Flashlight winterization?

This weekend I'm going to sit down with all my lights and get them ready for winter. This is going to be a cold and wet one this year. I've a big tube of lithium grease that should do the trick, has anyone used Nyogel? If it can handle temperature extremes (not much here in Texas) I'd like to try it out.

chiphead

I use Nyogel 779ZC, however I only started using it this summer. We'll see how it fares, we're already below 0C here in the mornings and evenings.

chiphead said:

This weekend I'm going to sit down with all my lights and get them ready for winter. This is going to be a cold and wet one this year. I've a big tube of lithium grease that should do the trick, has anyone used Nyogel? If it can handle temperature extremes (not much here in Texas) I'd like to try it out.

chiphead

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Hi Chip!

I don't know what temperature extremes your referring to, up in Canada where I live we see from 105 (40 celsius) to -31 (-35 celsius). I use Nyogel on all my lights (as does Surefire I believe) and it works great. It is certainly more viscous in the winter than in the summer however it seems to work very well.

I don't know what your looking for exactly, but my understanding is that in parts of Texas it can be very sandy, lubrication like Nyogel with sand in it can act exactly like emory cloth on your threads, it can destroy them. You can leave a little more on portions where you arn't often changing it (thus its not exposed to contaminates) like heads where you leave one bulb or LED in all the time and it just remains sealed down. On the contrary threads which are often exposed to the air: switches removed for battery changes or even twisty switches where thread becomes exposed for on off can be a bad thing. Lubricate the "O" rings and minimal amount on the threads themself, clean them often.

Really, winterizing should be like any other flashlight maintenance clean the threads and re-lube with a little lube! Nyogel is great!

Stephen

Lithium batteries would always be the primary part of my winterization. They work best in freezing temperatures. Best if you can keep the whole unit warm as possible though- when away from home, I recommend storing them in a Rolls Royce with the heater on. A Rolls heater is particularly suited to the task.

Troop#26 said:

Hi Chip!

I don't know what temperature extremes your referring to, up in Canada where I live we see from 105 (40 celsius) to -31 (-35 celsius). I use Nyogel on all my lights (as does Surefire I believe) and it works great. It is certainly more viscous in the winter than in the summer however it seems to work very well.

I don't know what your looking for exactly, but my understanding is that in parts of Texas it can be very sandy, lubrication like Nyogel with sand in it can act exactly like emory cloth on your threads, it can destroy them. You can leave a little more on portions where you arn't often changing it (thus its not exposed to contaminates) like heads where you leave one bulb or LED in all the time and it just remains sealed down. On the contrary threads which are often exposed to the air: switches removed for battery changes or even twisty switches where thread becomes exposed for on off can be a bad thing. Lubricate the "O" rings and minimal amount on the threads themself, clean them often.

Really, winterizing should be like any other flashlight maintenance clean the threads and re-lube with a little lube! Nyogel is great!

Stephen

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During the summer the issues high humidity, like a rain forest sometimes! I've some of my Surefire lamps had oxididation on the metal. And then there's the grit, the winds can keep up some. But the winter it's the humidity and fogging of the outside lens surface. But I've got the fogging issues licked!

chiphead

Mr Bigglow said:

Lithium batteries would always be the primary part of my winterization. They work best in freezing temperatures. Best if you can keep the whole unit warm as possible though- when away from home, I recommend storing them in a Rolls Royce with the heater on. A Rolls heater is particularly suited to the task.

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Sounds good, but all I've got is Dodge Dakota? Last year was my first winter with lithium ion cells and temps down in the low 40s. They worked like a charm!

chiphead

chiphead said:

Sounds good, but all I've got is Dodge Dakota? Last year was my first winter with lithium ion cells and temps down in the low 40s. They worked like a charm!

chiphead

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"Low 40s"? You mean +40s? Why that ain't cold, it's not chilly, it's not even brisk! We Canadians still have the bathroom window wide open at that termperature!

Anyway, the Rolls is an ideal. My Honda does the job too, just not as comfy-like.

And here's a late-breaking thought: in the military, they state that all weapons should be completely unlubed in low temperatures. I mean Canadian-cold.

I'll look that nyogel up, living in Canada I can see I'm going to need some in order to keep my Commander operational. Can you buy the stuff anywhere?

At my job we store around 20 cans of No-Ox-Id so needless to say that's where my supply originates. I have been using it for the past 1.5 with no complaints.

chiphead said:

Last year was my first winter with lithium ion cells and temps down in the low 40s. They worked like a charm!

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That's not cold....that's t-shirt and shorts weather to a Canadian

Black Rose said:

That's not cold....that's t-shirt and shorts weather to a Canadian

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Ya, 40F is like 4C, we've had lower than that at night and it's only Oct

I'm thinking I'll have to give up my Li-ions for the winter but I'll run them until I notice a big difference in performance. I use Nyogel on my lights and didn't notice any issues last winter. I stopped using the thicker 779ZC on the o-rings of my twisties and just use the 760G for both the threads and o-rings as the cold would make things a little stiffer.

Again speaking as a Canadian (funny how so many of us turned up on a thread with 'winter' in the title) it has further occurred to me to suggest adding a lanyard to a flashlight for the cold months. This will not only prevent it being dropped and lost in the snow, but will also allow it to be worn around the neck and kept warm and easily available when wearing outer layers and mittens, etc. When in use, the lanyard can be kept around the neck, around the wrist, or fastened to the tabs etc usually available on the outside of a serious parka.

Especially if worn around the neck, a lanyard should always have a safety break-away feature, either a commercial one or one added with something like shrink tubing (make sure it's indeed weak; I once made one that turned out stronger than the cord used), by tying in a rubber O ring, or (the handy sailor's option) by splicing in a short length of fishing line with a known breaking strength.

Good points on the lanyard! I will use that o-ring idea for sure.

I like to use vacuum grease in my lights which is a bit slower at actual winter temps but manageable for me. I also pull the lithium cells out of the lights in the cars and put fresh ones in. Older cells go into my EDC.

Please note that there has been an extensive grease & lube discussion in the Comprehensive Grease and Lube Thread.

I now have to go change the summer air in my tires to the the winter air.

My .02 FWIW YMMV