O Rings... to lubricate or not to lubricate?

I read somewhere that if you apply some petroleum jelly onto the rubber O rings of your flashlight, it will actually help prolong the lifespan and usability of it, does anyone know if this is true at all?

I would agree. It sure makes it seal better, and it minimizes abrasion.

I don't know that petroleum jelly is better than anything else but o-rings should be lubricated.
SureFire uses Nyojel lube.

Petrolium jelly will probably eat the o rings I would suggest using a silicone based lubricant like Nyojel or dow corning silicone lubes. I think radio shack sells a silicone based grease also.

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Shark said:
Petrolium jelly will probably eat the o rings I would suggest using a silicone based lubricant like Nyojel or dow corning silicone lubes.

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Hmm, ok, thanks for the advice Shark, any ideas on where I might be able to find stuff like Nyojel? Just about any typical hardware store, or do I have to look for some specialty store? Mind you, we don't have Radio Shack over here, but there might be some equivalent but not as comprehensive as Radio Shack...

Do not use Vasoline or similar products. Go to Radio Shack and purchase their $4 tube of general all-purpose lube and use that.

I wonder, greatly; why everyone seems to place such great store in the longevity of the supplied O-rings in their lights.

Lowes, Home Depot, and others, have splendid quality O-rings of every conceivable size and thickness for any light. At minimal cost.

I think by the time any of the O-rings in my collection fade away, I will have replaced the lights anyway.

Ther is someone selling Nyojel in the BST non lights section of this forum that is were I got mine. But then again you should be able to get a silicone based grease at a hardware store also.

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JohnK said:
I think by the time any of the O-rings in my collection fade away, I will have replaced the lights anyway.

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You're probably right JohnK, but then again, prevention is always better than cure, no? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Hmm, spend a nickel on a new o-ring, or spend $25 buying expensive lube?

I'll take the inexpensive o-ring for a nickel and inexpensive Brinkmann o-ring lube for $4 please.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

No offense but if you ask me that brinkman lube is the expensive lube for 4 bucks you get a tube about twice the size of my thumb nail. I would guess it would take about 10 of those tubes to fill 1 film canister that the nyogel comes in.
Just my opinion.

Also there is more reason to lube than just keeping the o ring from wearing out it keeps the rings from squeeking keeps the action of movement smooth and helps the waterproofing of the light.

O-Rings should be lubricated with a silicone grease obtainable in the plumbing departments of most hardware stores. Around $1.95 per tube or container.

DO NOT LUBRICATE O-RINGS WITH PETROLIUM BASED LUBRICANTS!

Remove the O-Ring from the flashlight. Clean the O-Ring and the grove on the flashlight. Apply a SMALL amount of silicone grease between your thumb and finger. Rub the grease around until there are no gobs of grease. Pick up the O-Ring and rub it between your thumb and finger until the O-Ring is shiny with the lube. Install the O-Ring on the flashlight

If you use too much grease, the chance of water entering the flashlight is increased.

The above applies wherever O-Rings are used, and I have installed thousands without incident.

Olympus Scope Silicone Oil,
Great stuff, kinda sticky but works well. This is how to get some, go to a hospital and find their scope storage (colonoscopes etc) there is a little bottle of that stuff that lubricates the valves and things on the scope.
Millions of butts have been "exposed" to this stuff with no problems. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smoker5.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif I think any type of o-ring lubricant should work.

jtivat is the one selling nyelube...

it's great stuff!
i only got mine recently, but i've spent hours carefully and lovingly relubing all my lights.

also, depending on what kind of nyelube you get, there is one kind that he sells that should be used for threading when they accomplish electrical contact. like the arc aaa or ls. also, using this in between batteries and such will prevent oxidation, resulting in less resistance.

at $16 for both...it's a great deal! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

So, silicone based grease for o-rings, what about the threads...any suggestions ?

You can use silicon grease for both the threads and o-rings. I personally use the Nye, but I've found things like Radio Shack's lubes to be just as effective.

If you want to get technical, you should put electrically conductive grease on the threads (like Nye 758G), but it's not necessary...

Contrary to some sentiments, there are some o-rings that really do require you to keep it well lubricated, including especially, dive lights... My UKLC100 definately sees a ton of lubrication, as well as my 10X's rings and my Trek EX60...

Petro-based lube is fine for synthetic o-rings; it's only problematic on rubber ones, but since silicone covers all bases it's preferred.

Brightnorm

My SF manual specifically says not to use petro-based lubes and to use silicone based.

I think it's more than just preserving the o-rings. The lube will eventually migrate to the conductive areas of the light. Electrically conductive lubricant is highly recommended for this purpose (tailcaps). Non conductive lubricant can be used for the bezel end.

A very thin layer should be applied to the o-ring, not the threads as too much lube will migrate and build up elsewhere. More isn't better in this case as the o-ring seals the light from water, not the lube. If you use too much grease, it could leak.

O-Rings compress and fill the cavity in which they reside. This makes the seal between the parts. If applied properly,(see my post above)the silicone grease helps the O-ring make the seal.