Lube/Oil and SF weatherproofing

[jylong_away]

Hi,

I've been using some really basic, hardware store oil to lube my SF E2D and offer some external metal protection. The stuff's supposed to be inert and fine for use on plastic/rubber/etc.

So far, there's been no problems with the o-rings, etc. The other day, tho, I noticed that the area where the strike bezel joins the head looked...well, odd for some reason. Out of curiousity, I gave it a slight twist, and the bezel unscrewed easily! Have not modded the head, or tried anything before to remove the head.

There was some plasticy/rubbery black stuff flaking off the threads, which I assume is some loctite/weatherproofing resin.

What I'm wondering is: I this a 'defective' E2D head, or can something as simple as machine oil eat through the resin they use on the threads for weatherproofing? I'd find it a bit odd that it'd be able to work its way through all the threads though, as I don't douse the head or anything; just finger apply.

Anyone with similar experiences? Thanks.

Dave

 

[l2icel3all]

I had a similar incident with my 2nd E2d. The first one's tailcap broke so I just returned it to the store I got it from for a new one. The 2nd one was a little different. I must have tightened the bezel too tight and I tried to opened it to replace the batteries and I ended up twisting the strike bezel part of the head off and I noticed some rubber shreds and bits come off. I'm not sure what that material is but I'm positive it was placed there to prevent water from getting in and also to hold the strike bezel in place. I'm sure you can call up a surefire rep and have it replaced. I called SF and spoke with them for about 2 minutes and I had my new E2D head in 8 days. It was nice.

 

[Caligvla]

Hi,

I've been using some really basic, hardware store oil to lube my SF E2D and offer some external metal protection. The stuff's supposed to be inert and fine for use on plastic/rubber/etc.

So far, there's been no problems with the o-rings, etc. The other day, tho, I noticed that the area where the strike bezel joins the head looked...well, odd for some reason. Out of curiousity, I gave it a slight twist, and the bezel unscrewed easily! Have not modded the head, or tried anything before to remove the head.

There was some plasticy/rubbery black stuff flaking off the threads, which I assume is some loctite/weatherproofing resin.





What I'm wondering is: I this a 'defective' E2D head, or can something as simple as machine oil eat through the resin they use on the threads for weatherproofing? I'd find it a bit odd that it'd be able to work its way through all the threads though, as I don't douse the head or anything; just finger apply.

Anyone with similar experiences? Thanks.

Dave

I use choke tube lube for lubrication of my flashlights... It's sort of the Anti-loctite for threads

 

[Yucca Patrol]

I use silicone grease made for treating the o-rings of underwater camera housings.

Good stuff. . . .

 

[jylong_away]

Thanks guys! It's sorta good to know that it's not just me, and it's probably the E2D head itself. Have been a bit worried that my other SF lights would fall apart on me.

Have contacted SF and they said they'd send out a head for me. Not sure exactly when it'll get here, since I'm in Aus, but still..better than having to buy more parts!

Dave

 

[Caligvla]

I use silicone grease made for treating the o-rings of underwater camera housings.

Good stuff. . . .

got a link where to get it?

 

[Yucca Patrol]

got a link where to get it?

I just use the tubes that came with my camera housings, but it is the Olympus stuff:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/204/Silica+Gel,+Lube+&+Maintenance.html/atl/Brand_Olympus~Price_+7.95+%3C=+100000/sortDrop/Price:+Low+to+High

It is a tiny tube, but you only need a tiny bit.

If I didn't already have this stuff, I'd find something similar at the hardware store. I'm sure a tube of silicone grease at a hardware store will be a lot bigger and a lot cheaper than ordering this tiny tube of Olympus branded stuff.

I just checked the Lowes website to search for silicone grease and they sell some for faucet repair. I'm sure it would be perfect for our purposes considering the challenges of keeping the threads of faucet valves working correctly are the same ones that we face with waterproofing our o-rings and threads. About $3.50 at Lowes

 

[04orgZx6r]

So, does anyone use chain lube on their flashlights. I have a bottle of pro-link thin bodied lube that I use for my bike, would this be ok to use or should i go buy something else. By the way I am new at this, just got my first cree in the mail today, a romisen rc-f4. But that is just the start of my new addiction I fear.

 

[Yucca Patrol]

There is a problem with a solvent based lube like your bike chain lube. It will work fine for a while, but will eventually degrade the o-rings, and may cause them to swell. It will also migrate from where you placed it and might foul the electronics.

This is why a thicker silicone based lube is preferred.

But if you don't mind replacing o-rings from time to time and are careful to use just a little bit, you should be fine.

 

[StarHalo]

From my own personal Exhaustive Grimoire Of Flashlight-Specific Lubricants And Applications:

'Twisty' lights with bare aluminum threads (like the old Jetbeam C-LE v1.0 and v1.2), are the most critical. The wrong lubricant will not only make for rough operation, it can cause excessive thread wear leading to early failure.


