Flooded Inon Z 330

[Ardy]

I once borrowed a spare Z330 to a friend who used it for approx. 2 weeks. He is a very careful guy and greased the yellow O-ring upon every accu exchange with regular silicone grease. When I got the flash back, the O-ring was so swollen, that I had to discard it (fortunately there was no leak)...

Using the grease delivered with the flash, or the universal Nauticam grease, does not do harm to the yellow O-ring...


Wolfgang

Hi Wolfgang, just to clarify I did use the grease supplied with the Inon as I was aware of the issue.

 

[davehicks]

I have been using SnS for about 25 years and never pinched an o'ring. Someone above mentioned re Inon 'don't grease them' which is what I did.
I did flood one a SnS in the Maldives in 2010 as I didn't close it properly and watched it come off on ascent, washed it, dried it and used it for another 3 years before buying a set of 100a's.

You got bad advice from someone! Maybe they owe you a strobe?

The Inon strobe has an active, sliding o-ring so I must be lightly lubed each time you open it. I rarely remove the o-ring, just put a tiny bit of tribolube and spread it around the circumference. Also lube active o-rings. You don't need to lube static o-rings like an Ikelite strobe/battery pack.

 

[MrChen]

Is the S&S grease safe to use on the Inon o-rings?

 

[David Haas]

I actually have the following on my desk today to reach out to an expert I know on UW photo gear repair .

* Inon Labeled Silicone o-ring grease (for their YELLOW o-rings.)

* Sea and Sea Silicone o-rings grease (YELLOW tube with BLUE cap for their BLUE strobe o-rings.)

* Fantasea Silicone labeled O-ring grease (comes with Fantasea housings.)

Evidently the Fantasea housing o-ring grease is LABLED SILICONE grease (????) so more investigation is needed .

Stay tuned

David Haas

 

[davehicks]

It is simplest to just buy so Tribolube synthetic grease and use it on all camera and light o-rings. It is compatible with all materials.

I only use (clear) silicone lube on things that benefit from higher viscosity and contain Zero silicone o-rings. Like my Rebreathers.

 

[David Haas]

Update from Devon Tompkins, Pacific Housing Repair in Salinas California.......

All three tubes shown above can be used on SILICONE colored o-rings PLUS regular BUNA rubber o-rings.

In fact, the BLACK back o-ring on Fantasea housings is a silicone one so that's why their lube is SILICONE compatible too.

I always thought my Fantasea housing back o-rings were softer than old BUNA o-rings

Good info and hope this helps SILICONE o-ring users on strobes or housings !

David Haas

 

[bvanant]

It is not clear that the Fantasea Silicone grease is made from silicone or for silicone. In general silicone based greases can swell silicone o-rings. As Dave says, just use Tribolube 71 or 66 depending on active or passive types of seals. There are infinitely many formulations based on PDMS (silicone) so unless you have access to some cool toys it is not always easy to figure out what is in the tubes.

Bill'

 

[David Haas]

I might have confused some by my last comment after talking to Devon at Pacific Camera Repair.

Since I have specific grease that came with my Inon strobes and Fantasea housings I'll continue to use the labeled ones that came with each product.

David Haas

 

[makar0n]

I actually have the following on my desk today to reach out to an expert I know on UW photo gear repair .

* Inon Labeled Silicone o-ring grease (for their YELLOW o-rings.)

* Sea and Sea Silicone o-rings grease (YELLOW tube with BLUE cap for their BLUE strobe o-rings.)

* Fantasea Silicone labeled O-ring grease (comes with Fantasea housings.)

Evidently the Fantasea housing o-ring grease is LABLED SILICONE grease (????) so more investigation is needed .

Stay tuned

David Haas

View attachment 822865

Just get Tribolube 71. I've stopped bothering with gazillion of small tubes of every manufacturer, that always run out at the wrong moment in the middle of nowhere or waste lots of grease left-overs inside when about to finish. And you get to enjoy the "o-ring bingo" - will this grease work with this o-ring or will it destroy it and o-ring decides to crumble mid dive ?
Now I have ~50g tube of the grease of gods, that works on everything, from camera housings, to rebreathers, to computer watercooling. And it lasts years, even though I lube a lot

 

[davehicks]

Just get Tribolube 71. I've stopped bothering with gazillion of small tubes of every manufacturer, that always run out at the wrong moment in the middle of nowhere or waste lots of grease left-overs inside when about to finish. And you get to enjoy the "o-ring bingo" - will this grease work with this o-ring or will it destroy it and o-ring decides to crumble mid dive ?
Now I have ~50g tube of the grease of gods, that works on everything, from camera housings, to rebreathers, to computer watercooling. And it lasts years, even though I lube a lot

I also buy a big tube or syringe of Tribolube, and then I refill all my old empty Nauticam grease tubes. The little tubes are very convenient and portable.

The rule of thumb is, never use clear silicone grease on camera gear. Yes, Ikelite used to supply it (do they still?) but way too many devices use silicone o-rings that will be destroyed by silicone grease. Tribolube is safe for all o-ring materials.