the tower industry for years 
> and it works.. We also use "Vapor Wrap" from DB / Andrews and Scotch Coat 
> which is a rain on type of sealant. These products are not cheap but are 
> what have been used by tower crews for years.
> Hope this helps and did not mean to barge in.
> Doug
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Jim Lux
> To: Michael Keane K1MK
> Cc: towertalk ; DENNIS BRICKEY
> Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 11:03 AM
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] RTV? What Kind?
> 
> 
> Michael Keane K1MK wrote:
> 
> > The other thing about using RTV is that RTV needs
> > to be exposed to moisture to cure. So you don't
> > want to cover up RTV with anything like tape or
> > other sealants at least until the full cure time
> > of the RTV, otherwise the RTV will never fully harden but rather remain 
> > tacky.
> 
> 
> I believe this is only true for the one-part RTVs..  the two part RTVs
> do not require exposure to moisture, and tend to outgas less.
> 
> I suppose it comes down to whether one wants caulk or a potting compound.
> 
> Either type is available from the usual mail-order sources (Newark,
> Mouser, Allied)
> 
> MG Chemicals is the new company that handles what used to be GE
> silicones. http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/silicones/guide.html
> 
> Walks you through which one you need (then you can hope that the minimum
> quantity isn't a 55 gal drum).  They cover things like thermal
> conductivity (important for some applications, e.g. potting a balun or
> HV power supply), cure types, etc.
> 
> For instance, a 2 part RTV12 is intended for electrical potting, is
> primerless, and translucent and fairly runny (1500 cps).  RTV11 is much
> stiffer, white, and much harder after cure.
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