Leaking Recsea Housing for Canon S95

[Nemrod]

Hi all

I have a RecSea Housing for my S95 and murphy's law applied with no mercy: a flood only happens with your camera inside.

It got turned into a fish tank 2 times !!! :furious:
I' m very paranoiac when it comes to cleaning and maintaining
my gear so I simply couldn't understand why this was happening.

Until one of my dive buddies observed that I started having these
problems since I bought a tray.

There are 2 issues: warpage, door displacement

warpage!Yes, housings DO WARP, which is a real issue for Ikelite owners, but
also aluminum housings warp to a certain extent.

Attention must be payed to how much torque you apply when you
screw the tray on your housing, specially if the tray flexes too....

However I don't think this is what happened to me....



door displacement!
This can be tested:

Remove the o-ring, close and lock the door. Now try to move the door in all
directions.

Mine does move which is the proof that the door is not kept in place by
mecanical means, i.e. hinge and lock, but with the o-ring!!!

Huh???? Hinge and lock do not keep the door from moving?

you wouldn't build a submarine like that, would you ?

THIS IS A DESIGN FLAW!
An o-ring should be used for tighteness only NOT for mecanical stability!!!!


What are the consequences?

Some trays have a backing to which you can push the camera
to keep it parallel to the tray. While you screw it to the housing
you may inadvertantly apply a pressure on the lower part of the door
and you will squeeze the o-ring but relief it on the upper side!

1/10 of a mm is enough and bye bye camera, mine flooded at 6 m (18 ft)! :redhot:

Conclusion:


KEEP THE DOOR OFF ANYTHING!

If the tray has a backing, use a washer to keep the housing above the hight of the
backing such that the door is not touching ANYTHING!

I will make some test dives to proof my door theory.I know , I know. nothing will happen until I
have a new camera...

SUGGESTED DESIGN CHANGE:

I'm not a mecanical engineer, but I could imagine some pins on the door that
fit some holes in the housing to prevent the door from moving no matter what!

I already addressed this to bluewaterphoto.com , where I bought the housing.

I'd rather have a thiker housing, but tranquility of mind.

Miguel

I am sorry this happened to you. In previous posts and I think earlier in the this very thread I have warned of trays warping housings or pushing on the rear doors etc. This is a common and often overlooked problem that causes flood after flood until the hapless photographer either realizes the problem and identifies it or gives up.

As you have learned, several commonly available trays actually ride on and contact the door on the FIX or Recsea housings--this will cause a leak and a flood. As well, a tray that is insufficiently rigid such that it transfers stress to the housing can distort the housing, causing a flood.

The tray cannot touch the housing door. The tray must also be rigid such that it does not distort the housing. This is especially important with housings that mount with two screws, if the tray twists under load then the housing will be distorted and it will likely flood.

Notice my tray does not touch my housing or door:

Notice the thick aluminum spacer that adds to the rigidity of my tray and helps to isolate my camera housing from my tray:

I did these things when I made my tray because I had learned them in the school of hard knocks many years ago.

N

 

[miguel83]

Hi Nemrod

I have seen your post before. It is actually your post and my dive buddy's observations that helped me identify this problem.

I'm in contact with the RecSea engineers to discuss this issue. This problem is known by the dealer at which I bought the camera. Had they stated in the description of the housing that only flat trays must be used it could have saved me 2 cameras.

This is the tray I bought. It is a Seatool universal tray:

View attachment 105626

I think it is sturdy enough not to flex. Fortunately it is universal enough to be mounted the otherway around such that it will not touch the door. But there is a point regarding the 2 threads in the housing. If it is really necessary to use 2 screws to avoid warpage of the housing that would be another :fail: because it is not mentioned anywhere by the dealer nor by RecSea.

Unfortunately I don't have the machines to make such a spacer. I'm willing to buy one from you .

I think that now many unexplained floodings have an explanation and could have been avoided by using the right tray and
proper housing engineering (1 mm more of material would probably be enough for more sturdiness).

RecSea must make their authorised dealers aware of this!


But still... The door is a design flaw. No one would use an o-ring for mecanical stability. That must be achieved
through constructive measures. I will post some detailed pictures that I want to send to RecSea too.

At least I know the floodings didn't happen because I'm an idiot :dork:

I'will keep posting on this as long as I will be in contact with RecSea. The contact is very nice and they show will to cooperate. :medal:

 

[Nemrod]

Hi Nemrod

I have seen your post before. It is actually your post and my dive buddy's observations that helped me identify this problem.

I'm in contact with the RecSea engineers to discuss this issue. This problem is known by the dealer at which I bought the camera. Had they stated in the description of the housing that only flat trays must be used it could have saved me 2 cameras.

