How stiff is YOURS?

Uh-oh. Darell again.

I'm curious what everybody's first impression is when they take a new Arc AAA out of the blister pack (or the zip-lock, depending on how long your dealer hangs onto stock) pop the battery in and attempt to twist on the head.

I've assembled probably 40-50 of them now, and can say that about 90% are a real bugger to screw on that first (second and third) time. Some of those little guys are STIFF. (see how I tied that in with the subject line?) My hope in bringing this up is to give Peter a little input on what the general public's first impression might be. I've given many of these lights to friends and relatives as gifts, and every one of the recipients has asked why theirs is so hard to turn on and off (as compared to the ones I carry). I always take the new lights back to the shop, clean everything off the threads and O ring completely, lube the threads with conductive oil, and lube the O ring with synthetic grease. I then twist them about 100 times, then clean off the excess black crud and relube as neccessary. After that, they typically work smoothly. But my guess is that most (normal) people don't go through that kind of effort.

As everybody must know by now, I love these little AAA lights. I'm just concerned that the first impression of a really stiff one will put some people off. When they're stiff, and require too much effort to operate, they have a lower quality feel than they should. I currently never give them as gifts without first having my way with them. Makes the recipient happier, and makes for less hassle for me in the long run.

I'm not sure what the answer is here, since what I do is a lot of time-intensive labor that I wouldn't want to pay somebody else to perform. When I compare a new Arc to a new MiniMag (gasp!), the Minimag is so smooth and fluid to turn on that first time. Part of this is due to the drastically different diameter of the lights, of course, but also the design is much different. There probably isn't an answer to this, but I thought I'd toss it out there and see if it sticks.

My LE has a stiff mechanism, as does my LS second when used with the 123 pack.

My CPF Arc has a less stiff feel to it, as does my LS second using the 2-AA pack.

I'll have to admit that my CPF has a bit of a grind everytime I twist the head to switch it on, but not enough to prevent one-handed operation. Actually, I thought this was normal. My LS second is actually pretty smooth, not silky, but no grittiness in the twist. One handed op is possible for all the battery case, just not as sweet - but I'm probably just lacking a little lube for o-rings. I have only 3 Arcs so far, all randomly obtained, but no stiffness - perhaps I'm lucky.

I think that with any of these o-ring sealed lights, the parts want to slip at the inner surface of the o-ring, because with less surface area, there is less friction on the inside. It seems to me that there can be a big difference between two lights that are lubed on the outside, when one is dry in the grove and the other is lubed. BTW, for a real sloppy feel, use "SuperLube" on the o-ring.

Hmm. That's an interesting point (surface area inequity). That would account for a bit of the "play" you can sometimes feel (tist a litte - easy, twist more - hard).

Wanted to point out that I have no LS experience, and all my comments are for the AAA. The LS, like the Minimag, has a larger diameter, thus giving you more twisting leverage - so it isn't an equal comparison to add them to the mix.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Termac:
I think that with any of these o-ring sealed lights, the parts want to slip at the inner surface of the o-ring, because with less surface area, there is less friction on the inside. It seems to me that there can be a big difference between two lights that are lubed on the outside, when one is dry in the grove and the other is lubed. BTW, for a real sloppy feel, use "SuperLube" on the o-ring.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I seem to recall from physics (years ago) that contrary to intuition, the force of friction between two surfaces IS NOT affected by surface area, but only related to the coefficient of friction of each surface, and the force with which they are pressed against one another. (Now I'm having scary flashbacks of free-body diagrams)

Hey Darell, I've also found that the Arc AAAs ship with a stiff feel to them. My Arc-LE didn't turn smoothly when i got it, and was difficult to activate with the same hand that was holding it. Laying a bit of grease on the O-ring made the LE perfect.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by darell:
The LS, like the Minimag, has a larger diameter, thus giving you more twisting leverage <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Another reason the Minimag is easier (if you are right-handed) is it rotates the opposite direction to "turn on", thus utilizing the superior muscle power of the thumb (again if you're right-handed).

