O-ring lubricant

[greenman407]

Check this out. Ive been using silicone grease as a o-ring lubricant for my Subdrivers for a while now and it has worked well. Then I switched to Dielectric grease because its the same thing and easier to get. But the price is steep. Well, I just found this at home depot. Its Klein tools wire pulling lubricant called "Premium Synthetic Clear". Their website doesnt say much about its composition so Ill try it next time and give you some feedback. Its like a gel and 32 ozs. is $6.97.

[Reckless]

while not cheap... my favorite is still silicone shock oil for O ring maint. .. but this comes from Airsoft gas blow back guns .. which get really finiky with what you use on their o rings.

[Subculture]

I use vaseline- which I find is fine for use on nitrile o-rings. I keep a small tube of silicone grease for lubricating shaft seals, as it's a bit thinner. A lot of people say you mustn't use Vaseline on o-rings, but they're almost always nitrile which is designed to be resistant to mineral based lubricants, in fact some people use ordinary machine oil to lubricate their seals, but it's messy and leaves an oil slick on the pond.

[Subculture]

BTW don't use vaseline on neoprene or silicone rubber seals- it rots them.

Silicone grease is best for neoprene, but ironically shouldn't be used on silicone o-rings. For those I find vegetable oil or animal fat (lard) is safe and suitably slippery. There are some flurosilicone greases sold (very expensive) that are suitable for use with silicone o-rings, but I haven't used those.

[greenman407]

On second thought, this stuff acts as a lubricant and might not be the best thing for the orings on your end caps. Wouldnt want the caps to come lose and admit water.