This is the tray I bought. It is a Seatool universal tray:

View attachment 105626

I think it is sturdy enough not to flex. Fortunately it is universal enough to be mounted the otherway around such that it will not touch the door. But there is a point regarding the 2 threads in the housing. If it is really necessary to use 2 screws to avoid warpage of the housing that would be another :fail: because it is not mentioned anywhere by the dealer nor by RecSea.

Unfortunately I don't have the machines to make such a spacer. I'm willing to buy one from you .

I think that now many unexplained floodings have an explanation and could have been avoided by using the right tray and
proper housing engineering (1 mm more of material would probably be enough for more sturdiness).

RecSea must make their authorised dealers aware of this!


But still... The door is a design flaw. No one would use an o-ring for mecanical stability. That must be achieved
through constructive measures. I will post some detailed pictures that I want to send to RecSea too.

At least I know the floodings didn't happen because I'm an idiot :dork:

I'will keep posting on this as long as I will be in contact with RecSea. The contact is very nice and they show will to cooperate. :medal:

I sympathize greatly with you but I don't agree with you. There is nothing different about the sealing concept of a Recsea/FIX/Ikelite/Canon Nautica than from your housing. Manufactures simply do not tell you everything because they don't know nor are they willing to test every piece of third party accessory that may possibly be used with their equipment for compatibility.

Anything that rides on the door of any housing made will potentially cause a flood. The tray you chose was not a good match for the housing, several similar trays exist with similar lips/ledges etc that can interfere with the housing door. That is why I made my own. There is no such thing as "universal" fit as you have found out the hard way. You should have made sure there was no interference before using the tray, this is not the fault of Recsea, it is yours and yours alone

The spacer I made needs nothing but a drill, a piece of aluminum bar approximately .250 thickness and maybe a file or belt sander.

The housing I had flood many years ago as a result of this condition was from a well known manufacturer and it was not Recsea or FIX.

Again, I hope all works out for you and I hope your future adventures come to good conclusion but frankly, I have to say, nobody is promised a rose garden and even roses have thorns, next time, make sure the door can close fully and have no contact with any third party made components. I do not feel or think Recsea owes any description or warning of or for tray designs they did not make for their housing. As well, make sure the tray you use is rigid and will not impart a torsional flex or twist to your Recsea/FIX/Nautica/Nikonos/Ikelite/Canon etc. housings as they will very likely flood.

Best of luck to you,
N

 

[NautilusCairns]

I ended up getting a tray made like Nemrod and about the same thickness but without the spacer as I figured it was thick enough not twist and I only use the screws that came with a ULCS tray I had. No need to overtighten these. interestingly when i took these photos I took out the moisture pouch that I normally have next to the port and noticed a little mark like that made with a centre punch. I'm assuming it's nothing to be concerned about.

 

[Nemrod]

I ended up getting a tray made like Nemrod and about the same thickness but without the spacer as I figured it was thick enough not twist and I only use the screws that came with a ULCS tray I had. No need to overtighten these. interestingly when i took these photos I took out the moisture pouch that I normally have next to the port and noticed a little mark like that made with a centre punch. I'm assuming it's nothing to be concerned about.

View attachment 105691View attachment 105692View attachment 105693

Wow, that is a nice rig and a nice tray. The "punch" mark or whatever it is I doubt is a problem of any sort unless you are thinking something not obvious?

N

 

[miguel83]

I ended up getting a tray made like Nemrod and about the same thickness but without the spacer as I figured it was thick enough not twist and I only use the screws that came with a ULCS tray I had. No need to overtighten these. interestingly when i took these photos I took out the moisture pouch that I normally have next to the port and noticed a little mark like that made with a centre punch. I'm assuming it's nothing to be concerned about.

View attachment 105691View attachment 105692View attachment 105693

thank you for showing the pictures

this is my seatool tray:

 

[flareside]

Miguel,

Consider using a large diameter rubber washer or thin neoprene pad between the camera and frame. This will help provide a buffer against any surface irregularities or flex in the frame. The one question I do have is are you using any large or heavy external lenses?

 

[Nemrod]

thank you for showing the pictures

this is my seatool tray:

View attachment 105702

The problem with that tray is the lip at the rear edge has the potential to ride on or to push against the housing door. As to it's other attributes, it looks just dandy though a bit larger than necessary for so diminutive a housing/camera. Either flip the tray over or grind the lip off of the tray so that when the housing is tightened down into position there is no interference between the tray and the housing.

 

[miguel83]

@flareside, thank you for commenting

I m using a Fisheye lens from DYRON which is quite heavy , yes.

 

[miguel83]

The problem with that tray is the lip at the rear edge has the potential to ride on or to push against the housing door. As to it's other attributes, it looks just dandy though a bit larger than necessary for so diminutive a housing/camera. Either flip the tray over or grind the lip off of the tray so that when the housing is tightened down into position there is no interference between the tray and the housing.

yes, thats the way to go. thank you.