Is the "stiffness" a problem in the version 3.0's? I have only one 3.0, my CPF ARC, and it was a bit stiff at first. My other LE's are not stiff at all.

My ARC LS is as smooth as can be....much smoother than a mini-mag...the threads look beautiful...

minecan be pretty stiff depending on who im looking at-what did you say -the aaa? why didnt you say so? it varies from light to light

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Aragorn:
minecan be pretty stiff depending on who im looking at
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Picaboo!

Yes, some are stiffer than others, no doubt about it. I just got a new batch of 9 3.0's so I'll be able to better comment on those as compared to their predecessors. BUT, my CPF and latest semi-3.0 LE were both quite stiff when I first put them together. Some of my smoothest lights are some of my earliest ones. They're so nice that I never gave them away like I'd planned.

My CPF wasn't too bad, but the EV I just got is really tight. To start with, whoever put it together missed the step of lubeing the o-ring. But even after I did that, it was tight. I finally just took the o-ring off. It's fine now. TX

I don't mind the stiffness in the arcs, but it is the flickering that bothers me. My LE starts to develope this problem recently, my white has this problem many months back.

Anyone else care to share how to eliminate this problem? I have cleaned, brushed, greased etc but it still flickers. Any help?

I currently have two Arc LE's and the CPF. The CPF worked much smoother than the LE's, right from the start. I think it's perfect just the way it is.

I've tried different lubricants, including vasoline, on the LE's but nothing seemed to smooth them out enough.

Next, I removed the O-rings which made a BIG improvement, but also made the head turn almost TOO free. Finally, I wrapped about three turns of plumber's teflon tape around the threads and (since I didn't trim the 1/2" width of the tape) it overlapped the rubber piece almost to the hole. PERFECT!

BTW, my CPF also seemed noticeably brighter than either of the earlier LE's. My LE's are from both the first (olive tint) and second (darker tint) generations. I don't know if it's due to the new inside coating, or what, but I love it.

Have also started to notice some flickering occassionaly from the first LE, only. The LE's are used almost daily.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bucken:
Finally, I wrapped about three turns of plumber's teflon tape around the threads and (since I didn't trim the 1/2" width of the tape) it overlapped the rubber piece almost to the hole. PERFECT!

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Remember that the threads conduct the negative end of the battery, through the case, to the head. Without good contact there, you won't be able to light the thing. The threads must have cut through the tape enough for good contact in your case. But if THAT one ever flickers, the first thing to try is removing the tape from the threads.

Thanks Darell! I never even thought about why my le was so hard to turn before your post!I did what you said in your post:turn it on and off about a hundred times then clean the threads and the o-ring.Now my le is smooth as a baby's posterior! One thing i
found though, is if i put silicone grease on the threads and o-ring it is very hard to turn,but if i use the aerosol silicone lube on it it is really smooth.I think this is because the grease acts like a buffer slowing down the movement of the head when i
turn it.
I don't care what people say, Darell is a nice guy!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bigwuss:
I don't care what people say, Darell is a nice guy! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey, now don't go spreading THAT rumor. You might lose some credibility around here.

You'll probably find that if you let your light sit for a few days, that the first time you go to twist it on again, it'll be a bit stiff. But after another twist or two to redistribute the lube, you'll be good to go again.

Hey, thanks for the info, it is appreciated.

Darell, what kind of conductive lube do you
use on your threads?And where can i get some? (i like to spread out my questions i as many posts as possible to catch up to you)

I use "NU-TROL contact control cleaner with lubricant." Item 16-125 from Hosfelt electronics. It is a spray, but I spray a bunch into a dropper bottle, and apply it from the bottle one drop at a time. By doing this, I get it all over myself just the once, instead of with each use. At one drop per flashlight, this stuff will last me well into my next lifetime. Use it to clean all the threads and battery contacts.