Grease for Ikelite O-Ring. Have none, travelling tomorrow.

[divebrasil]

Hi,
I know that some people recommend to only use Ikelite lube on Ike o-rings. I am going to Hawaii tomorrow and just noticed I ran out of Ike lube.
I have here 1 tube of Sea&Sea lube and 1 of a japanese lube that usually comes with Olympus products.

Is it ok to use any of the 2? Any last minute solution?

I did read on another forum someone that worked for Ike for 15 years and said he never seen an issue with Sea&Sea lube on Ike o ring.

Thanks so much

 

[bvanant]

They both are silicone grease, and therefore mostly identical. You will have no problems with interconversion.
Bill

 

[knowone]

If you are ever really stuck, run your O ring between your lips across the saliva covered
front of your tongue so there is no BINDING during housing closing or O ring screwing.

 

[weeksd]

Absolutely NOT. Only ikelite grease or the oring will swell. Ikelite orings are known to swell with different grease. Every manufacturer uses a slightly different grease. Saliva would be safest as the grease just allows the oring to move in the channel.

 

[Gilligan]

I agree with "weeksd".

Unless you know for sure that the Sea & Sea grease is safe on Ikelite O rings I would not use it. Sea & Sea is a fluorosilicone grease and you need to know that it can be used on Ikelite O rings.

THIS WEBSITE mentions several brand housings that Sea & Sea grease can be used with. Ikelite is not mentioned.

Several years ago I used generic silicone grease on my Olympus housing O ring and it stretched it. Backscatter.com educated me on that.

 

[bvanant]

Absolutely NOT. Only ikelite grease or the oring will swell. Ikelite orings are known to swell with different grease. Every manufacturer uses a slightly different grease. Saliva would be safest as the grease just allows the oring to move in the channel.

Ikelite suggests that their grease is silicone but the exact composition is not clear. I agree that petroleum based lubes will swell Ike o-rings but silicone grease (PDMS) or fluorinated PDMS (SEA&SEA) will both be fine at least in the experiments that I have done with them. Does anyone actually believe that all of the underwater housing guys make their own silicone/fluorosilicone grease for their o-rings? Do you actually believe that Ikelite o-rings will swell with every other grease that you might have? I know for a fact (having done the experiments) that the statement isn't true. Sure there are greases that can swell o-rings. But not all of them.
Ike says "The port "O" ring of our SLR housings will need a very slight film of lubricant to assure proper installation, but we recommend no lubricant on most of our housing "O" rings. Please note that some lubricants may cause the Ikelite "O" rings to soften and swell in size. A good quality silicone grease should be fine, or use genuine Ikelite lubricant to be sure." so a good quality silicone should be fine.
And from an Ike Tech "Well, it has been about 8 years since I worked with Ikelite, but we never had any problems with Sea&Sea while I was there" in answer to the same question. The point here is that S&S grease is a fluorosilicone which is much more non-reactive/non-swelling on o-rings. Ike o-rings are Buna which is compatible with both silicone and fluorosilicone.

I think this all started with people using Nikonos grease. Nikonos grease was filled with petroleum distillate and that indeed will swell Ike o-rings like nobody's business. But modern silicone grease without fillers, not so many.

Cheers


Bill

 

[AussieByron]

I use generic o-rings which I purchase from a local bearing supplier. They are identical to the "Ikelite" orings and cost a fraction of the price. I have also used generic o-rings which are a fraction thicker in thickness to stop port wobble especially on the 8 inch dome.

I lube my port orings with oxygen compatable grease as I buy it in bulk and is handy for other applications other than camera orings. I dont lube the main housing oring.

Cheers Mark

 

[jcclink]

Buna N (black) o-ring - use generic silicone grease
Silicone (red/orange) o-ring - use spit (seriously - no grease)
Any other color - change them to buna