[john west]

Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

[Andy Burns[_13_]]

john west wrote:

What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance

Graphite powder?

[Bob Henson[_2_]]

Chris Hogg wrote:

On Thu, 30 Nov 2017 09:57:05 +0000, john west
wrote:

Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Graphite powder? E.G. https://tinyurl.com/ybnmkz36 But perhaps simpler
would be to rub the thread with a soft lead pencil such as a 4B or
softer.

That also works a treat on the thread of Edison Screw light bulbs/spots so
that when you come to take them out they don't jam up and break in your
hands. But then I'll bet all the D-I-Yers have been doing that for some
time.

--
Bob
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's intolerance.

[Martin Brown[_2_]]

On 30/11/2017 09:57, john west wrote:
Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Graphite or MoS2 - both are black powders.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

[newshound]

On 30/11/2017 11:09, Martin Brown wrote:
On 30/11/2017 09:57, john west wrote:
Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Graphite or MoS2 - both are black powders.

Big fan of moly myself on screws (especially things like lead screws),
but I didn't think it was a conductor like graphite.

The other thing I would suggest is one of the "Copaslip" type greases
often used on disk brakes. These contain copper powder. Anti-seize
thread lubricants used in other more difficult environments contain
finely powdered nickel, but not worth looking for unless you can blag a
smear from an existing user.

I'd personally suggest a mineral oil product rather than a dry lubricant
on aluminium because it will help to prevent corrosion if it is a torch
which regularly gets wet.

Moly grease needs to be used very sparingly, it doesn't come out of
clothes. DAMHIK.

[Chris Green]

newshound wrote:
On 30/11/2017 11:09, Martin Brown wrote:
On 30/11/2017 09:57, john west wrote:
Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Graphite or MoS2 - both are black powders.

Big fan of moly myself on screws (especially things like lead screws),
but I didn't think it was a conductor like graphite.

The other thing I would suggest is one of the "Copaslip" type greases
often used on disk brakes. These contain copper powder. Anti-seize
thread lubricants used in other more difficult environments contain
finely powdered nickel, but not worth looking for unless you can blag a
smear from an existing user.

I'd personally suggest a mineral oil product rather than a dry lubricant
on aluminium because it will help to prevent corrosion if it is a torch
which regularly gets wet.

Moly grease needs to be used very sparingly, it doesn't come out of
clothes. DAMHIK.

Surely (going back to OP) the 'right' thing to use would be one of the
specialist contact lubricants. I'm not at all convinced that graphite
is going to help the connection much.

--
Chris Green
·

[Brian Gaff]

Graphite? The problem is probably the oxide in any case. Some torches have a
little finger on the bottom spring that rubs on the inside of the case to
help in this respect.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"john west" wrote in message
news
Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to screw
off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you screw it
on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

[Dennis@home]

On 30/11/2017 09:57, john west wrote:
Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

I doubt if using any old oil will make any difference to the brightness
of the LED.

They will have some sort of voltage booster to run a LED off a single
cell so that will take care of any voltage drop that might occur.

[newshound]

On 30/11/2017 13:54, Chris Green wrote:
newshound wrote:
On 30/11/2017 11:09, Martin Brown wrote:
On 30/11/2017 09:57, john west wrote:
Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Graphite or MoS2 - both are black powders.

Big fan of moly myself on screws (especially things like lead screws),
but I didn't think it was a conductor like graphite.

The other thing I would suggest is one of the "Copaslip" type greases
often used on disk brakes. These contain copper powder. Anti-seize
thread lubricants used in other more difficult environments contain
finely powdered nickel, but not worth looking for unless you can blag a
smear from an existing user.

I'd personally suggest a mineral oil product rather than a dry lubricant
on aluminium because it will help to prevent corrosion if it is a torch
which regularly gets wet.

Moly grease needs to be used very sparingly, it doesn't come out of
clothes. DAMHIK.

Surely (going back to OP) the 'right' thing to use would be one of the
specialist contact lubricants. I'm not at all convinced that graphite
is going to help the connection much.

I'm not sure what contact lubricants contain, but I don't believe they
work by being conductive, rather by providing a cleaning function. Also
reduced friction means that contaminants get removed automatically by a
"wiping" contact. I've never seen any particular evidence in torches of
a problem with contact resistance at threaded joints (except where they
have become severely corroded, and this is obvious by inspection).

[Chris Green]

newshound wrote:
On 30/11/2017 13:54, Chris Green wrote:
newshound wrote:
On 30/11/2017 11:09, Martin Brown wrote:
On 30/11/2017 09:57, john west wrote:
Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Graphite or MoS2 - both are black powders.

Big fan of moly myself on screws (especially things like lead screws),
but I didn't think it was a conductor like graphite.

The other thing I would suggest is one of the "Copaslip" type greases
often used on disk brakes. These contain copper powder. Anti-seize
thread lubricants used in other more difficult environments contain
finely powdered nickel, but not worth looking for unless you can blag a
smear from an existing user.

I'd personally suggest a mineral oil product rather than a dry lubricant
on aluminium because it will help to prevent corrosion if it is a torch
which regularly gets wet.

Moly grease needs to be used very sparingly, it doesn't come out of
clothes. DAMHIK.

Surely (going back to OP) the 'right' thing to use would be one of the
specialist contact lubricants. I'm not at all convinced that graphite
is going to help the connection much.

I'm not sure what contact lubricants contain, but I don't believe they
work by being conductive, rather by providing a cleaning function. Also
reduced friction means that contaminants get removed automatically by a
"wiping" contact. I've never seen any particular evidence in torches of
a problem with contact resistance at threaded joints (except where they
have become severely corroded, and this is obvious by inspection).

Yes, I don't think they *are* conductive, that's not how they're meant
to work. What they do is ensure that the contact surfaces are clean
and make good contact, much more effective than trying to add an extra
layer of something conductive.

--
Chris Green
·

[newshound]

On 30/11/2017 17:03, Chris Green wrote:
newshound wrote:
On 30/11/2017 13:54, Chris Green wrote:
newshound wrote:
On 30/11/2017 11:09, Martin Brown wrote:
On 30/11/2017 09:57, john west wrote:
Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Graphite or MoS2 - both are black powders.

Big fan of moly myself on screws (especially things like lead screws),
but I didn't think it was a conductor like graphite.

The other thing I would suggest is one of the "Copaslip" type greases
often used on disk brakes. These contain copper powder. Anti-seize
thread lubricants used in other more difficult environments contain
finely powdered nickel, but not worth looking for unless you can blag a
smear from an existing user.

I'd personally suggest a mineral oil product rather than a dry lubricant
on aluminium because it will help to prevent corrosion if it is a torch
which regularly gets wet.

Moly grease needs to be used very sparingly, it doesn't come out of
clothes. DAMHIK.

Surely (going back to OP) the 'right' thing to use would be one of the
specialist contact lubricants. I'm not at all convinced that graphite
is going to help the connection much.

I'm not sure what contact lubricants contain, but I don't believe they
work by being conductive, rather by providing a cleaning function. Also
reduced friction means that contaminants get removed automatically by a
"wiping" contact. I've never seen any particular evidence in torches of
a problem with contact resistance at threaded joints (except where they
have become severely corroded, and this is obvious by inspection).

Yes, I don't think they *are* conductive, that's not how they're meant
to work. What they do is ensure that the contact surfaces are clean
and make good contact, much more effective than trying to add an extra
layer of something conductive.

But usually they are meant to hang around on surfaces which move, each
time they are actuated.

[Rob Morley]

On Thu, 30 Nov 2017 09:57:05 +0000
john west wrote:

Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when
you screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Vaseline seems to work just fine, although my flashlights are higher
voltage than yours (1 x 18650 lithium cell @ 3.7V).
If the contact is poor just screw it tight then undo and redo a
quarter turn, a few times to bed it in?

[Rod Speed]

"Bob Henson" wrote in message
...
Chris Hogg wrote:

On Thu, 30 Nov 2017 09:57:05 +0000, john west
wrote:

Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Graphite powder? E.G. https://tinyurl.com/ybnmkz36 But perhaps simpler
would be to rub the thread with a soft lead pencil such as a 4B or
softer.

That also works a treat on the thread of Edison Screw light bulbs/spots so
that when you come to take them out they don't jam up and break in your
hands. But then I'll bet all the D-I-Yers have been doing that for some
time.

I've never bothered and mostly do have ES bulbs and have never had any break
when removing them. Mostly PAR38s tho, massive great heavy glass bulbs.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article ,
john west wrote:
Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Some Brasso or similar on the threads to lap them in then clean off?

--
*Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

[[email protected]]

On Thursday, 30 November 2017 20:31:06 UTC, Rod Speed wrote:
"Bob Henson" wrote in message
...
Chris Hogg wrote:

Graphite powder? E.G. https://tinyurl.com/ybnmkz36 But perhaps simpler
would be to rub the thread with a soft lead pencil such as a 4B or
softer.

That also works a treat on the thread of Edison Screw light bulbs/spots so
that when you come to take them out they don't jam up and break in your
hands. But then I'll bet all the D-I-Yers have been doing that for some
time.

