Warning: Don't buy those cheap clear silicone grommets from Amazon

I ordered a 200 pack of those clear silicone pass-through grommets for $12 last month. Installed them on about 30 jobs and they all started cracking within 2 weeks in the sun. Had to go back to 8 houses to replace them (lost a whole Saturday). The ones from Graybar cost more but they don't fall apart after a few weeks. Anybody else get burned by that cheap Amazon stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

iris_rivera441mo ago

I've seen tons of those packs on Amazon too, and the listing always says "heat resistant" but that's a lie. Real silicone for outdoor use is platinum cured, and the cheap stuff is peroxide cured which degrades fast in UV. For $12 for 200 pieces you're basically paying 6 cents each and the material science doesn't lie. I've had better luck buying the smaller 10-packs from a lighting supply store near me, they cost more per piece but I haven't had a single callback on them.

kai_bennett1mo ago

Learned that lesson the Hard way after a batch melted on a job site.