# Petroleum jelly... yay or nay?



## Knight of Myth (Oct 24, 2008)

After doing a search of the forums on the subject, I came up with many results. Some claimed that one should only use a silicone based lubricant, while others swore by petroleum jelly saying that had used it on their lights for years with no problems. So is this a safe solution for o-rings and threads? If it matters, the lights I have are a Fenix L0D-CE, and a SureFire G2.


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## Cuso (Oct 24, 2008)

Knight of Myth said:


> After doing a search of the forums on the subject, I came up with many results. Some claimed that one should only use a silicone based lubricant, while others swore by petroleum jelly saying that had used it on their lights for years with no problems. So is this a safe solution for o-rings and threads? If it matters, the lights I have are a Fenix L0D-CE, and a SureFire G2.


Nay, try not to be cheap and grab some Nyogel or Krytox, its what the real flashlight pros use for thread/o-ring lube, Pro-gold for contacts..:thumbsup:


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## lumenal (Oct 24, 2008)

Definite nay - petroleum based lubes can cause o-ring disintegration. :thumbsdow


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## KiwiMark (Oct 24, 2008)

Knight of Myth said:


> while others swore by petroleum jelly saying that had used it on their lights for years with no problems. So is this a safe solution for o-rings and threads?



Well I have heard that petroleum jelly is a no-no for use with condoms because it can weaken the latex. O-Rings in torches are some kind of rubber, I guess it comes down to whether the O-Rings are made of oil-resistant rubber or not. Personally I wouldn't risk it.


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## carbine15 (Oct 25, 2008)

Petroleum jelly will slowly eat away and weaken cheap o rings. Quality o-rings (especially silicone o-rings) are impervious to it's effects.


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## ChocolateLab33 (Oct 25, 2008)

Use Nyogel-good stuff from lighthound.com


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## RocketTomato (Oct 25, 2008)

You do not want to use Silicone based oils on silicone o-rings. I just wrote about this in a related thread:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2671180&postcount=33

I think the best combination for aluminum is nyogel on the threads, and krytox on the o-rings. You can use krytox on the threads also, but I personally don't like to since it works to well and makes the threads very loose and slippery. On titanium lights, however, I use krytox on both the threads and the o-rings.


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## Marduke (Oct 25, 2008)

Petroleum jelly will not eat away modern o-rings, as they are no longer made of untreated pure natural rubber, and are more often silicon anyhow.

Petroleum jelly can still be a little sticky, but it works okay, and is definitely better than using nothing.

A good silicon lube is still best, but that's not to say petroleum won't work satisfactorily too.


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## jumpstat (Oct 25, 2008)

Nyogel for aluminium threaded lights and Krytox for Titanium threaded lights. You only need a tube which will last you for ages unless you have >100 lights.....


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## StarHalo (Oct 25, 2008)

Petroleum jelly melts at higher temperatures, which means it basically will start dripping out of the joint. Good luck explaining to people why your entire flashlight is coated in Vaseline :green:


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## dudemar (Oct 25, 2008)

The Mag "instruction manual" recommends using petroleum jelly... probably one of the few instances I've used it.


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## Patriot (Oct 25, 2008)

The Nyogel is great and if you need a cheap convenient alternative, Ace Hardware sells little cans of clear silicone grease.







It's not as good as Nyogel, but way better than Petroleum jelly.


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## Hondo (Oct 25, 2008)

I started using it per the Mag instructions that came with my mini-mag in about 1980. I have yet to find an O-ring on one of my (MANY) lights that has reacted negatively to the stuff. I still have that mini-mag (modded), with the original O-rings, and because of one of these threads, I recently removed the rings to inspect, and they were fine, so I reinstalled them, with more petroleum jelly, and it is still going strong after more than 25 years.

I hate the feel of that silicone grease on my fingers, and it is too viscous for many of my lights, but I use it if I want more friction in the threads. If that is not enough, I wrap teflon tape around the threads.


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## HoopleHead (Oct 25, 2008)

nay.


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## tx101 (Oct 25, 2008)

Play safe and use a Silicon based lube


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## carbine15 (Oct 25, 2008)

Hondo said:


> ... if I want more friction in the threads. If that is not enough, I wrap teflon tape around the threads.


+1:twothumbs


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## Illumination (Oct 25, 2008)

StarHalo said:


> Petroleum jelly melts at higher temperatures, which means it basically will start dripping out of the joint. Good luck explaining to people why your entire flashlight is coated in Vaseline :green:



OUCH!

That's funny.


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## Bonky (Oct 25, 2008)

all petroleum-based products will eventually eat away other petroleum based products they're in contact with. BUT unless you keep your light for 75 years I doubt it's gonna be of much concern.


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## Illum (Oct 25, 2008)

Knight of Myth said:


> while others swore by petroleum jelly saying that had used it on their lights for years with no problems.



the thing is though, by the time there is a _visual _difference to those o-rings thats already too late. the "others" you speak of probably never had to use their lights in watertight areas to realize that once the surface of the o-rings becomes bumpy water resistance is reduced and unless your hands are very good at feeling texture you may never tell the difference between a good o-ring and a disintegrated o-ring until it actually starts falling apart.

