lubricant for Arc AAA

Gransee,
I remember reading in older posts (now in the archives, I believe) that you recommended a Radio Shack lubricant for the threads of the Arc AAA. Do you have a part number on that? thanks in advance.
bippidie

bippidie said:

Gransee,
I remember reading in older posts (now in the archives, I believe) that you recommended a Radio Shack lubricant for the threads of the Arc AAA. Do you have a part number on that? thanks in advance.
bippidie

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A quick Google search yields: RatShack Lube Gel

Thanks GreenLED, that's the stuff. RS#64-2326. It just garden-variety silicone grease.

Sure, there are fancier lubes available (krytox comes to mind), but silicone works fine.

Peter

I have a jar of silicone grease from a lab sitting around.

Funny thing, I've never had to lube my ArcAAA, even though I've had it for 2+ years. I think it came with a light oil on it from the factory... is that right?

Isaac, some of those lab silicone greases are for use in vaccum setups, are *very* viscous, and may not work well as o-ring lubricants. Not that they'll damage the o-rings, but they're not runny enough to coat things evenly.

Thanks all for the answers. I recently purchased the RS product and wanted to confirm that I selected the right one. I have used a high vacuum silicone grease (a Dow product, iirc) but it doesn't seem to "last" long enough.
bippidie

Thanks all for the answers. I recently purchased the RS product and wanted to confirm that I selected the right one. I have used a high vacuum silicone grease (a Dow product, iirc) in the past, but it doesn't seem to "last" long enough.
bippidie

greenLED said:

A quick Google search yields: RatShack Lube Gel

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I went to Radio Shack and bought some of this Silicone Lube Gel. It worked really well, so thank you for the suggestion. The 3 oz. tube should last me the rest of my life unless it degrades or I use it for something else.

It was marked as "Clearance," so I asked the employee if that meant it was discontinued and he said that it "could" mean that. Has anyone else heard this?

Alloy Addict said:

I went to Radio Shack and bought some of this Silicone Lube Gel. It worked really well, so thank you for the suggestion. The 3 oz. tube should last me the rest of my life unless it degrades or I use it for something else.

It was marked as "Clearance," so I asked the employee if that meant it was discontinued and he said that it "could" mean that. Has anyone else heard this?

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I just picked up a tube of RadioShack Multi-Purpose Lube Gel (64-2326). It was marked clearance. The clearance price was $0.97 and there was a 25% off promotion on all clearance merchandise, making the price $0.73.

It is good to know that this stuff is recommended.

You can also use sparkplug lube from your local autoparts store to if your not near a RS.

vortechs said:

I just picked up a tube of RadioShack Multi-Purpose Lube Gel (64-2326). It was marked clearance. The clearance price was $0.97 and there was a 25% off promotion on all clearance merchandise, making the price $0.73.

It is good to know that this stuff is recommended.

Click to expand...

Twenty four cents less?!? I think I'll go to Radio Shack and demand that I get the sale price, and my $.24 refunded.:huh2:

I'm not overly worried, as I figure almost anything would work… but I've got a new Fenix L1T that I think needs some lube on its o-rings, and I don't seem to be able to find anything similar to the stuff you're talking about here in Australia. How much does it matter what you use? In the past, I've actually used Vaseline (petroleum jelly) for my Maglite, simply because we had some sitting in the first aid cupboard—but my L1T is still all new and shiny and I want to be a little more careful with it.

From my understanding the wrong stuff will eat up the oring and degrade it.

I have been told that the radio shack lube is discontinued and all remaining stock is whatever is left on various stores shelves. If you search the product number on their website it will tell what stores in your area have it in stock.

Will this lube work well on other lights as well, or should I only put it on my AAAP? I was going to use it on my FF3, and L1P.

You can get silicone grease in almost any hardware store in the plumbing section. The one I got comes in a small (around 1.5" diameter x .5" tall) container...one container should last a long time and should be fine for all manner of Buna-N (Nitrile) o-rings.

JM-99

Would standard sewing machine oil (or light machine oil—same thing as far as I can tell) be ok? It's about $18 for a can of spray-on silicone lubricant at the hardware I had a look in, and I'd rather not pay that unless I have to, though they did have some slightly cheaper stuff designed for use in kitchen taps that they recommended I try.

I wouldn't use oil of any sort on o-rings.

The silicone plumber's grease available at every hardware store I've been in is about $3 and change and has lasted me about three years. It's still about 3/4 full and like many here, I have a lot of flashlights.

JM-99

mezzman said:

I have been told that the radio shack lube is discontinued and all remaining stock is whatever is left on various stores shelves. If you search the product number on their website it will tell what stores in your area have it in stock.

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Its called Lube Gel. Its available just about anywhere, sporting goods stores, tool supply houses, gunshops and hobby shops. I have a 3 ounce tube of it I have been using for ten years or so on just just about everything I have that has O-Rings. I figure it should last me another 20-30 years. I have tried all of the silicone lubes and I always wind up back at the Lube Gel.

As stupid as this sounds, is something like Vaseline (petroleum jelly) any good?