What to lube my O-Rings?

Yea Baby! Lube my O-Rings! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

Sorry...

I couldn't resist the countrycomm price of $15 for a CMG Infinity Ultra, double secret government issue. So now I can pretend to be one of the shadow police! Came the other day and it's really nice and quite bright for a single LED light. Quality seems very good too. The LED is nice and bright, but does project the square image of the die a little bit. (now that I've seen how good this single LED light is, I know that an ARC will be here shortly, so don't worry!)

The only problem is that my O-Ring needs some lube. It's sticky. There is a little clear something on the threads, but it's not enough.


I'm not going to order that special Nye lube stuff that I'm hearing people talk about. There must be something around here I can put on it.

I've got molybdenum grease left over from when I used to repair VCR's, I've got Vaseline, I've got 3 in 1 oil and I've got WD-40. I don't want to put anything on there that will degrade the O-Ring.

What do you suggest?

Try item# 505-1181 from www.use-enco.com

go to a dive supply shop and get pure silicone grease. it is a little expensive, but works very well.

Bob

Brinkmann sells o-ring lube for something like $3. I think their shipping is free.

[ QUOTE ]
pedalinbob said:
go to a dive supply shop and get pure silicone grease. it is a little expensive, but works very well.

Bob

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, thats what I do. Just make sure you get a non-petroleum based (i.e silicone) gel.

Try Prestone Silicone Lubricant Spray available at Wally World or Target (that's Tar-ghay) for less than $2. Sprays on, then dries and doesn't leave a sticky or oily residue, just the pure silcone is all that's left. Looks and feels dry to the touch (no more oily smears!) like it's not even there (but it is), and it lubes nicely. It's what I use, and it's great stuff!

For years I've been using Dow Corning 111 valve lubricant and sealant. Don't let the name fool you this is a thick silicone grease that NEVER dries out or washes out when it gets wet. You use very little just enough to make the O rings shiny. A tube costs about 8 bucks and your grand children will be passing it on to their grandchildren belive me a little of this stuff goes a long way. My tube is over 10 years old and hardly has a dent in it. Dow Corning also makes a O ring lube but belive me this stuff is better. You can get it at www.grainger.com the stock number is 6Y762 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ QUOTE ]
tylerdurden said:
Brinkmann sells o-ring lube for something like $3. I think their shipping is free.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll second the Brinkmann recommendation. $3.95 for an 1/8 oz tube of their o-ring lubricant that will last for a long time. I use it on my ARCs, Surefires, Mags, and even my Brinkmann Legend. Free shipping, and for less than four bucks it has got to be the best deal going.Here is the link to the lube:

http://www.thebrinkmanncorp.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=8&Product_ID=309&CATID=2

....and here is the link to the Brinkmann accessory page where they have all kinds of nifty stuff like different sizes of pocket clips and the Nextstar bulbs which are a nice cheap drop-in improvement for the AA mini-Mag.

http://www.thebrinkmanncorp.com/acb/showprod.cfm?&DID=8&CATID=2&ObjectGroup_ID=27

-Keith

I've been using Radio Shack All Purpose Lube for years, without issues. It's $2-$3 per tube.

Thanks! I just placed an order for Brinkmann lube. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Another source of pure silicone grease (food grade) is plumbing supply stores or large hardware stores with plumbing section. It's used for faucets and other connections and stands up well to heat.

I'll have to agree with anyone recommending the silicone greases, or for some very special uses, the silicone sprays.

My favorite is some MIL SPEC stuff I've used for years (ever since I worked on B52-F's). That's MIL-S-8660C Silicone Grease.

To us civilians that's Dow Corning 4 (Dimethyl silicone grease).

The Dow Corning Dimethyl silicone compounds come in three weights that are otherwise identical:

Dow Corning 7 is the lightweight, 4 is the medium weight, and 111 is the heavy weight.

