New Housing - First time in the water.

[ozziworld]

I was wondering what others normally do before taking their new housings down with a camera inside.

Just do a dive with the housing empty? Seems like a waste of good air.

Tie it to a weight and line and lower it to depth? Might risk losing it or banging it up. Or is there a safe way to do this?

Reason I ask is I have a new FIX S() housing and only have time for 2 dives this weekend. Did not want to waste the first dive pressure testing and leaving only one dive to actually take photos. Assuming the housing passes the test.

 

[skynscuba]

I'm sure there are more informed opinions here, but I just put some tissue inside, hold it in a sink or bucket for a few minutes, while operating all of the buttons, levers, wheels repeatedly. Carefully dry it off, open, and look for any moisture. I do this any time the housing hasn't been used for a while. If convenient, I do the sink/bucket test after loading the camera, then look through the housing for any water, each time the housing is closed for a dive. Much better to get a small amount of fresh water in there than a large amount of salt water.

Maybe if my camera cost thousands, instead of a few hundred, I'd take the housing on a real dive with tissue before loading the camera for the first time.

 

[ozziworld]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, fresh water is the way to go if you are going to get water in the housing. I was just wondering if others have found a better way to simulate the pressure at depth without using up air in their tanks.

 

[scottfiji]

I was just wondering if others have found a better way to simulate the pressure at depth without using up air in their tanks.

The correct method is to borrow someone else's tank and then test it at depth. That way the housing is properly pressure-tested, and the air in your tank is undisturbed. Good luck!

 

[davelew]

In my experience, most housing problems show up near the surface, and can be tested in something as shallow as a bucket. Most housings either leak in one foot of water or don't leak at all in up to 100 feet of water.

Some people use this fact about housings to build in an easy check. Hugyfot housings have the Hugycheck system which pumps the air out of the housing and checks for leaks. I also built a vacuum port into my housing. It's really convenient to be able to pump the air out and check for leaks without needing to get it wet, because a test of 50% vacuum (equivalent pressure to about 15 feet of water) will find most problems.

The exception to this rule is cracks in the housing. There are some cracks that will be closed at the surface but which can open up under pressure, but that type of failure is pretty rare. As long as your housing isn't cracked, a test in a bathtub or a bucket should be adequate for you to have faith in it.

 

[apadua]

I disagree.

I didn't have enough silicone lubricant on my IkeLite box and it worked just fine while i was around 8 meters (25 ft?). As i dropped to 15m I saw the stream of water - first slight, then gushing, from the Dome Port O-Ring. By the time i was up it was half-way full of water. Cost me a new TTL flash control system ($250)

 

[davelew]

I didn't have enough silicone lubricant on my IkeLite box and it worked just fine while i was around 8 meters (25 ft?). As i dropped to 15m I saw the stream of water - first slight, then gushing, from the Dome Port O-Ring.

Low pressure checks certainly won't catch every problem (that's what I was trying to show with my cracked housing example), and it sounds like a low pressure test wouldn't have helped in your case. However, low pressure tests do catch some of the most common problems.

It would be interesting to see if your o-ring damage would have been detected with a vacuum check (although obviously there's no way to know now). Sometimes small tears in o-rings are "waterproof but breathable" like Goretex jackets, because the water beads up and can't get through a small opening, but the same small opening can let air leak in.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

I took mine down to 90 with nothing in it. All good nice dive missed turtle pic. But new housing was good for next dive.