I've never bothered and mostly do have ES bulbs and have never had any break
when removing them. Mostly PAR38s tho, massive great heavy glass bulbs.

very wasteful things

[Bob Henson[_2_]]

Rod Speed wrote:

"Bob Henson" wrote in message
...
Chris Hogg wrote:

On Thu, 30 Nov 2017 09:57:05 +0000, john west
wrote:

Have a small aluminium bodied LED torch that takes a AAA battery.
The aluminium cap on the end with the on/off button is difficult to
screw off and the electrical connection it makes varies a lot when you
screw it on.
What lubrication can i put on the aluminium thread that will *not*
increase the electrical resistance and so dim the LED bulb?

Graphite powder? E.G. https://tinyurl.com/ybnmkz36 But perhaps simpler
would be to rub the thread with a soft lead pencil such as a 4B or
softer.

That also works a treat on the thread of Edison Screw light bulbs/spots so
that when you come to take them out they don't jam up and break in your
hands. But then I'll bet all the D-I-Yers have been doing that for some
time.

I've never bothered and mostly do have ES bulbs and have never had any break
when removing them. Mostly PAR38s tho, massive great heavy glass bulbs.

I have both standard ES bulbs and ES spots. The latter are the worst, but
on both the glass tends to come away completely from the metal base when
they are unscrewed after having been in situ for a long time. As the spots
are set into holders that prevent any access to the sides of the spots it's
very difficult to get any purchase on them to turn them. If the glass comes
away completely you are left with the base firmly embedded in a holder that
can only be reached with long-nosed pliers. That entails turning off the
power for safety and is a long job. You can imagine why I'm keen to
lubricate the threads.

I have to say that the quality of the bulbs available in the UK from all
kinds of sources under different brand names seems very poor to me, they
are very cheap and nasty looking compared with what they were like when I
was a youngster. I'm now switching everything over to LEDs and they seem
much more robust - at the prices we are charged they damn well should be
too. The spots are excellent and as the rest get better and we can get a
bit more light out of some of them I'll be very pleased.

--
Bob
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England

A Smith and Wesson beats four aces.

[NY]

"Bob Henson" wrote in message
...
I have both standard ES bulbs and ES spots. The latter are the worst, but
on both the glass tends to come away completely from the metal base when
they are unscrewed after having been in situ for a long time. As the spots
are set into holders that prevent any access to the sides of the spots
it's
very difficult to get any purchase on them to turn them. If the glass
comes
away completely you are left with the base firmly embedded in a holder
that
can only be reached with long-nosed pliers. That entails turning off the
power for safety and is a long job. You can imagine why I'm keen to
lubricate the threads.

This is the overpowering reason why bayonet is better than screw: there is
less contact surface between bulb and holder, and therefore less chance of
the threaded part of the bulb seizing to the threaded fitting.

The secondary advantage of bayonet is that it is quicker to change a bulb:
press in, 45 degree twist - bulb is released. No need to turn through 360
degrees several times.

And yet US and mainland Europe use screw. Why?

[Bob Henson[_2_]]

NY wrote:

"Bob Henson" wrote in message
...
I have both standard ES bulbs and ES spots. The latter are the worst, but
on both the glass tends to come away completely from the metal base when
they are unscrewed after having been in situ for a long time. As the spots
are set into holders that prevent any access to the sides of the spots
it's
very difficult to get any purchase on them to turn them. If the glass
comes
away completely you are left with the base firmly embedded in a holder
that
can only be reached with long-nosed pliers. That entails turning off the
power for safety and is a long job. You can imagine why I'm keen to
lubricate the threads.

This is the overpowering reason why bayonet is better than screw: there is
less contact surface between bulb and holder, and therefore less chance of
the threaded part of the bulb seizing to the threaded fitting.

The secondary advantage of bayonet is that it is quicker to change a bulb:
press in, 45 degree twist - bulb is released. No need to turn through 360
degrees several times.

And yet US and mainland Europe use screw. Why?

I have no answer to that - bayonet makes every sort of sense. When I bought
the house, I got light fittings cheap via the place where my son worked and
they were screw fitting. Subsequently added spot fitting were all screw
fitting - so I was lumbered with them. Nothing would have persuaded me to
use them if there had been a choice. Mind you, I've had bayonet bulbs where
the glass separated from the metal parts too - crap manufacture is not
solely the province of the bayonet type.

--
Bob
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England

I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather did - not screaming and
yelling like the passengers in his car.

[Clive Arthur]

On 01/12/2017 08:56, NY wrote:

snip

This is the overpowering reason why bayonet is better than screw: there
is less contact surface between bulb and holder, and therefore less
chance of the threaded part of the bulb seizing to the threaded fitting.

The secondary advantage of bayonet is that it is quicker to change a
bulb: press in, 45 degree twist - bulb is released. No need to turn
through 360 degrees several times.

