Quark123, Difficult to turn head

[ThumperACC]

Hi All,

First, let me begin with this is my first post. I have lurked here for quite some time and this is a great forum.

I tried searching for this, to no avail. If this has been addressed please point me to the relevant thread if you can.

I just received my Quark123 Tactical. Nice light. However, the head is difficult to rotate (to select one preset or the other). It is very difficult to rotate it with one hand. I can do it OK with 2 hands, but nearly impossible with one. I tried using a different grease (TW-25B, which is normally super slick) without success. It is almost like the o-ring is too thick. I tried one of the replacement o-rings as well.

Has anyone else experienced this and if so, how did you fix it please?

Thanks very much,
ThumperACC

 

[tre]

I'm not sure it is really meant to be a 1 handed light. I find it pretty difficult to turn the head on mine with one hand. I can do it but it is not comfortable. I use 2 hands.

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Has anyone else experienced this and if so, how did you fix it please?

Thanks very much,
ThumperACC

Is the O-ring seated right? All the Quark O-rings sit in channels, and it's possible that yours snuck out.

Have you lubed it? (Superlube at Radio Shack works well, the clear pen-shaped tube of PTFE lube is what I use) Don't use too much. More than a few drops per section is too much. Lube on the thread and on the O-ring, then work it back and forth a few dozen times. How much does that help?

Pull the O-ring off and see how the turning is. If it glides nicely all the way on to the thread stop, the O-ring is the friction source. Once you know that, try lubing the O-ring once more. A drop spread along the O-ring should be plenty.

If that's still no good, you could take an O-ring off and lightly sand the outside of it. Small grit, because you don't want to tear the rubber. Taking off even a little bit of the rubber will make a difference here. Clean your fingers, slip the O-ring on a finger (thumb maybe) and lightly brush it across some small-grit stuff. Clean the O-ring of hand oils, put it on the light, and lube it. Now it's good, right?

 

[Lucciola]

I have the same experience with my Quark AA tactical. When I use the light with the 2xAA battery tube it turns super smooth. With the short tube it is hard to turn.

One reason might be that the clip pushes against the head when I use the short tube. But I once removed the clip and it became better but still not as nice as with the long tube.

At the moment I think about taking out the o-ring and treating it with fine sandpaper. But before trying this I'll swap the o-rings of the battery tubes to see whether it makes a difference.

At the moment I am just too lazy doing this because currently I use it most of the time with the long tube around the house where pocket size is not that important and I like the long runtimes.

Lucciola

 

[ThumperACC]

I'm not sure it is really meant to be a 1 handed light. I find it pretty difficult to turn the head on mine with one hand. I can do it but it is not comfortable. I use 2 hands.

Thanks for the feedback, good to know I am not alone.

ThumperACC

 

[ThumperACC]

Is the O-ring seated right? All the Quark O-rings sit in channels, and it's possible that yours snuck out.

Have you lubed it? (Superlube at Radio Shack works well, the clear pen-shaped tube of PTFE lube is what I use) Don't use too much. More than a few drops per section is too much. Lube on the thread and on the O-ring, then work it back and forth a few dozen times. How much does that help?

Pull the O-ring off and see how the turning is. If it glides nicely all the way on to the thread stop, the O-ring is the friction source. Once you know that, try lubing the O-ring once more. A drop spread along the O-ring should be plenty.

If that's still no good, you could take an O-ring off and lightly sand the outside of it. Small grit, because you don't want to tear the rubber. Taking off even a little bit of the rubber will make a difference here. Clean your fingers, slip the O-ring on a finger (thumb maybe) and lightly brush it across some small-grit stuff. Clean the O-ring of hand oils, put it on the light, and lube it. Now it's good, right?

Thanks for the suggestions. I was unsure if oil (something lighter than grease) was a good idea. I have now tried some TuffGlide and it seems to work better.

Thanks again,
ThumperACC