General Housing Storage Question: Remove O Ring When Not Diving?

[Bigbella]

The less you touch that oring the better. More cameras have been flooded due to oring fondling stretching them out than any other cause. A camera housing back seal is a compression seal and thus needs NO Lube. Wipe it off with a microfiber cloth if dirty and otherwise leave it in place even when stored.

Removing it all the time just stretches it, and if stretched it must be replaced.

The manufacturers of my housings, both Aquatica and Subal, call for the use of, variously, Cristolube or silicone grease for the port and main body o-ring, static seal or otherwise; so too their removal for long term storage:

"The sealing surface and the O-ring should be thinly greased with Silicone grease. This reduces friction and abrasion and allows the O-ring to settle into place easily. Do not use too much grease . . . The O-ring should just have a sheen.

"Please note that the especially soft quality of the original SUBAL O-ring material loses elasticity prematurely if it is permanently compressed. So, if you plan not to use your housing for a long time, remove the O-ring and store it in a cool place without deformation."

I have never had an issue with any of the housings . . .

 

[Guitarcrazy]

I have been using Trident silicone grease, lightly applying and wiping off as directed. My first O ring lasted about a year, 4 trips. The second one was pretty much exactly the same. Both stretched so much that when closing the housing the O ring would bunch before getting it fully closed. I was able to carefully force it into the groove for the last day's dive, but not something I want to do routinely. Since the housing diameter is larger than the O ring diameter, I wonder if taking it off between trips would minimize stretching? I have previously cleaned, greased, and then closed housing between trips. They aren't crazy expensive, but at $19 a pop it is a bit annoying. Thanks.

 

[Bigbella]

Since the housing diameter is larger than the O ring diameter, I wonder if taking it off between trips would minimize stretching? I have previously cleaned, greased, and then closed housing between trips. They aren't crazy expensive, but at $19 a pop it is a bit annoying. Thanks.

I feel your pain. The Subal o-rings run about US 25.00; and I simply keep last year's seal for storage purposes. They are fit along a seriously irregular groove; and I would rather sacrifice an older o-ring than risk damage to a sealing surface . . .

 

[Guitarcrazy]

That is one seriously impressive looking housing. I am surprised that O ring is only $25.

 

[bmorescuba]

When not in use, I always remove all O-rings, grease them lightly with their own manufacturer's grease, and then store them in sealed ziploc bags. I replace them annually, and I keep the last year's set in case anything happens to the current ones.

 

[davehicks]

The manufacturers of my housings, both Aquatica and Subal, call for the use of, variously, Cristolube or silicone grease for the port and main body o-ring, static seal or otherwise; so too their removal for long term storage:

"The sealing surface and the O-ring should be thinly greased with Silicone grease. This reduces friction and abrasion and allows the O-ring to settle into place easily. Do not use too much grease . . . The O-ring should just have a sheen.

"Please note that the especially soft quality of the original SUBAL O-ring material loses elasticity prematurely if it is permanently compressed. So, if you plan not to use your housing for a long time, remove the O-ring and store it in a cool place without deformation."

I have never had an issue with any of the housings . . .

I have witnessed many floods of this nature, and saw their owners tug and rub the poor orings with abandon.

Regardless of what the manual says, the less you pull on these the better. People read the mention to Lube the oring in the manual and go at in like Lenny with a puppy in Of Mice and Men. It does not end well.

 

[Bigbella]

I have witnessed many floods of this nature, and saw their owners tug and rub the poor orings with abandon.

Regardless of what the manual says, the less you pull on these the better. People read the mention to Lube the oring in the manual and go at in like Lenny with a puppy in Of Mice and Men. It does not end well.

"Tug and rub . . .with abandon," an interesting though strangely preoccupied use of words. Idle morning for you? The housing in the photo has been used, since 2006-07, with no incidence of even a water droplet, on close to a thousand dives; and has gone through surf; accidental over-boards, any number of things.

Dry as a f**king bone . . .

 

[Nemrod]

I have always used the manufacturer's supplied grease. Unless NLA. In which case I choose the grease dependent upon the composition of the O-rings, neoprene or silicone. They each require a different grease. Silicone O-rings will generally not take a set under compression, neoprene will.

On my current FIX housing the O-ring is neoprene for the case door. In order to install it the O-ring must be stretched. This always worried me but apparently they knew what they were doing because it works fine.

I remove the case door O-ring and store it gently coiled in a bag in the housing. I inspect them with a 10X loupe for nicks and cuts. Pieces of hair, fuzz, lint are camera killers, just saying.

N

 

[Eyegore]

Apply just a film to the o-ring and be careful that you don't stretch it while so doing. I like this product and have been using it for for over a decade: