View Single Post
  #4  
Old December 29th 10, 02:10 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.misc,rec.scuba.equipment
Dillon Pyron[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default QUESTION: Leaky ikelite underwater housing

[Default] Thus spake 1hogrider :

On 12/19/2010 2:58 PM, wrote:
Thank you for your reply........

On Dec 20, 3:05 am, wrote:
I can think of several.

(2) Do you giant stride into the water holding your camera?


The answer is no....but how/why would this cause condensation on the
inside?


Housings are depth rated from a standpoint of normal movement or almost
a "near static" pressure with uniform distribution. When you giant
stride into the water the force of the water hitting the o-ring can
place asymmetrical stresses on the o-ring and potentially cause a leak.
I ALWAYS have the boat captain or mate hand me my camera once I am in.


When I have a camera I try to back flop in. Some boats get ****y
about this, but if they do I find another operator.

You can also see some condensation if you descend rather quickly and
that teeny, tiny crack admits a small amount of water before the
pressure seals it off. Experience.





(3) Do you maintain your main o-ring on the housing per manufacturers
instruction?


Well...the answer is no...not really in terms of long-term maintanance
and replacement.. But the housing that is exhibiting the phenomenon is
only a week old (that is to say a week in my possession). And as I
said, the older one has never exhibited a problem until recently
(which I am tentatively attributing to the extremely rough conditions
encountered during our egress on a rocky shoreline....getting bashed
around quite a bit by the waves)


The o-ring is practically the life of your camera and housing.
Certainly a tough egress can cause problems. Based on your description,
I might also look at the possibility some of your camera control feed
throughs were damaged.
My camera manual specifically says, "DO NOT USE ANY LUBRICANT ON THE
O-RING". This can attract dust and debris and allow water to enter.
Even small amounts.

You did not address my first point- opening the housing in high
humidity environment. I try and never open my housing unless I am in an
air conditioned environment. Opening the housing in high humidity,
closing it up and then diving with it will cause the humidity to
condensate in the housing from the cooler surrounding water.

I had a leak in a housing some years back which was ENTIRELY my fault.
I was on a dive boat off the coast of Virginia. A short distance away a
submarine had surfaced and I wanted to get a picture of it. I removed
the camera from the housing (Ikelite), took the picture and put the
camera back into the housing. This housing had 3 snap downs. One on
the top, and two on the sides. For some reason that escapes me, I
closed the TOP snap first instead of the two side snaps. This put an
asymmetrical stress on the o-ring. When I snapped the two sides, the
housing could not seal. Result- a partial flood of the housing and a
ruined camera. This was very early in my experience with underwater
housings. Now, as I said, I try never to open the housing on a dive
boat unless it is in an air conditioned environment.

Some housings have slots for dissicant. You may want to try that in
your housing also.

--

- dillon I am not invalid

An object's desireability to a dog is directly
proportional to its desireability to another dog.