Olight M30 Triton threads worn out.

[Oztorchfreak]

I have noticed lately that the tailcap on my M30 is not very easy to screw on as it was originally. I had to replace the o-rings recently that I got from my local dealer here in Australia. It is very fiddly to get the tailcap on when the batteries are in place and it does not seem to be locked on by too many threads.

These are the same rechargeable batteries that I have used since buying the torch and batteries together. I will take it up with the local dealer here and see what he says about it. It does not give me much confidence in the torch now.

I love the torch and had it over a year now but now I am rather concerned about the thread problem. If you spend nearly $200 Aust on a torch you really don't expect the threads to be the first thing to make the torch unusable.

I don't think I will be able to use this torch much more because of this problem. I don't know whether the thread is worn on the torch body, the tailcap or both. Either way it is a problem for owners of this torch, if not now possibly in the future.

I notice in a review of this torch on another website that the writer expresses a concern over the threads not being anodised. I read that review not long after buying this torch.

The review was at http://alatselam.com/pages/Olight-M30-Review-by-Selfbuilt.html

Maybe the thread is too fine to take a lot of battery changes even though the frequency of battery changes is necessary for my general use.

I change the batteries over to my other pair of 18500s about once every week or two.

This is not a $10 torch afterall.

Has this been a problem in general with Olight torches?

Has anyone else noticed this problem with the M30 or other medium to high priced LED torches yet? :shakehead



The photo below shows the worn torch threads on the left and the unused extender on the right.

The extender is shown turned around only to compare the male threads.

Normally the extender fits female end first onto the torch body.

The photo below is of the torch body thread only. Believe me the threads have been kept clean and lubricated with silicone grease only. The new grease is all that is in the threads!!!

The photo below is one of the torch body, the extender and the tailcap.

Note:

The tailcap is too hard to do close-ups properly, but the thread is bad as the extender slides up to the o-rings before the thread starts to bite.

 

[jirik_cz]

Can you post some pictures of your body and tailcap? Never heard about this kind of problem with M30 before.

The review was at http://alatselam.com/pages/Olight-M30-Review-by-Selfbuilt.html

I'm wondering if they have Selfbuilt's permission for copying his review. :ironic:

 

[Oztorchfreak]

In regard to the comment from jirik_cz, I have just noticed in the GoingGear.com review of the Olight M30 the reviewer twists his fingers around 10 times to put the tailcap on with no problems. My tailcap is now hard to start and is only held on by about four turns or less.

I have always lubricated the thread as per instructions. I have been an Electrician for almost 40 years and do know how to care for electrical stuff.

I don't see how to post photos as yet as I am only reasonably new to CandlePowerForums.

I would have to take a very close-up photo to see the wear. The real proof is in the number of threads the tailcap travels over before the tailcap reaches the start of the threading process. It is hitting the o-rings before the thread starts to bite. I don't trust the security of the tailcap any more and that leaves me with a torch that is pretty well useless if you can't trust its reliability.

When I tried the battery extender tube that has never been used, it seems like both the tailcap and the torch body are worn equally as bad.

I am taking it up tomorrow with the local dealer that I bought it from. I just checked the Sales Receipt and I have not quite had it twelve months yet. I think the Olight Warranty is 18 months from what I have seen online. I may be able to get a new torch under warranty from the dealer here as he is usually very accomodating.

I am really surprised by this issue and it may serve as a warning about buying torches that have no thread anodising.

 

[Oztorchfreak]

I just noticed that my warranty for the Olight M30 states that it is for a period of 24 months from the date of purhase. I have had it less than 12 months.

 

[Oztorchfreak]

I was just thinking that even if I get a replacement M30, I can probably look forward to less than 12 months use without worries. I think I need to think about this carefully as maybe another model or brand torch is in order.

Maybe I can just keep getting a new one before 12 months is up from here to eternity.

And if I get a replacement M30 does the warranty start again for another 24 months?

Not a good thought for me and too much of a headache.

I really loved how this torch performed and the easy access strobe button.

