Crossover Capacitor glue

[Willy6]

Can anyone tell me what kind of glue to use for gluing the new capacitors down to the crossover board or do they even need to be glued?

 

[elitopus]

I use silicone caulk or RTV

 

[Porkloin]

I'll second Elitopus' sentiments. Most will recommend hot glue, which gets comparatively hard and brittle pretty quick. Silicone will outlast you and I.

 

[F1nut]

You don't want silicone anywhere near your speakers. Nasty stuff that contaminates everything around it.

Use 3M VHB tape.

 

[Porkloin]

You don't want silicone anywhere near your speakers. Nasty stuff that contaminates everything around it.

Use 3M VHB tape.

Don't tell that to owners of 40 year old speakers of various makes and models everywhere (Speakerlab, ESS to name 2). You'll trigger the idea that maybe their speakers AREN'T actually still going strong after all of this time.

 

[doctorolds]

I personally use Aleene's Tacky Glue and have not had any problems at all. Everyone has has their own preference and you may have to try a few things to determine what you like the best.

 

[Willy6]

You don't want silicone anywhere near your speakers. Nasty stuff that contaminates everything around it.

Use 3M VHB tape.

Sounds clean and easy.

 

[F1nut]

Perhaps this will help.

Silicone contamination is known to have a negative impact on assembly processes such as soldering, adhesive bonding, coating, and wire bonding. In particular, silicone is known to cause de-wetting of materials from surfaces and can result in adhesive failures.

The gas emitted by the silicone sealant (acetic acid) is corrosive.

 

[Willy6]

Perhaps this will help.

You sold me on the tape idea heading to home depot in the morning...Thanks for the input..

 

[luvvinvinyl]

cable ties.

 

[terpodion]

I tend to think that once the silicone RTV cures, there is no danger from acetic acid - that once cured, it's inert. Silicone lubricants may be the cause of interfering with adhesive bonding, soldering, etc. In my trade I have seen RTV used very liberally by less than skilled craftsmen - "organ technician in a tube". The only problems I noticed were difficulty getting things apart because it has a very strong bonding agent. But this brings up an interesting point and bears further study.

 

[elitopus]

I tend to think that once the silicone RTV cures, there is no danger from acetic acid - that once cured, it's inert. Silicone lubricants may be the cause of interfering with adhesive bonding, soldering, etc. In my trade I have seen RTV used very liberally by less than skilled craftsmen - "organ technician in a tube". The only problems I noticed were difficulty getting things apart because it has a very strong bonding agent. But this brings up an interesting point and bears further study.

You make some good points.

I use RTV in my speaker cabs a bit. From sealing the cabs, to holding down xover components. Maybe since I don't close the cabs, or put the drivers back until the RTV cures, that makes the difference.

Also all my cabs are ported and still get some airflow after close up.

We use a crap-ton of silicone RTV in commercial aviation. A place where corrosion is one of the biggest enemies. I have never heard of there being a corrosion, or other problem because of its use

 

[leesonic]

Hot melt glue. Trust me, if you've ever tried to remove a cap glued on with this, it doesn't get hard or brittle.

Lee.

 

[Thocom]

I use cable ties AND hot glue..

 

[Porkloin]

I use cable ties AND hot glue..

View attachment 876603

Hey, what's the beautiful crossover doing in your grandma's old mattress?

 

[loudnoises]

Hot glue (low temp of course) or an elastomeric like dap dynaflex. much less VOC. Silicone nasty.

VHB is great stuff, but exposed surfaces get nasty after a few years, and the bond will fail anywhere it didn't get adequate pressure during cure time.

 

[Thocom]

Hey, what's the beautiful crossover doing in your grandma's old mattress?

Lol, that's how Bozak Concert Grands come.

 

[restorer-john]

Hot melt glue is utter crap for crossover capacitors. I've lost count of the number of large loose caps (and some inductors/chokes) vibrating in speakers due to that stuff. It gets dry and brittle, shrinks and falls off or simply lets go, particularly after several years and at low temperatures. The only good thing about it is how easy it is to pick off a component.

I second cable ties, at least two per capacitor, tied down horizontally through holes in the PCB/board whatever. Easy to remove with diagonal cutters but very strong and don't vibrate.

 

[Willy6]

Hot melt glue is utter crap for crossover capacitors. I've lost count of the number of large loose caps (and some inductors/chokes) vibrating in speakers due to that stuff. It gets dry and brittle, shrinks and falls off or simply lets go, particularly after several years and at low temperatures. The only good thing about it is how easy it is to pick off a component.

I second cable ties, at least two per capacitor, tied down horizontally through holes in the PCB/board whatever. Easy to remove with diagonal cutters but very strong and don't vibrate.

Well I tried the 3m vhb tape and all I have to say is total crap..So I put gorilla glue on it seems to have worked pretty good..

 

[F1nut]

I use 3M VHB all the time, it works perfectly. I suspect you didn't buy the right grade otherwise I have no idea why it didn't work for you, so which grade did you buy?

Gorilla glue is pure crap in my book and is something I wouldn't dream about using on a crossover.