I bought XTAR branded grease from Ali and was wondering if there was any way to check the quality of the grease by performing some kind of test. Or anything to look out for after long time use.
I will apply the grease first to some of my cheaper zoomie flashlights to check the quality.
I am afraid if the grease will negatively impact the current flow as the threads are used to complete the circuit. I don’t have access to many of the lubricants that are recommended here.
Thanks
There is no information about the chemical formulation, but silicone greases are a dielectric, they are non-conductive and wouldn’t be used to carry current.
In addition silicone will off-gas and ruin an optical surface; it will coat the surface and can not be cleaned. That might be the dome of an emitter, the surface of a reflector or cover.
In the ad it mentions use of this in “glare flashlights”, whatever that is, maybe to diffuse the beam?
One of the reviews mentioned that the back of the package has a note that it is intended for lanterns only.
The only difference I’ve found between silicone greases is the “thickness”. Thinner greases have a tendency to weep out of the threads and onto the tailcap etc.
I’ve had success with a similar looking pot of Nitecore branded grease, though my go-to is a tube of Superlube grease (I can’t recall which flavour).
Cheaper silicone grease in the metal tube (I got mine from a auto-parts place) has been much thinner and tended to ‘run’.
Edit to add: This topic comes up fairly regularly, links in approximate order, old to new, I recommend starting with the one from 2022:
Please recommend a flashlight grease for dummies (ie me) 1/13/2012
Thread oil/grease for non-anodized threads? 11/06/2017
Grease Is The Word. 12/27/2019
Silicone grease for torches, which is the best? 9/25/2020
Thanks for the reply, I will check the grease on a glass surface to check if it actually contains any silicone. I need to look into dielectrics more as I am a bit confused about the property. I was almost certain that the body of the host is used to complete the circuit.
The mention of “Lanterns” is a translation issue as it actually says flashlights. I am guessing the “glare” is also a translation issue.
Thanks, I also found the Nitecore tub but shipping charge was higher than the product so decided against it.
The thickness is good in my grease, not runny at all. But now I am wondering if I bought some tubs of petroleum jelly from China 
Likely.
Usually the end faces of the battery tube are silicon free to make contact.
I tried silicone grease in a tube from AliExpress. I used it on a swimming pool chlorinator, which has a giant O-ring. It seemed to gum up and did not offer a lot of lubricity.
It was ok for flashlights, but I much prefer and now only use Danco 88693P. It is readily available in local hardware stores, Home Depot and Amazon sometimes has a great deal on it.
Thanks for the reply, my grease also seems to get dark as soon as I applied it. I used alcohol wipes to clean the threads beforehand, but still the grease turned grey after application.
I live outside the US, but will check my local hardware stores for Danco
Ah yes, plumbing grease. Saves you having to faucet.
Do you recommend Danco plumbing grease for flashlights?
Also outside of the USA don’t know of it. I use Superlube (I think the “synthetic grease” variety) its pretty cheap for a tube. Bought mine from Amazon or ebay in the UK.
The grease doesn’t know I’m putting it on a flashlight. It sees there are treads and thinks it is a piece of pipe.
vaseline - I’ve been using it on mtb suspension seals, o rings etc for years. I don’t bother with silicone grease anymore. I think it’s based on pure mineral oil (think unscented baby oil).
I had the same problem in Australia and ended up find Krytox grease (someone recommended it in another thread) on Ebay. It wasn’t cheap (about AUD$20 delivered) but that came via DHL from Germany! It’s only a very small tub but should last a long time. Here’s the link Krytox GPL 205 Grade 2 From Chemours 4270002821514 | eBay
All the Superlube varieties got very confusing as the part numbers/ names seemed to be different locally and it was also expensive (but admittedly you got more quantity.)
Industrial-grade greases like Krytox and Molykote (Dow-Corning) 111 aren’t cheap, and probably overkill for these applications.
I have some of the Xtar-branded grease, but also the Danco plumbing grease, which like Super Lube, is cheap and readily available in the U.S.
For those in the US: Mountain Electronics stocked silicon grease for flashlights. Ordered it along with some drivers and am quite pleased with it.
Hope they get it back.
[quote=poohduck]
vaseline - I’ve been using it on mtb suspension seals, o rings etc for years. I don’t bother with silicone grease anymore. I think it’s based on pure mineral oil (think unscented baby oil).[/quote
I was under the impression that Vaseline would make O rings swell because its petroleum based.
Nothing can beat the value of my 3 oz Motorcraft XG-12 (rebranded Nyogel 760G) which I bought from RockAuto for only $9 USD!
no, it’s safe. All suspension greases (or most of them) are petroleum based. Mineral oil (baby oil) is just mineral oil with no additives. It’s the additives in automotive oil and greases that are the problem. Suspension oils are also mostly petroleum based - some high end stuff is synthetic.
Vaseline will be no problem! Nitrile o-rings (the typical back rubber type) are designed to be used with hydraulic oil, amongst other things, which is petroleum based. In the hydraulics industry we often use white petroleum jelly to hold o-rings in awkward spots until the mating part can be assembled.