Silicone curing time

[alexkharden]

How long does it take for silicone to cure? In my saltwater mixing barrel and my rodi barrel i had several sets of float switch wires that needed spliced for length. The spliced portions are to be submerged, so I waterproofed them.

I soldered the wires. The painted the soldered sections with liquid electrical tape. Then covered the sections with (non marine) heat shrink. Then, to top it all off, i cut a small length of 1/2" cpvc, just slightly larger than the heat shrink. I put the wires through that and then filled the cpvc with GE Silicone I.

My general rule of thumb for dealing with silicone is that when the chemical smell goes away then I'm good to go. Well, the smell is still there and it's been like 5 days. I know that's quite a bit of silicone, but anyone have a guesstimate on how long this'll take? I have a 55g aquarium I can use for mixing saltwater, for now, but I'd really like to be able to use my barrels at some point.

Thanks!

 

[ca1ore]

It's 24 hours for a small bead (1/8" if memory serves), so thick goops are anyone's guess. I did something similar with a float switch holder and it was still smelly after two weeks. I gave it two months.

 

[azjohnny]

The instructions call for 48 hrs, when I made my sump I gave it 7 days and it is all good

 

[alexkharden]

It's 24 hours for a small bead (1/8" if memory serves), so thick goops are anyone's guess. I did something similar with a float switch holder and it was still smelly after two weeks. I gave it two months.

Ya, I'm thinking the smell rule will still apply. I've got the 55 set up so I can use that, it'll just be more labor intensive until they're ready.

The instructions call for 48 hrs, when I made my sump I gave it 7 days and it is all good

How thick were the beads you used? This is the entire inside of a 2.5" long, 1/2" diameter, piece of cpvc.

 

[ca1ore]

IMO incompletely cured silicone kills more livestock than do the mythical mold additives. I've always believed in better safe than sorry. I don't have a tube of GE1 handy to check, so maybe it says 48 hours, but that's definitely for a typical usage bead. I'm building a chaeto reactor, and used a pretty thick layer of the Aqueon stuff and there is still the vinegar smell after a full week, so it's not going anywhere near my tank for at least a month.

 

[alexkharden]

IMO incompletely cured silicone kills more livestock than do the mythical mold additives. I've always believed in better safe than sorry. I don't have a tube of GE1 handy to check, so maybe it says 48 hours, but that's definitely for a typical usage bead. I'm building a chaeto reactor, and used a pretty thick layer of the Aqueon stuff and there is still the vinegar smell after a full week, so it's not going anywhere near my tank for at least a month.

Ya, that's kind of how I feel about it. I agree with you as well, impatience when it comes to something like this can be extremely detrimental.

 

[yacn]

Call GE and ask them. I think a month is overkill. If 48 hours is recommended than I would think a week is plenty of time. But I like to throw caution to the wind. I don't walk up to the pool and dip my toe in the water. Never had anything die on me yet either...