proud papa of a D10

[sandcrab]

Hey everybody just ordered a d10 tribute edition from batteryjunction.
Uncle Sam was nice to me this year, so I'm finally getting the legendary
d10. From all the good reviews I'm sure I'll love it. One question though
I've heard you need to take the blue goop off of the piston and replace
it with different type of lube. Where can you buy the good piston lube.
Thanks again from your friendly neighborhood sandcrab.

 

[burntoshine]

Hey everybody just ordered a d10 tribute edition from batteryjunction.
Uncle Sam was nice to me this year, so I'm finally getting the legendary
d10. From all the good reviews I'm sure I'll love it. One question though
I've heard you need to take the blue goop off of the piston and replace
it with different type of lube. Where can you buy the good piston lube.
Thanks again from your friendly neighborhood sandcrab.

i don't think it's necessary to take off the factory lube. as far as i know, the factory lube is just fine, and it should last months without having to relube it.

doesn't the tribute edition come with a slotted piston? if so, you'd better epoxy a tritium vial in there; like a true flashaholic.

i had a D10 with a trit piston, but i sold it. although now i have 2 liteflux LF2XTs, both with slotted tritium buttons.

the D10 is a great light! enjoy!

 

[Moonshadow]

I'd agree with that - although there is a possibility that you might need to clean the gunk off and relube, I've also had a couple of Nitecores that work just fine out of the box, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I reckon they are packed in a hot country so when shipped to a cold country like here in Scotland the grease is maybe several times thicker. Being in Arizona you probably won't have that problem !

I've also noticed that they do tend to break in with a little use: my EX10 needed a herd of elephants on the button when it was brand new, but now it works just fine - so give it a bit of use first.

If you do find that you need to relube after all, then you'll find all the info you need in the Comprehensive Grease and Lube Thread:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=242414

 

[Henk_Lu]

Well, opinions vary...

First thing I do to all my Nitecore PD lights is disassembling and cleaning that stinky, sticky blue poop off everywhere. I don't even try if and how the light works, it'll work better afterwards! Nitecore smears that disgusting stuff all around the piston, mostly there's even some on top, where the piston meets the body and it makes the piston sticky (old version only).

While there are surely other good lubes around, I use Nyogel 760 on the EX10/D10. The piston doesn't need any lube at all, just put a small amount on the o-ring, put the piston in and let it work a few times, take it out again and relube, carfully wipe off everything that could have gotten on the piston itself, put it back in and you're done.

What I also did to all my EX10/D10 was taking the brass-rings off the light engines, clean them and the contact surface with Deoxyd Red and treat them with Deoxyd Gold. Some brass-rings had big amounts of black dirt all around, without the lights being old and used a lot. You may postpone this operation to the eventual showing up of misbehaviour though, but think about it when your light ignores clicks, doesn't ramp as it should and so on.

I like the Nitecore PD lights, but they have to be cherished to work properly. If you carry them around in a trousers pocket, the piston risks to catch up lint quite quickly and cleaning/relubing will be necessary more often, you'll notice if piston action gets stiffer. The new version could be less affected by dirt however.

Last but not least, if your piston's too stiff and/or if you're using the longer 14500, you may want to cut off the outer ring of the spring in the piston a centimeter or so. The new versions seem to have less of those problems also.

Have fun with your D10! :wave:

 

[Moonshadow]

Well, opinions vary...

Fair enough, all those things are true, and indeed, I've got two Nitecores that work a lot better for having the end coil of their spring cut off. But I've also got a couple that worked fine without taking them to bits. I would claim that as experience rather than opinion, so I'm just saying if it ain't broke don't fix it.

I don't even try if and how the light works, it'll work better afterwards!

OK, I know that you're just having a little bit of fun here . . . but how do you know that it's better if you didn't even try it first ?

 

[bedazzLED]

Hi Sandcrab.

I have the D10, D20 and EX10 and they are great torches. Love the piston drive and I wish Nitecore would use it in more torches.

I must admit, I had a few strange episodes with the EX10, so I pulled it apart, cleaned everything, re-lubed it and has worked fine since.

I personally use Super-lube PTFE grease on the o-rings, and I put a few drops of the Super-lube PTFE oil on the piston. The oil makes it work silky smooth.

You can get the Super-lube grease in an 85 gram tube that lasts a long time. The oil comes in a 7 ml oiler, and at a few drops here and there it lasts a long time also.

 

[Henk_Lu]

OK, I know that you're just having a little bit of fun here . . . but how do you know that it's better if you didn't even try it first ?

Because I know the sticky, stinky blue Nitecore lube after a dozen EX10/D10! Maybe the new D10 version is better, because there is no need anymore to get the piston in contact with lube, only the top. I didn't pay attention with my Camo and Tribute, I had the cleaning cloth ready before I opened the box...

Cleaning and relubing has nothing to do with fixing for me, I don't do this as normal procedure with every light I get, but surely with each Nitecore PD light.