How do you take care of your UW camera gear when the trip is done?

[NootFish]

I see a lot of posts about what to buy, how to use, but I would love to hear what people do with their gear in those long surface intervals between trips. What can we do to preserve and protect our expensive housings etc, to get the longest life out of them? How often do you service your housing/strobes? How often do you change your o-rings?

 

[Steelyeyes]

I wipe everything dry if it's not already, I check and lube the O rings, take out any batteries, and then store in the dark in it's protective case.

 

[Doctorfish]

First I soak the housing in fresh water and work all the controls, make sure everything is dry, remove the o-rings where I can, and leave in a dry space with the case open to allow evaporation of any residual moisture. After about a week, I close the case and forget about the gear until the next dive trip.
I tend to change o rings about once per year and only send the housing in for service if something is broken. I know I am taking some risk with the non user removable o rings, but so far, so good.

 

[Steelyeyes]

I wipe everything dry if it's not already, I check and lube the O rings, take out any batteries, and then store in the dark in it's protective case.

I forgot to note that all of my rinsing and most of my drying is done the night before I leave. Lately we've been mostly diving Bonaire so we buy a plastic bucket to keep in the bed of the truck. We fill it half way with water and keep the cameras in there while traveling and between dives. We cycle moving parts every time we rinse and try to dry in the A/C part of the house.

 

[Chris Ross]

Most important is a good long soak and working the buttons so you get all of the salt water out of the button o-ring area, if you don't it'll dry leaving behind salt crystals which can damage your o-rings. Then get the housing out work the buttons again to eject water and air dry for a few days.