Ikelite flooding worries?

[tarponchik]

"Ikelite has produced thousands of housings over 52 + years."

I worked for a number of US and even one German companies, and from my experience this does not mean anything. Leadership is subject to changes; suppliers go out of business or discontinue stuff you buy from them for whatever reason, so you need to find replacements; standards are subject to erosion (as in "We've been using 2 mm stainless steel for years now and nothing ever broke; why don't we use 1.5 mm instead to save 50% cost?" or "Our QC department is too big. Why don't we cut it by, say, 25%?") etc. A new company eager to grab its market share can often do a better job than an old inflexible hippo.

As for me I was not much impressed with Ikelite's design genius.

 

[dhaas]

I never said different designs or brands might be better in some regards. Plus those "improvements" also usually come at an increased price to the customer. Some underwater photographers have unlimited budgets, some want or have to spend less and Ikelite hasn't been in business for 52 years without offering a good bang for the buck is all I was saying.

After 46 years diving, instructing, owning a dive store, leading divers all over the world I've seen a lot. I won't say I've seen everything but I also have sold and used Aquatica, now also Fantasea compact housings and had every other brand on my trips including Nauticam, SUBAL, Seacam, Hugyfoyt, Sea and Sea and others.

I've seen them all fail and / or leak / flood at some point. The common main problem is the user. If your dealer didn't show you how to put it together, seal it, test it and maintain it then you MAY have problems is all.

Then again we're in a time where no one values experience or honest input! So I'm sure my help won't be missed when I pack it in someday LOL.......

Just one old guy's insights is all and no harm intended

 

[tarponchik]

Well, I've said what I've said because I can see that Ikelite could do a better job with my s90/95 housing. There was no rational reason for them to use 2 short pins for the latch instead of a single long one. In my case, the pin fell out after the dive, when I was on the surface waiting for the boat to pick me up. I actually do know, why they designed the housing this way: because short SS pins are much easier to find. I found this out because I looked for a new pin, so they found it out before I did, obviously, and they went for the cheap and dirty solution. And with the strobe port they could either make it longer and double-nut it (this is a custom-order part, so you can order anything you want, and there is plenty of room between the camera body and the port to fit a longer port) or they could use a different port design.

 

[dhaas]

Hmmm.......Can't believe there would be a huge price difference in one long pin versus two pins. Then again I don't own a manufacturing company.

As to the ports they are machined in house with threads to mate with the actual molded Ultracompact body. Longer and depending on the camera (all are different) and you'd have vignetting at the wide end. So physical length the port is lens / camera dependent.

The only one I ever saw start to come loose was with a 67mm accessory lens tightened on enough that when unscrewing it the port POSSIBLY could start to unthread. But you also have to unscrew it quite aways before the substantial o-ring loses contact.

It didn't fit your needs and hope you found other options. There's plenty out there.

 

[Akimbo]

Are my worries about my new Ikelite housing unfounded?...

Any one atmosphere housing that is not hermetically sealed will eventually leak. I don’t care who makes it, what it costs, or how carefully you maintain it. The best guard against leakage is a vacuum test which also monitors leakage of the vacuum pressure and indicates an alarm.

Ideally, pull a vacuum at least several hours before the dive and after the housing has had time to temperature stabilize. The concept is that the vacuum will "set" the O-rings and air is more likely to leak than water due to the lower density. It is not a test for leakage at higher pressures but the majority of leaks occur before the seals have moved in their grooves due to a pressure differential. The electronic vacuum leak and water detector will still monitor at greater depths so you get a warning if/when a leak occurs and stand a really good chance of getting out of the water before serious damage occurs.

 

[VsubT]

Another advantage of a vacuum system is that it makes opening the housing accidentally a lot tougher. Bumping the latch will definitely not cause a leak on my Nauticam housing, as you have to work to open it when the light is green (steady vacuum). There's enough force holding it closed that I generally open the valve first to equalize before trying to open the housing.

Lance