And yet US and mainland Europe use screw. Why?

Bayonets have problems too, I've come across several where one side of
the socket bayonet has broken off.

[Funny how 13A sockets are shuttered and plug pins partly insulated but
you can stick your finger into a light socket with ease.]

Cheers
--
Clive

[[email protected]]

On Fri, 1 Dec 2017 08:56:11 -0000, "NY" wrote:



This is the overpowering reason why bayonet is better than screw: there is
less contact surface between bulb and holder, and therefore less chance of
the threaded part of the bulb seizing to the threaded fitting.

The secondary advantage of bayonet is that it is quicker to change a bulb:
press in, 45 degree twist - bulb is released. No need to turn through 360
degrees several times.

And yet US and mainland Europe use screw. Why?

A Sister in law is half Belgian/French and frequently popped over to
Belgium and France to buy items at junky style second shops and
markets to sell here at junky style second hand markets, as Brit's
paid more than French and Belgians for old tat it usually covered the
costs of a trip back to see her Mother and when the exchange rate
was more favourable often a little bit more.
Old lamps usually sold well so she often brought one or two back and a
lot of them did have a bayonet connection. Asking her about it she
said bayonet fittings were quite common in France at one time and you
can still get bayonet lamp bulbs but usually have to ask as they are
displayed so often.
Looks like the just took the same path that the UK seems to be taking
a decade or two earlier. OTOH and a table lamp bought on visit to
the Carrara marble quarry when I was knee high to a grass hopper circa
1960 has a screw thread and for a decade or two was a PITA to get a
lamp for till DIY sheds reached the SouthWest .
I also discovered when checking it many years later the outer
touchable part of the lamp was connected to live. As it has a switch
in the cord nobody had found this the painful way.

Previously when intrigued by this subject I came across a school of
thought that although we think of the threaded lamps as Edison Screw
most of the Continent at one time thought of them as Phillips who
though they started with bayonet switched quite quickly to mainly
screw thread as a response to competition from US companies by
invading their markets,
Being a major manufacturer they possibly influenced the choice over
much of Europe.
This page from their history on the web has a couple of pics that
indicate the change, a 19th century lamp was bayonet but by the early
decades of the 20th screw seems to be the std.
http://www.newsroom.lighting.philips...story/products


G.Harman

[Rod Speed]

"NY" wrote in message
o.uk...
"Bob Henson" wrote in message
...
I have both standard ES bulbs and ES spots. The latter are the worst, but
on both the glass tends to come away completely from the metal base when
they are unscrewed after having been in situ for a long time. As the
spots
are set into holders that prevent any access to the sides of the spots
it's
very difficult to get any purchase on them to turn them. If the glass
comes
away completely you are left with the base firmly embedded in a holder
that
can only be reached with long-nosed pliers. That entails turning off the
power for safety and is a long job. You can imagine why I'm keen to
lubricate the threads.

This is the overpowering reason why bayonet is better than screw: there is
less contact surface between bulb and holder, and therefore less chance of
the threaded part of the bulb seizing to the threaded fitting.

The secondary advantage of bayonet is that it is quicker to change a bulb:
press in, 45 degree twist - bulb is released. No need to turn through 360
degrees several times.

Hardly something important when you do that so rarely.

And yet US and mainland Europe use screw. Why?

Because the bulb is much more solid in the holder.

[ARW]

On 01/12/2017 08:47, Bob Henson wrote:

I have both standard ES bulbs and ES spots. The latter are the worst, but
on both the glass tends to come away completely from the metal base when
they are unscrewed after having been in situ for a long time. As the spots
are set into holders that prevent any access to the sides of the spots it's
very difficult to get any purchase on them to turn them. If the glass comes
away completely you are left with the base firmly embedded in a holder that
can only be reached with long-nosed pliers. That entails turning off the
power for safety and is a long job. You can imagine why I'm keen to
lubricate the threads.

Try using a carrot next time.

It's worked for me more than once.

--
Adam

[Rod Speed]

"ARW" wrote in message
...
On 01/12/2017 08:47, Bob Henson wrote:

I have both standard ES bulbs and ES spots. The latter are the worst, but
on both the glass tends to come away completely from the metal base when
they are unscrewed after having been in situ for a long time. As the
spots
are set into holders that prevent any access to the sides of the spots
it's
very difficult to get any purchase on them to turn them. If the glass
comes
away completely you are left with the base firmly embedded in a holder
that
can only be reached with long-nosed pliers. That entails turning off the
power for safety and is a long job. You can imagine why I'm keen to
lubricate the threads.

Try using a carrot next time.

Havent had a carrot for more than 60 years.

It's worked for me more than once.

Simpler to turn the power off and use long nosed pliers.