Here is a wrapup of some common lubricants and their applications:

Krytox
Krytox is hideously expensive (a 2 oz tube of Loctite Krytox will set you back about 40 dollars), but it is exceptional at reducing galling in stainless steel and Titanium. It will also completely eliminate o-ring sticking. Not for use on bare aluminum threads or lightly anodized surfaces because it is abrasive to these surfaces and will lead to excessive wear. I use Krytox with my little L0D-Q4. The L0D has hard type III anodized threads which do not grind or wear with Krytox. The decision to go with Krytox over Nyogel 760G in the L0D was based on the need to eliminate o-ring sticking. My L0D has a very tight o-ring which was having sticking problems with every other lubricant that I tried. With Krytox, my L0D now has perfetly smooth one handed operation. BUT REMEMBER KRYTOX IS NOT FOR LIGHTS LIKE THE C-LE, WHICH HAVE BARE ALUMINUM THREADS. In the C-LE, it was NOT smooth at all, and eventually caused enough wear to lead to thread failure.

Nyogel 760G
A synthetic silicone based grease, but much smoother and lower wear than other silicone greases like silicone plumber's grease or Dow Molykote 111. Nyogel helps to minimize thread wear, even in soft alloys of bare aluminum, and shows only slight o-ring sticking with tight o-rings. It's a good choice for Twisty lights with bare threads like the Jetbeam C-LE. Overall Nyogel is a fantastic general purpose grease to have around, and you can get a large 2 oz tube from battery junction for just over $10 shipped (if you use the lowest cost USPS shipping option).

Moble 1 Automotive Grease
Moble 1 Automotive Grease works a LOT better than you might expect. This grease actually gives smoother operation than Nyogel 760G in my C-LE, and I have had no problems at all with o-ring sticking or deterioration (even after several months of use). Other general purpose Lithium Greases may also work, but some have expressed concerns that greases with volatile components might release vapors that could fog your flashlight's main lens. I haven't had any problems with this while using Mobil 1 Grease, but anyone who is concerned should stay with Nyogel 760G which is fairly close in performance and is known to have very low volatility.

Dow Molykote 111 or Generic Silicone Plumber's Grease
Poor lubricant properties and heavy o-ring sticking (o-rings will almost weld if the light is left unused for a few weeks). Not Recommended.

Tetra Lube G (or other PTFE or Teflon based grease)
These greases are a fraction of the cost of Krytox, and work just as well at providing effective lubrication, but are not quite as effective at eliminating o-ring sticking. In my testing, these greases were slightly less abrasive to bare aluminum threads than Krytox, but I still would not recommended them for lights like the Jetbeam C-LE (or any other twisty lights which use bare aluminum threads).

-Don't mix more than one kind of lube on the same place, otherwise the less viscous lube will "float" on the other one, making things way too slick and/or messy.

-Modern o-rings work fine with products containing petroleum, because they're not made of raw rubber. This is only a concern with much older flashlights.

-Conductivity is a non-issue; If "non-conductive" lube made a flashlight inoperable, it wouldn't have worked when you first took it out of the box.

-Look at the places that sell flashlight parts/accessories for flashlight lube, it doesn't have to be a goose chase.

 

[jylong_away]

From my own personal Exhaustive Grimoire Of Flashlight-Specific Lubricants And Applications:



-Don't mix more than one kind of lube on the same place, otherwise the less viscous lube will "float" on the other one, making things way too slick and/or messy.

-Modern o-rings work fine with products containing petroleum, because they're not made of raw rubber. This is only a concern with much older flashlights.

-Conductivity is a non-issue; If "non-conductive" lube made a flashlight inoperable, it wouldn't have worked when you first took it out of the box.

-Look at the places that sell flashlight parts/accessories for flashlight lube, it doesn't have to be a goose chase.

Thanks! Have found a good PTFE grease at http://www.torchworld.com.au. They're helping me out with a slightly larger order than they usually carry.

Do you have any idea what the rubbery stuff on the surefire threads connecting the bezel to the rest of the head is?

Dave

 

[a4d]

There is a problem with a solvent based lube like your bike chain lube. It will work fine for a while, but will eventually degrade the o-rings, and may cause them to swell. It will also migrate from where you placed it and might foul the electronics.

This is why a thicker silicone based lube is preferred.

But if you don't mind replacing o-rings from time to time and are careful to use just a little bit, you should be fine.

Just a question about that. Lots of motorcycle/atv chains have O-rings in them, why would this be bad for lights? Are the O-rings different materials or what?

 

[clintb]

Just a question about that. Lots of motorcycle/atv chains have O-rings in them, why would this be bad for lights? Are the O-rings different materials or what?

Motorcycle and ATV o-ring chain lube is different from Pro-Link. Pro-Link is basically solvent and oil, and is for bicycle chains.

 

[jzmtl]

Some manufactures make their o-ring with nitril rubber which is very resistant to petrolium, so chain grease is okay. Novatac and Arc use nitril for sure, not sure about rest.

 

[Buck91]

Said it a thousand times, and read other people saying it even more. Silicone grease (like Sil-Glyde from Napa) designed for automotive weather stripping is *ideal* for lubing flashlight threads and o-rings.

Edit: Just noticed some light discussion about prolink. That stuff is a rather strong solvent, IMHO, and I've definately shy away from using it on delicate o-rings.