Lubing the O Ring.

[Tortuga Roja]

I would only use the the grease supplied with the o-ring. Why not? to save money? Does anyone really believe that the reason Ikelite says to use their grease only is just to make money on selling 4 tubes for a buck?

Every time you buy or service a part that uses an o-ring, Ikelite gives you another tube. Those little tubes, when used properly last a looong time.

The o-rings that are used on Ikelite housing backs do not need to be greased at all to seal. This is from Ike - not me. That is because they are compressed to seal. When you store these o-rings, it's a good idea to lightly grease them and put them in a baggie to keep them from drying out.

The o-rings on the ports of the dSLR housings on the other hand, will need a slight coating because they have to slide into place to make a seal, like rings on a piston.

More grease than necessary is a bad thing as it tends to pick-up debris that can cause problems.

Other brands? I have always done what the manufacturer suggests. Who knows better than them?

 

[Diver Dennis]

So Mike, I don't have to grease any Ike o-rings? They all use a compression seal including the strobes as you know.

 

[Warren_L]

So Mike, I don't have to grease any Ike o-rings? They all use a compression seal including the strobes as you know.

The grease does not form the seal, but rather, allows the o-ring to slip into proper position. I clean and grease my o-rings for the housing, port, and strobes. Just a light amount of grease is all that's required - too much can be a problem.

 

[agilis]

Do any of these O ring lubricants provide protection from STDs, or do they simply facilitate the thing sliding effortlessly into position? If that's all they do, saliva, as suggested in an earlier post, has found yet another use: an emergency silicon substitute. Probably the white frothy kind of saliva with the tiniest bubbles would work best.

 

[Tortuga Roja]

Dennis - Not sure what housing you have but if you don't have removable ports - only a back o-ring - then no you don't. Only enuf to keep them from drying out when stored between dives. I have a couple hundred dives on the back o-ring of my housing now. I dive often enuf that I don't store it much so I have never put a drop of lube on it. I replaced the 1st one when it got kinda stretched after a couple hundred dives and I will likely replace this one soon for the same reason. Same with the o-rings on my DS125s. I do grease the port o-rings and the synch cord connector o-rings lightly and regularly because they need to be a little slippery to slide into place.

I clean all o-rings religously every time I open the seal!