I've used it for waterproofing spark plug connections, medium and high power transmitting antenna connections, TV and radio antenna connections (outdoors), used it on the rubber gaskets around car doors and trunks (keeps them from sticking or freezing in horrible weather and keeps them from squeaking and wearing), many various seals on military planes and civilian light planes, O-rings, etc. Basicly anything that needed a decent light load waterproof grease or re-enterable electrical waterproofing (just about every electrical connection on my old rally cars and 4X4's had this stuff on 'em, and my current cheapo car does, too).

Needless to say I've gone through many tubes of #4, and a couple of #111 - a number of the #4 I've picked up at surplus stores in olive drab tubes with the Mil Spec number on 'em - cheap. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

(This stuff is even FDA and DA approved for machinery in contact with food and potable water ... In fact you could eat it, but it's pretty tastless ... )

An alternative is the all purpose silicone grease from Radio Shack which seems to be between Dow #7 and Dow #4.

I have one tube of the RS stuff and one tube of the #4 left right now - I need to start searching the surplus stores again.



-= MICROSOFT FREE ZONE =-

P.S. I just realized I still have a PDF version of the Dow Corning datasheet on this stuff! I put it on-line HERE.

Tom

Thanks for clearing that up Tomas./ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif And I agree silicone grease is the way to go. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

This is a stupid quesiton,
Why it has to be silicone base grease?? And why not petroleum base?

[ QUOTE ]
eelnoraa said:
This is a stupid quesiton,
Why it has to be silicone base grease?? And why not petroleum base?

[/ QUOTE ]

Petroleum based substances gradually react with and destroy the ruber of the o-ring!

i've been using vaseline on my lights' o-rings for a long time, and apart from drying up quickly, they haven't done any harm to the o-rings as far as i can tell. it does get annoying having to keep relubing them though, since it dries up rather quickly but then again vaseline is cheap /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[ QUOTE ]
kev1-1 said:
Petroleum based substances gradually react with and destroy the ruber of the o-ring!

[/ QUOTE ]

It's true that petroleum jelly can eat a lot of things.

In the case of the CMG Infinity lights, though, I believe a CMG representative was quoted on these forums, saying the o-ring in the Infinities was a premium synthetic type (nitrile, maybe?) that was impervious to practically anything, petroleum jelly specifically included. (I tried to find the post, but apparently, I am search-function challenged today.)

A lot of other lights may use the same o-ring material, too. I've got a circa-1985 Mini Mag Light that has been petroleum-jelly lubricated for quite a while. The o-rings (and everything else about it, in fact) seem to be OK.

I'll second (third? fourth?) the opinion that the Brinkmann lube is a good choice, if you're really worried about it. The $4 tube is tiny, but you only need a smidge for one o-ring. I expect it will last a while, even for the more hopeless flashaholic cases among us.

Whoops, Here It Is

Here is the older thread that includes some discussion of o-ring materials, including the informed-sounding opinion that common nitrile synthetic rubber is fine with petroleum lubes. It also (near the end) includes confirmation by CMG that the Infinity o-ring is made of super-duper Viton synthetic rubber, which is supposed to be resistant to really nasty stuff like gasoline and tolulene - petroleum jelly should be a walk in the park.

[ QUOTE ]
eelnoraa said:
This is a stupid quesiton,
Why it has to be silicone base grease?? And why not petroleum base?

[/ QUOTE ]

I DO NOT mean this answer to be "smart" or funny, but the reason, is the same reason why you should not use a petroleum based lubricant (vasalene) with a condom.

The petroleum breaks down the rubber.

OK, so now I DO mean to be funny.

Guy walks into a pharmacy and is embarrased to ask the pretty young pharmacist for a box of condoms. She tells him:

"That will be $3.50 plus tax"

and he replies: "TACKS! I thought they stayed on by themselves?!"

and back on topic, you reminded me that I had a small container of silicone plumbing lubricant. I spread a tiny amount on my CMG and it's working just fine now. Still plenty of friction, but smooth turning.

Thanks everybody.
James