Housing Pressure Test

[Uncle B]

Just pack the housing with tissue paper, and check for dampness.

That will tell you if it leaks but not where.

 

[tursiops]

That will tell you if it leaks but not where.

Pack it full of tissue. If one corner is wet, that's where the leak is. You can usually narrow it down to buttons, or port, etc.

 

[Akimbo]

Now, I simply use a vacuum valve and pump to make sure nothing is leaking.

I do that too but the best you can get with vacuum is one atmosphere.

I concur. IMO an even better leak check is a vacuum leak detector with electronic sensing. I have seen housings flood that were vacuum leak checked alone. Advantages include:

• Air leaks more readily than water, which is ~800x more dense.
• Many dynamic seals will leak at low pressure and not higher.
• You can move/exercise your controls on deck, which may only leak in certain positions.
• You can seal and pump-down the housing hours in advance of the dive for high confidence there are no slow leaks.
• It retests your housing every time you reclose it. A hair or piece of fuzz in the back seal will be found before your dive and camera are ruined.
• You get a visual indicator if the vacuum pressure goes down before enough water can enter to do damage.
• You also get a water sensor in case the vacuum sensor fails or there is very high condensation when the housing hits cold water.
• A vacuum sets your interchangeable port so it is far less likely to be dislodged when jumping in or accidently dropped in the water.
• If you are anything like me, your dives will be less stressful.

There are quite a few available. Not that not all vacuum systems also include the electronic vacuum pressure drop component.

Underwater Camera Leak Detector, Alarm, and Vacuum Systems

Are you ready to upgrade your camera security? Backscatter is your expect source for underwater camera leak detectors, moisture alarms, and vacuum check systems. A simple leak detector or moisture alarm will flash a LED light when two contacts inside your camera housing come in contact with...

www.backscatter.com

Learn: Vacuum Valves

By: Todd Winner Most Nauticam housings ship with the electronics for the vacuum check and leak detection system installed. Simply install the battery, turn on the system and you have full functioning leak detection. If any moisture comes into contact with the sensor you will get an audible and...

www.nauticam.com

Leak Sentinel, pre dive vacuum leak detector for underwater housings

Leak Sentinel, pre dive vacuum leak detector for underwater housings

www.vividhousings.com

 

[AZTinman]

Of course, you can do what you want, but it may be more practical to simply send your housing to the Ikelite Service Center to have it checked if you're concerned about the integrity of O-rings and control glans. They can check it to see if everything is performing to factory specs. Turn around time at the service center is usually less than a couple of weeks.

I'm curious about how doing a high pressure test to four atmospheres on your housing in an improvised pressure device will tell you which control glan or O-ring might be leaking any better than filling the housing with paper towels and lowering it into 100'-120' of water. You can't see inside that steel pressure device.

For what it's worth, I experienced a flood in my Ikelite housing after installing a Leak Sentinel Vacuum leak detector. I believe the O-ring on the bottom of the valve assembly didn't seat properly. I use the same Sentinel Vacuum System on my Nauticam housing and haven't had any issues.

I replaced the Sentinel System on the Ikelite housing with an Ikelite vacuum valve. The Ikelite system has performed very well. I carry my vacuum pump to dive sites and check the vacuum on my Ikelite before every dive. Checking the vacuum with the pump gauge on the Ikelite is about the same as looking at the Sentinel's flashing green light on my Nauticam. I also added a water detection alarm to the Ikelite housing.

-AZTinman

 

[Uncle B]

I concur. IMO an even better leak check is a vacuum leak detector with electronic sensing. I have seen housings flood that were vacuum leak checked alone. Advantages include:

• Air leaks more readily than water, which is ~800x more dense.
• Many dynamic seals will leak at low pressure and not higher.
• You can move/exercise your controls on deck, which may only leak in certain positions.
• You can seal and pump-down the housing hours in advance of the dive for high confidence there are no slow leaks.
• It retests your housing every time you reclose it. A hair or piece of fuzz in the back seal will be found before your dive and camera are ruined.
• You get a visual indicator if the vacuum pressure goes down before enough water can enter to do damage.
• You also get a water sensor in case the vacuum sensor fails or there is very high condensation when the housing hits cold water.
• A vacuum sets your interchangeable port so it is far less likely to be dislodged when jumping in or accidently dropped in the water.
• If you are anything like me, your dives will be less stressful.

There are quite a few available. Not that not all vacuum systems also include the electronic vacuum pressure drop component.

Underwater Camera Leak Detector, Alarm, and Vacuum Systems

Are you ready to upgrade your camera security? Backscatter is your expect source for underwater camera leak detectors, moisture alarms, and vacuum check systems. A simple leak detector or moisture alarm will flash a LED light when two contacts inside your camera housing come in contact with...

www.backscatter.com

Learn: Vacuum Valves

By: Todd Winner Most Nauticam housings ship with the electronics for the vacuum check and leak detection system installed. Simply install the battery, turn on the system and you have full functioning leak detection. If any moisture comes into contact with the sensor you will get an audible and...

www.nauticam.com

Leak Sentinel, pre dive vacuum leak detector for underwater housings

Leak Sentinel, pre dive vacuum leak detector for underwater housings

www.vividhousings.com

Excellent points and yes, I do Vac test first and bleed off to about 10"hg to hold the port in place. if any bleed-off occurs, I use a blood pressure pump to add some pressure to look for leaks with soapy water.

 

[Uncle B]

Of course, you can do what you want, but it may be more practical to simply send your housing to the Ikelite Service Center to have it checked if you're concerned about the integrity of O-rings and control glans. They can check it to see if everything is performing to factory specs. Turn around time at the service center is usually less than a couple of weeks.

I'm curious about how doing a high pressure test to four atmospheres on your housing in an improvised pressure device will tell you which control glan or O-ring might be leaking any better than filling the housing with paper towels and lowering it into 100'-120' of water. You can't see inside that steel pressure device.

For what it's worth, I experienced a flood in my Ikelite housing after installing a Leak Sentinel Vacuum leak detector. I believe the O-ring on the bottom of the valve assembly didn't seat properly. I use the same Sentinel Vacuum System on my Nauticam housing and haven't had any issues.

I replaced the Sentinel System on the Ikelite housing with an Ikelite vacuum valve. The Ikelite system has performed very well. I carry my vacuum pump to dive sites and check the vacuum on my Ikelite before every dive. Checking the vacuum with the pump gauge on the Ikelite is about the same as looking at the Sentinel's flashing green light on my Nauticam. I also added a water detection alarm to the Ikelite housing.

-AZTinman

I misunderstood the earlier post about paper towels. You mean actually pack the housing with them and check for wetness in the areas of the seals. Good idea and I could do that in the steel tank. If I see a leak but can't find the source, I can then send it to Ikelite for testing. My problem with that is the cost of the test, shipping, and insurance. If no leak is detected with vac or high pressure, I know the housing is good.

 

[Akimbo]

I misunderstood the earlier post about paper towels.

You can also use sanitary napkins or diapers. Some have slight color changes when the absorbent material is wet. They can be very useful near a cluster of buttons to identify which one is the leaker. It helps to pack them flat against controls and mark or cut so you can reposition it after you see the water mark.