 

[CarpentryHero]

They look like great lights, maybe it's just not meant for the EDC use. Maybe they'll fix the problem in the next twelve months. I dont know of a comparible replacement that'll outlast. My EDC charges on a mount so I don't need to take the tailcap off. It's nowhere near as bright as your m30, it might outthrow it though. I have the Pelican7060LED as my every day carry light, as much because it's a wicked thrower and rechargeable as it is for use as a small bat and skull cracker for the not so nice areas I work in. It's got 170 lumens otf which is enough for the work I do. I keep a Fenix TK40 in my lunchbox as a just in case :duh2:

maybe this an excuse to shop around?

 

[Hondo]

One thing that can both help with worn threads as well as preventing thread wear in the first place is to apply a couple (or more) turns of plumber's teflon tape to the threads. It will fill gaps, and provide a low-friction surface for the mating threads to run against. Depending how well you can apply it, you will have to replace in at some interval, but I have succeeded in using it for long periods on twisty lights, which see a LOT more use of the threads than your Olight.

 

[Oztorchfreak]

In reply to Hondo,

I think that would be a good idea but the fact is the M30 torch should have had the threads anodised to make them more durable as are many other torches made nowadays.

If it was not able to be exchanged for a new one I might well have to try your idea of using thread tape but I really don't want to start using workarounds when I have paid good money for a respected brand of torch.

I do change the batteries a lot and the thread tape will get damaged pretty quickly as thread tape is really meant to be put on a thread and then left there permanantly. If you have to unscrew the fitting as on plumbing etc usually the thread tape is replaced.

Thanks for the tip, but I am seeing the dealer today to try and get a replacement under warranty as I have had it only 11 months into a 24 month warranty. I just wanted to point this problem out to prospective buyers of this torch and warn of the problem of buying any torch that has non-anodised screw threads.

I will probably have to buy another torch eventually even If I get this one replaced as it probably will suffer the same fate as the one I have now and technology will have made a better range of torches available I would hope. This torch is carried in my everyday man bag that I take everywhere. The torch fits beautifully into the main compartment of this bag.

I have an ITP A3 EOS for my pocket which is great and a Stanley 35W HID spotlight ready charged at the front door to use in case of emergencies or for checking the street at night. I also have a Led Lenser M1 and P14 and a crappy Teking 35W HID tube or barrel type torch that has bad optics and batteries that drain without use and go flat within a week whether in the torch or not. I am really sorry I bought the crappy Teking HID torch and I have posted a thread on CPF telling the sad story of my experience with this torch and a useless dealer in Melbourne Australia.

What a pity a great performing light such as the Olight M30 Triton has such a major design flaw. :shrug:

 

[dougie]

Many manufacturers who use aluminum for the body of their lights have started using square cut threads which presumably allow more wear to take place before the threads wear out? Whilst lots of lights do have anodized threads for lock out purposes I'm not sure that it would necessarily prevent premature demise of the threads due to wear. If you look at a lot of the Surefire lights they use conventional threading with unanodized threads and do not appear to suffer significant undue wear. However, individual manufacturing tolerances mean some of my newer 6P's have more 'give' in the threads than others. To a certain extent I suppose that unless the dealer is prepared to do something about it you are metaphorically 'screwed' if you excuse the pun!:devil:

 

[Oztorchfreak]

In reply to dougie,


I wonder if the new Olight M31 uses a square cut thread?

I agree that it may not be the anodising as the video reviews on the new M31 show the threads to be non-anodised like the Surefire lights and other brands.

Jetbeam has started using a square cut thread in recent releases.

If they offer me the new M31 it will probably only last less than 12 months unless the thread situation has been upgraded.

I am calling in to see the dealer tomorrow to see if I am screwed or not!!

By the way that was a good pun that you used, you have a good sense of humour!!

 

[dougie]

I hoped you'd like my 'Pommy' sense of humour!:nana: Seriously mate I hope that you do get the dealer to take it back and do an exchange but unless he/she is very helpful I have a feeling they will try & fob you off?:shakehead

The Olight series of lights has a reasonable reputation and it's a shame that you appear to have come unstuck. Let us know what the results of the dealer encounter go like?

 

[daf3m]

This is the result of not being properly lubed.Same issue with my PD20..

 

[octaf]

I should say either Fenix of Jetbeam has far superior threads and physical strengh.

 

[Rinspeed]

One thing that can both help with worn threads as well as preventing thread wear in the first place is to apply a couple (or more) turns of plumber's teflon tape to the threads.

That's a great idea and I'm not sure why I haven't thought of it seeing I have a couple rolls.

 

[Oztorchfreak]

In reply to daf3m ,

I have used the correct lubricant many times over the last 11 months and kept the threads clean.

What lubricant did you have in mind as I can only think of the one that comes with most torches that supply it and that is silicon grease?

If you use teflon tape (plumbers tape) on the threads, the worry would be whether a good electrical contact can be made between the two threads as the tape is an insulating material.

Some tailcaps or tailrings only push the opposite end of the battery container into contact with the torch head pins.

Most torches use the threads to make electrical contact between the tailcap and the torch body.

I found this information at the Wolfeyes website and they show that you should clean the threads and then apply silicone grease.

Link is here - wolfeyes.com.au/Maintenance.pdf

Surely many more CPFers have experienced torch screw thread wear.

 

[Oztorchfreak]

A description of thread tape (PTFE tape) as used by plumbers is at -


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_seal_tape


The tape is an insulating material and I cannot see how any contact can be made if you were to use thread tape on a torch that needs to have contact between the tailcap and the torch body unless a small amount of thread at the end is left uncovered maybe. BIG MAYBE!!!

I have been an Electrician for nearly forty years and this makes complete sense to me.

It would be just like wrapping electrical insulation tape around the threads.

 

[Rinspeed]

The threads will cut right through the Teflon tape and I'm sure they will have good contact between the two parts.

 

[Hondo]

Most of my lights, and all that I have teflon tape on, make electrical contact between the end of the battery tube, not the threads, and the switch retaining ring inside the cap. In the case of twisties, there is typically a similar part inside the cap, such as on my Gerber Infinity Ultra or Sonic. In the case of the Gerbers, both the cap and body threads are anodized, and have no conductivity. Anodizing is VERY good insulator.

 

[Oztorchfreak]

Thanks guys for the help.

I was not sure whether the tape would be cut by the action of the threads mating or not, but some of you seem to have used this tape with no problems in the past.

Won't the tape be chewed up after unscrewing the tailcap a few times?

Are you saying that PTFE tape should be used when the torch is new to stop the thread wear or only after the thread is worn?

When I get the torch to the dealer he is sending the torch back next week to the Olight distributor for inspection and probable replacement.

I put a little bit of silicone grease on my ITP A3 EOS Upgraded 3 level torch recently and it would not work.

I had to clean off the silicone grease to get it to work again.

That is weird then if silicone grease can do this when this type of grease is recommended to make a good contact and lubricate everything.

 

[Oztorchfreak]

Re: Olight M30 Triton screw threads worn out.

The penny has just dropped for me.

I can see the light literally now.

The end of the torch body on twisty torches or my Olight M30 can have anodized threads because the very end of the thread of these torches is where the electrical connection is designed to be made at the end of the barrel.

The only thing I don't understand is why the ITP torch did not work if the end face of the threads had silicone grease on it why did it not work if silicone grease is good for making an electrical connection?

Maybe there was just too much silicone grease on the end face surface of this very tiny AAA torch.

My ITP A3 EOS torch has an anodized thread and only the very end is left with a non-anodized surface to mate with the torch body.

This is why Jetbeam and others anodise the thread but leave the end barrel or tailcap surface non-anodized so that the very end only makes electrical contact.

The anodizing prrocess makes the thread non conductive by means of a chemical or electrolytic coating.

This is how torches can be made to have a lockout feature. When the tailcap is unscrewed a half turn or so, the end faces do not make an electrical connection anymore.

An example of this is shown in one of the photos in the CPF review of the ITP EOS at the link below.


http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=240639


This explains why thread tape can be used on the threads as long as the end surface of the torch barrel is left clear to make contact.

My Led Lenser P14 torch also has anodized threads but the thread tightening just pushes the battery container against the torch head where some gold plated pins make contact.

If the anodized coating wears off then problems may arise in the operation of these torches.

Thanks guys for enlightening me about torch stuff. :nana:

This is where this type of forum is very useful. :naughty:

It has made me think a lot more about the situation that I originally posted about.

Either way this still leaves me with a torch that has worn-out threads on it. :shakehead

I will let you guys know how the distributor responds to my worn-out thread situation. :thumbsup: