Quark Mini AA Help.

Edro · Aug 8, 2011

Hi, I have a 1xAA Mini that works well; except for the threads. This is a twisty light but recently when I twist the light to turn on the force required to twist is getting harder. So much so that I can no longer twist it on with one hand. I cleaned the threads and o-ring a little while ago, and that helped a little but the problem back. The light is not abused and the threads and o-ring appear to be in good condition.

Not sure what to do as I think it's the o-ring and/or last couple of threads.

If there's a liquid or product you recommend to apply, please be specific on the product and where to get it. Or if there's a method and product to clean it to get the twisty to be smooth and easy to turn again I would appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.

bansuri · Aug 8, 2011

Has it been accidentally compressed?(smashed)
They're very thin so it wouldn't take much.
If you have calipers or a micrometer you could check iif it is out of round.
Try it without the o-ring and see if the resistance is still present.

jorn · Aug 8, 2011

Check the spring. I think yours may coil on top of itself so the + button of the battery is sticking out of the tube when fully compressed. This prevent the tube to make the negative contact with the driverboard. And it gets really hard to twist at the end ( spring is fully compressed and now you crush the battery and/driver). The light is tiny so the tolerances are small. I had to cut 1 mm of the base of the spring on two of my minis to make them work without this issue with aw14500. One tiny snip did all the difference. Never had a issue after. If it's easy to tighten all the way wihtout a battery, then you use a too long battery, and/or the spring coils on top of itself when fully compressed.

DFiorentino · Aug 8, 2011

If you cleaned the threads/o-ring and haven't (re)applied any lubricant, that can cause difficulty. I've used NyoGel for the past decade or so with no complaints.

-DF

Edro · Aug 8, 2011

Thanks for the feedback.

bansuri, I do not believe it's been damaged or out of round. It's pretty well cared for. When I screw the head on, it screws in fine with little resistance, until the end. It's that last bit that I'm having issues with. I'll check without the o-ring though. Thanks.

jorn, I'll have to examine the light a bit more and see if that's the problem. Thanks.

DFiorentino, I have not ever applied/reapplied lubricant. Thanks for this info as I think that might be the culprit. Where do you get / or recommend getting NyoGel?

DFiorentino · Aug 8, 2011

http://www.lighthound.com/search.asp?keyword=nyogel&search=GO

You can probably find it elsewhere, for possibly cheaper, but I'm personally fond of lighthound.com. They carry the larger sizes which are sometimes more difficult to find at a reasonable price. You don't need much, but I have over 200 flashlights and am constantly modding lights, so I (or should I say my flashlights) go through my share of lube.

-DF

kadinh · Aug 8, 2011

bansuri said:
Try it without the o-ring and see if the resistance is still present.

This is what i would try. my quark 123*2 was quite hard to twist, then i saw that the o-ring was coming off and getting stuck in the threads.

jorn · Aug 8, 2011

If it's no problem to fully tighten the head without a battery installed, then the spring is the problem, or your batteries are longer than normal alkalines. I'm sure about that. The 14500 I use are longer than normal alkalines, and 2 of my mini's acted just like you explain berore i cut off a mm of the spring. Test the treads with no battery in the light. If it's good. the problem is not the treads, o-ring or lube, but you are crushing your driver and battery. If so, dont use force, you might break the driverboard.

Edro · Aug 9, 2011

I tested the light without the battery. Still the same issue.
I also tried it without the o-ring...and no more resistance. Cleaned the o-ring and applied a little metal lube I had around to hold me over until I get some NyoGel...it's better but not quite there. I think a full cleaning is in order and adding some NyoGel; we'll see if that gets the twist back to feeling smooth again.

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

matt4270 · Aug 9, 2011

I use a drop or two of Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil on my threads. After an oil change, I turn the bottles upside down for a day or so, then empty the caps into an oil dropper bottle I bought from a hardware store. I've been doing this for about 15 years, and have never had it deteriorate the O-rings or anything like that.

davecroft · Sep 1, 2011

I had exactly the same problem as kadinh - o ring was getting trapped between head and body whenever I screwed the head down. The head should have ridden over the o ring but it didn't, just pushed it down and trapped it against the body. Looked like the ring was either too large or too fat, but the spare was exactly the same size. Not sure why this happened - it was a brand new light. I can't see the head or body being the problem - the machinery used to form the aluminium must be set to very close tolerances. So it must have been the o rings. I wonder if 4sevens changed supplier or something and are being sent wrong sized rings? Maybe their o ring supplier has rubbish QC and different sizes are getting mixed together? Either way it seems to not be an isolated issue. Maybe 4sevens should do some sample checks of o ring supplies?

TwitchALot · Sep 1, 2011

davecroft said:
I had exactly the same problem as kadinh - o ring was getting trapped between head and body whenever I screwed the head down. The head should have ridden over the o ring but it didn't, just pushed it down and trapped it against the body. Looked like the ring was either too large or too fat, but the spare was exactly the same size. Not sure why this happened - it was a brand new light. I can't see the head or body being the problem - the machinery used to form the aluminium must be set to very close tolerances. So it must have been the o rings. I wonder if 4sevens changed supplier or something and are being sent wrong sized rings? Maybe their o ring supplier has rubbish QC and different sizes are getting mixed together? Either way it seems to not be an isolated issue. Maybe 4sevens should do some sample checks of o ring supplies?

This was a "previous" issue with some runs of 4Sevens lights - all of a sudden there were o-ring sizing issues and squished rings and all sorts of stuff. I don't know what the deal is or if they've fixed the problem (or if it's QC slips), but I haven't heard of the problem lately.

Quark Mini AA Help.

Edro

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bansuri

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jorn

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DFiorentino

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Edro

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Edro

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