Attention Firefly Owners!

[Gene]

I like my FF a lot but have some issues with it. Do any of you other FF owners have the problem of the body and head threads being so loose that it almost wants to turn on by itself? Doug did a great job on these overall but the mating of the body to the head and the battery rattle issue leaves a lot to be desired. I also know that 123 batteries differ in size just enough that Doug probably had to make some concessions as Peter had to with the ARC-LS.

I've tried the Dr.Scholl's corn pads method on both the head and also on the bottom of the body tube but none works very well, (at least on mine), to cure battery rattle. Maybe I have a really off-spec FF. My main complaint though is with the way too loose threads that mate the body to the head.

I finally had to put several layers of teflon tape around the threads of the head to make things at least acceptable. I think the answer might be a slightly fatter o-ring for the head. Has anyone replaced the stock o-ring on the head to make things tighter? If you have, can you post here what size o-ring worked to tighten things up?

By the way, a BB700 with a Q3J and turned down Fraen LP makes for a SUPER bright FF! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[LitFuse]

There is no way my FF is ever going to turn on by itself! Are you sure you have an o-ring in there? I haven't heard anyone say that the FF was too easy to turn on. Mine is quite stiff, and I would like to make it easier to turn on actually.


Peter

 

[GJW]

Ditto.
I replaced my o-ring to make it looser.
Now it's still smooth but with less risk of cross-threading.
And an Arc-AA foam ring eliminated all battery rattle.

 

[Gene]

VERY INTERESTING! Man, I didn't expect these replies! YES, I assure you, there IS an o-ring in it! I got it second hand so maybe the prior owner did some messing with it as exchanging bodies and heads as he had several FF's. It is so loose, I HAD to do all the above! The battery rattle doesn't bother me that much but the loose fit of the head and body does! Maybe I have a SMALLER o-ring that came with these in this FF. Would any of you be willing to send me your old o-ring you took out of yours and I'll pay shipping?

 

[DSpeck]

Gene, I'm surprised to hear that. I assembled all of the Fireflies myself, and none seemed particularly loose. Email me at [email protected] with your address, and I will send you a couple of different sizes of O-ring to try. If you put the T-tape on the threads, it can interfere with the operation of the light, since it may insulate the head-body connection i.e. the battery negative won't get to the head.

Doug.

 

[Gene]

Doug,
That's very generous of you and I appreciate it very much. I think a bigger o-ring might do the trick. The teflon tape tightened it up pretty well but every time you remove the head, the tape gets kind of mangled and needs replacement. I made sure the threads were exposed after applying the tape so I haven't had an issue yet with operation. I'll report back to you if the o-rings work. Thanks again!

I also want to thank Chop for this wonderful BB700 with Q3J module and turned down Fraen LP. What a wonderful pure white beam and nice sidespill! It fits the head like a glove and is truly a great piece of work! If I can get this looseness problem solved with the larger o-ring, this little guy will be just about perfect!

 

[tvodrd]

One of the ways I adjust on/off torque is stretching smaller O-rings in the grooves. The other is with lubrication. I suspect someone has installed a smaller ring on yours. If Doug can provide you with the proper size/dash#, you may be able to get one at a hardware store.

Larry

 

[Gene]

I want to bring this back up because of Doug's great generosity and wonderful customer service. Doug sent me two different size o-rings and the smaller one transformed my FF! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif It is now perfect and operates as it should. It's amazing how just the correct o-ring made such a magical transformation! Now I don't need the teflon tape I had applied to the threads and I even removed the battery rattle donut I had put on the module. Neither is needed now. There is still very slight battery rattle but it's not even worth messing with. It operates very smooth now and is tight enough to where it will not turn on it's own. I told Doug in an e-mail that the larger one he sent worked but I was wrong Doug, it was the SMALLER one you sent. This thing is nice now and I thank you AGAIN! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Larry,
You are correct and I suspected as much that a prior owner had put a smaller and thinner o-ring on it. This one Doug sent was about the same diameter but slighter thicker than the one that came with this FF.

Doug,
If you read this, do you remember what size this smaller o-ring that you sent is for future reference? Thanks again my friend! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DSpeck]

Hey, it says Firefly in the title - of course I read it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Glad one of them worked, Gene. The smaller O-ring is .551" ID x .075" thick. The larger of the two is the stock O-ring, at .614" ID.

Doug.

 

[Gene]

Thanks so much Doug! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[The_LED_Museum]

The O-ring in mine seems to be a bit large in diameter; this is noticed most at battery changing time, because it can be a bit of a pain to get the head back onto the barrel without getting the O-ring pinched at the head/barrel interface while you're reassembling the flashlight.

Other than that and some battery rattle (the "fix" for that is already well-known), the Firebug -- I mean Firefly is a very fine little flashlight. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
If I rated homemade flashlights like I do commercial ones, I'd probably give it a good 4 1/2 stars.
I have a page about it right here if anyone's interested. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif