Do you perform a leak test?

[Eskasi]

I was just wondering how many of us here actually perform some kind of leak test.....

I have been told that I should ALWAYS do an initial test dive with an empty housing if I have not used my housing in a while (usually 3-4 months between my long dive trips). What I normally do is just a dunk test..... I simply CANNOT miss out on not having my camera on a dive! I do inspect my O Rings very carefully and am very meticulous during my setup.

The only time I did a dive with an empty housing was when I first received the housing and swapped out the viewfinder....and even then, I only did that in the deep end of a pool!

 

[Charlie99]

I test my housing the same way whether it has been dry a day, a week, or a couple of months.

I use a tall lemonade pitcher as a dunk tank for a small p&s.

After assembly I dunk it for 5 seconds or so and look for drops. Then about 30 seconds and inspect. Then I drop it in and come back anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours later.

For a lot of cameras, going to moderate depths will force the housing together and make the main seal better. Extreme depths where the housing starts to warp is a different matter.

 

[Larry C]

I tank tested it when it was new. I soak it and press all the buttons after every dive weekend and always check after for moisture inside. That's all the test I need. If you know you're not going to use it for months, clean it real well before storage to get the salt out, then take everything off that comes off. My biggest mistake was leaving my sync cord hooked on while I was out with shoulder surgery. The salt welded the whole bulkhead to the cord and destroyed both when I took it apart.

 

[alcina]

I voted "never test".

I do pay close attention to putting it together and I do keep a very good eye on it at the surface and while heading down.

I have tested one for leaks between dives when I did notice some water in the housing on dive one. I stuck a weight inside with some paper towels, chucked it over the side during the SI and when I saw it was all dry, stuck the camera back in and did dive 2.

Works for me. YMMV

Housing leaks are very rarely due to manufacturer faults so, for me, the testing isn't worth my time. If it leaks, it's very likely due to some idiot thing I've done and that's not going to happen during a test with my luck

 

[AUTiger]

When I have a brand new housing, I test it by submerging it 8ft deep in my pool. I usually stick it in the skimmer net and use the pole to push it to the bottom. If it doesn't leak after fifteen minutes, if figure its good for diving. I also always add the camera to my dive gear insurance before submerging it.

David

 

[RonFrank]

My test involves shoving it in the rise bucket just before the dive.

If it leaks I'll leave it behind, but I think that careful assembly is better than any testing.

Putting a housing UW empty is pointless with maybe the exception of a new housing. If you are going to have a leak it's likely going to be operator error. So doing a no camera test just doubles the chances of Operator error even if 50% of those chances are with an empty housing.

Most leaks I've seen or read about involve poor ORing inspection... Hair, Sand, and other things have all been contributing factors in wrecked cameras.

 

[Noboundaries]

I do a dunk test each day when I'm diving. Once I've checked the integrity of my housing and sealed the camera inside, my digital housing doesn't get opened until I'm back in the hotel at the end of the day.

Even that doesn't guarantee water-tight integrity though. On the second dive one day I noticed fogging and small droplets in the housing. The camera worked fine because the water in the housing was miniscule. When I got back to the hotel and inspected the housing/camera, I noticed a hair had got caught on the o-ring when I closed it that morning. Now I check for any dust or hairs when I close the camera housing.

My wife and I have only made two trips to Cozumel, but we've witnessed a flooded housing and ruined camera on both trips from other divers. In each case the housing was new and the owner did not read the instructions or do a dunk test. In one of the flooded cameras it appeared the owner over lubed the o-ring. There was silicone grease everywhere.

We saw another person opening and closing their housing while underway to show another diver something. She must have opened and closed it a dozen times on the 90 minute trip to the dive site. I didn't hear her complain about a flooded housing after the dives but I'll bet there's one in her future somewhere.

The inconvenience of dunk testing and reading the instructions is minor compared to the cost of a new camera.

 

[DRsharky]

I don't think you need to test the casing if you pay attention to the assembly (o-rings, etc). I am using a tampon in my casing for accidental flood (do not forget to take the tampon out of the cardboard and cut the string off otherwise will not absorb the water) and as I am descending I always check my casing for any leak.