Silicone Lubricant

I've been looking for silicone lubricant at Home Depot and an auto parts store but no one seems to have heard of it. I got some stuff for light bulb threads that contains silicone. What's the stuff that comes on the Arcs and where do I get it?

hey,
just to add to that question....can i use cork grease. Thats the grease that saxophonists use to lubricate the cork to fit in the mouthpiece.

Save yourself a bunch of time and money. Go to Radio Shack and pay $4 for the tube of General Purpose Lube. That one tube will last a lifetime and allow to save $$$ to put towards your LS4.

Try Radio Shack - Multi-Purpose Lube Gel. Part No. 64-2326.
It's about $3, and will lube a lot of Arcs.
Dave

We must have been typing the same thing at the same time Dave.

The Radio Shack Lube Gel DaveT mentioned was one Peter Gransee said was perfectly fine. Good enough for Mr. Gransee, good enough for me.....so I bought some and use it, works fine.

Just a little bit on the o-ring is all you need, wipe the excess off the threads.
mike

[ QUOTE ]
yam said:
The Radio Shack Lube Gel DaveT mentioned was one Peter Gransee said was perfectly fine. Good enough for Mr. Gransee, good enough for me.....so I bought some and use it, works fine.

Just a little bit on the o-ring is all you need, wipe the excess off the threads.
mike

[/ QUOTE ]

I checked the ingredients. Among others: "10-20% petroleum hydrocarbens, 7-10% fumed silica". I seem to recall that ARC's o-rings were synthetic and unaffected by petrochemicals. Perhaps that is why Peter uses LubeGel to no ill effect, and I'm concerned that it may still be harmful to natural rubber o-rings.

Brightnorm

RADIOSHACK LUBE GEL INGREDIENTS

.

brightnorm,

Your right, anything with a petroleum base would cause problems for natural rubber o-rings. You are also correct about Arc's o-rings..I think they are Nitrile. I seem to recall Peter even said his Arc's are ok using plain old Vaseline.

But your right, you would want to be sure of what your o-rings are made of before using the Radio Shack Lube Gel. Although, I'm not sure natural rubber o-rings are used much any more.

mike

Brinkman has O-Ring lubricant for $3.95 with free shipping.
http://www.thebrinkmanncorp.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=8&Product_ID=309&CATID=2

Don't use cork grease!

Any auto-parts store should have spark plug boot lubricant that is 100 percent silicone. Use that if you want. It's the right stuff and it's cheap and available in small quantities.

Here's a cut and paste from a couple of my other threads:

"I've had really good luck with Loctite Silicone lubricant, a 100% silicone grease. It really made a difference in my lights that twist on and off and seal with o-rings. It's the only thing that works on my Pelican that will not freeze it up. I got mine at Enco, www.use-enco.com

Part # 505-1181. It was $10.07 for a large 5.3 oz. tube."


Great stuff plus you'll get on the Enco mailing list. Lots of cool tools and machine accessories.

Eric

hey js,
is it bad if i use cork grease? will it damage my arc?

I finally managed to find some silicone grease just the other day... They're much harder to find over here, most hardware stores don't carry them. Guess I got lucky when I walked into a diving shop to look at the UK lights they were carrying, and managed to pick up a small jar for approx. $4! You might check out dive shops as well if you can't find them elsewhere.

I have to admit that the bezel on my UK 2L turns so much smoother and better now... all the o-rings on all my lights have since been introduced to 'Mr Silicone'. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I use pure silicone grease made from "saratoga", an US brand. It is perfect, specially with PTs... and I find it in specialized hardware store.


Anthony

Gunk Makes a Plumber's Silicone Grease. Just check the plumber department at any hardware store /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
Gunk Silicone Grease

BT1324,

Cork grease will not damage your Arc, but you should get a grease
that is designed for electrical connections, and cork grease
definitely does not fall into that category. Who knows? It might
work fine, but if I were you I'd take the time to get any of the
recommendations in this thread.

I use CRC Di-Electric Grease (No. 05105 for a 3.3oz can) It is for electrical contacts, spark plugs, and fasteners. I bought it as Pep Boys (an Auto Parts store). Gives the Arc AAA a smooth feel. I use it on the threads a on the ends of the battery.