Along with closing the housing and camera up in the AC, also refrain from using the camera out of the housing in the water between dives (snorkeling etc.). Everything seems nice and dry until you go out into the heat on the way to a dive and hit the drink and everything is fogged up. A silica packet won't help then either. If you have no AC and it's warm and humid use the silica packets. Heat them up to drive out moisture and then put in housing and close it up as long as possible before diving. If you close your housing at 90% humidity at 90 degrees, when the housing reaches 87 degrees condensation will form on its interior surfaces.
Silica bags for PT-058
- Thread starter David Novo
- Start date
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The purpose of using a silica pack is only to absorb the small amount of moisture within the housing.
If the camera is not fully dry from previous cleaning/washing, moisture between buttons and body can create a lot of fogging. (During free diving in shallow waters I use my TG6 without housing).
If you leave the camera(within the housing) exposed to the sun, fogging problem is maximized and is difficult even with Silica Packs to reduce it. In this case you may need more or larger pack and you have to leave the housing/camera to cool down before taking it to a dive.
Anyway, using a Silica Pack does not do any harm. Especially in hot climates it is more necessary.
Also, any type of Silica Pack is fine to use, just make sure it feeds in the housing.
If the camera is not fully dry from previous cleaning/washing, moisture between buttons and body can create a lot of fogging. (During free diving in shallow waters I use my TG6 without housing).
If you leave the camera(within the housing) exposed to the sun, fogging problem is maximized and is difficult even with Silica Packs to reduce it. In this case you may need more or larger pack and you have to leave the housing/camera to cool down before taking it to a dive.
Anyway, using a Silica Pack does not do any harm. Especially in hot climates it is more necessary.
Also, any type of Silica Pack is fine to use, just make sure it feeds in the housing.
scubaozy
Contributor
I also find silica packs unnecessary. I open the housing in ac environment whenever I can and I keep it closed at all times, only open it to exchange the batteries or card quickly. For small leakages a tampon is more useful.
As I and others have already said the packs are not for leakage. They are used to absorb excess water vapor, and keep the dew point below the ambient temperature. The larger the negative delta between the temperature at which the housing was closed and the water it is submerged in, the greater the need for the silica packs.
Chris Ross
Contributor
Even opening your housing for a battery change, you have to watch the little droplets of water that end up on the o-ring, if they end up inside the housing, (and they usually do if they are not wiped away) they can cause fogging later.
This is where the myth that leaving your housing in the sun causes fogging comes from - if there's liquid water and you heat up the housing it will vaporise - a single drop will easily take it to 100% humidity inside and as soon as you hit the water instant fog. Also this plagues compacts more and these are more likely to need a battery change on the boat.
This is where the myth that leaving your housing in the sun causes fogging comes from - if there's liquid water and you heat up the housing it will vaporise - a single drop will easily take it to 100% humidity inside and as soon as you hit the water instant fog. Also this plagues compacts more and these are more likely to need a battery change on the boat.
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