I first learned by lesson lubing up the pressure washer...man those will leak water at the slight gap wherever o-rings are presentoo:

nay, if you don't have nyogel you can do temporarily with white lithium grease...I wouldn't recommend it as a long term solution...even though Inova representatives seem to swear by it:green:

if it touches water, it'll cake. If it gets heated by a hot light running too long, prepare to do a little scraping to remove it



StarHalo said:


> Petroleum jelly melts at higher temperatures, which means it basically will start dripping out of the joint. Good luck explaining to people why your entire flashlight is coated in Vaseline :green:



I'm sure Cutlerylover and a couple other members will have their share of testimonials about how great petrol jelly on cotton balls make for quick tinder to start fires with:thumbsup:. Thankfully though, flashlights don't usually achieve such temperatures. I do recall however seeing vaseline "seep" out from threads, I was at the time converting a friends Mag3D into a mag85 and didn't realize before hand that both the tail and the bezel threads was coated by this stuff:shakehead


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## LumensMaximus (Oct 25, 2008)

Found a new can of Dupont teflon silicone lube in the garage, I'm guessing just as good as everything else?



tx101 said:


> Play safe and use a Silicon based lube


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## isneyk (Oct 25, 2008)

carbine15 said:


> Hondo said:
> 
> 
> > I want more friction in the threads. If that is not enough, I wrap teflon tape around the threads.
> ...



+1 
I use these too for threads but a lot say its not for waterproofing tho, but when used for water pipes & faucets to seal off leaks, it works!? Im confused... 
But for o-rings I use silicone as stated on SF maintenance instructions.


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## csshih (Oct 25, 2008)

on the other hand, if you use petro to oil a rubiks cube, it will disintegrate slowly 

who knows what happens to O-rings?
definite nay.


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## RocketTomato (Oct 26, 2008)

Marduke said:


> Petroleum jelly will not eat away modern o-rings, as they are no longer made of untreated pure natural rubber, and are more often silicon anyhow.


 
I agree with the first part of your sentence but not the second.  Petroleum jelly is not ok for silicone based o-rings either.

The most common o-ring material is Buna-N which is a nitrile based rubber which is resistant to petroleum based oils. Other common materials are EPDM (another rubber type o-ring), Silicone (red-orange color) and Polyurethane (clear white color). The only lubricants compatible with all of these materials are perfluorinated, teflon type lubricants like Krytox. Silicone based lubricants are a close second and are compatible with all the aforementioned materials except for silicone.

But don't take my word for it. Look up o-ring chemical compatibility on google. Here is a link to the makers of Nyogel, Nye lubricants, which discusses chemical compatibility. Examine the lower left table. Note, perfluoropolyethers are Teflon like compounds, Buna-N is a.k.a. nitrile and the nyogels 779 and 760 are synthetic hydrocarbon based gels.

In reality though, for our use in flashlights, it probably really does not matter what you use, as long as you use something. Chemical compatibility becomes much more important in higher temperature and pressure processes encountered in industry. However, I suspect for o-rings that are actuated constantly, like the ones used in the popular piston drive lights, it becomes more important to use the correct lubricant.


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## rtt (Oct 26, 2008)

I came across the following article. Click the link to see what they recommend for lubrication of o-rings in underwater cameras.

http://www.camerasunderwater.info/articles/maint.html


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## KiwiMark (Nov 2, 2008)

OK, so I now have a tube of Nyogel and I am lubing my threads & O-Rings.

My Fenix has black O-Rings - probably nitrile based rubber? I have lubed the threads and O-Rings on that.

My Olight has clear/white O-Rings - probably polyurethane? I have also used the Nyogel on that.

My Maglites have black O-Rings and I am about to use the Nyogel on them.

But my Jetbeam has orangy red coloured O-Rings - probably silicone? I think I am going to avoid using the Nyogel on that torch. I don't want to use it on the threads because it may get spread to the O-Rings and I would rather not risk it. So I should hunt for some Krytox or similar I suppose. Are there cheaper types of grease I might be able to find in a local hardware store - I would only be looking at using it on my Jetbeam (1 now, 2 on order) with their silicone O-Rings.


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## RA40 (Nov 2, 2008)

O-rings are reasonable so I would think that beyond a lubricant, after X time users will change them out for fresh ones. If you have a twisty, it is a sure bet that after so many on-off cycles, it will be minutely worn and stretched. Hard way to find out is on a damp/wet instance where water causes a failure.

Finding a wet puddle in the sink cabinet taught a hard lesson about how expensive it is compared to a $.75 O-ring replacement for the faucet.


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## Sgt. LED (Nov 2, 2008)

YAY

Better than no lube at all.


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## KiwiMark (Nov 2, 2008)

RA40 said:


> O-rings are reasonable so I would think that beyond a lubricant, after X time users will change them out for fresh ones. If you have a twisty, it is a sure bet that after so many on-off cycles, it will be minutely worn and stretched.



None of my lights need to be twisted to be turned on or off. I sometimes twist the Maglites to focus them, but they aren't being twisted all that much. By lubing the threads I add another line of defence to make it harder for water to get inside the torch. I don't use my torches for diving so they don't generally need to keep out water under pressure.


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## RocketTomato (Nov 13, 2008)

KiwiMark said:


> OK, so I now have a tube of Nyogel and I am lubing my threads & O-Rings.
> 
> My Fenix has black O-Rings - probably nitrile based rubber? I have lubed the threads and O-Rings on that.
> 
> ...



I've used this teflon oil from Radio shack on my Silicone o-rings.

I also have some Krytox that I have used. It's more expensive but works well.


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## D-Dog (Nov 13, 2008)

I have used Nyogel for close to 2 years now and only have good to say about it. When I tried using cheap Vaseline on my Jil Intelli's o-ring (orange so I presume silicon?) the ring expanded and essentially became useless (I let it dry for a day and it returned to normal  ). I have never had this problem with the Nyogel and have used it on a Fenix, my Jil, among other common household lights such as Mags.


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