New housing questions?

[rexman24]

I just got a Canon housing for my S1-IS and heading to the Philippines in May.

Is it best to remove the oring, grease it and store it in a plastic bag?
Is it ok to fold it once(carefully) so if forms a nice two layer that fits in a sandwich baggie?
Do you need to grease the oring before the first use?
Do you need to grease the oring everytime you take the camera out or only when its dry?
How much grease, just enough to look wet, or more than that?
Do the orings damage easily(should I carry a spare at all times)?
Is it ok to carry the housing closed as long as the oring is removed?
If you are diving succcessive days do you have to remove the camera every night or can u leave it in there overnite?

any other pointers appriciated

thank you in advance.

 

[scubaguy655]

I just got a Canon housing for my S1-IS and heading to the Philippines in May.

Is it best to remove the oring, grease it and store it in a plastic bag?
Is it ok to fold it once(carefully) so if forms a nice two layer that fits in a sandwich baggie?
Do you need to grease the oring before the first use?
Do you need to grease the oring everytime you take the camera out or only when its dry?
How much grease, just enough to look wet, or more than that?
Do the orings damage easily(should I carry a spare at all times)?
Is it ok to carry the housing closed as long as the oring is removed?
If you are diving succcessive days do you have to remove the camera every night or can u leave it in there overnite?

any other pointers appriciated

thank you in advance.

Opinions will vary but here is mine:

I only remove the o-ring and store in a baggie during long periods of inactivity.

I personally wouldn't "fold" an o-ring no matter what the case for fear that it would actually crease it and create a potential path for a leak.

I use a very light coat of o-ring lube (grease) before the 1st use.

I do not grease the o-ring each day but I do check it carefully each time the housing is opened. The only time I grease it is when it becomes dry or when I have to clean something off of it....such as a hair/grit, etc.

In my experience, o-rings are not easily damaged but I ALWAYS carry a spare. You never know.....

I leave the o-ring in when traveling with the housing or during short periods ( a few days) of inactivity and keep the housing closed to keep contamination out. The only time I remove the o-ring is to replace it or during storage of the housing for long periods of time.

You can leave the camera in the housing if you choose - I wouldn't leave it in for more than a day or two. I personally always remove my camera at the end of the day to recharge batteries, download pics from the memory card, and in most cases replace the desiccant (sp?).

There is lots of info on this BB concerning most/all of your questions....as well as a great deal more. I would suggest doing a few searches and reading different opinions so you can make an informed decision. I have only described what I do in the above comments....not necessarily the best practice.

As a note: I have the PT015 housing for the Oly 5050.

 

[rexman24]

thanks much SG!

 

[fppf]

For seals that do not slide together, just press together, you only need to lube the oring once in a while. You only need a very very small amount, just enough to make it easy to install.

Any oring that is going to be compressed and uncompressed I always remove the oring anytime it is not in use. I coil my oring back onto its self and store them in a bag. There is no problem doing that, it will not hurt it. Just like winding a hose. I store and transport my housing without the orings in them and open.

When putting the housing together I first look for any debri in the grooves and on the oring. I then wipe out the grooves and wipe off the oring with a damp lint free cloth. Then inspect the grooves and oring for scratchs and damage. Always wipe the grooves in the direction the oring runs, this will prevent scratchs that can casue leak paths. If your housing has more than one latch do a latch on each side at the same time to compress the oring evenly.

 

[Warren_L]

I just got a Canon housing for my S1-IS and heading to the Philippines in May.

Is it best to remove the oring, grease it and store it in a plastic bag?
Is it ok to fold it once(carefully) so if forms a nice two layer that fits in a sandwich baggie?
Do you need to grease the oring before the first use?
Do you need to grease the oring everytime you take the camera out or only when its dry?
How much grease, just enough to look wet, or more than that?
Do the orings damage easily(should I carry a spare at all times)?
Is it ok to carry the housing closed as long as the oring is removed?
If you are diving succcessive days do you have to remove the camera every night or can u leave it in there overnite?

any other pointers appriciated

thank you in advance.

If you plan on not using the camera for a while, you can certainly store the o-ring. I wouldn't leave it compressed for long periods of time. I generally leave the o-ring in with the housing open, stored in a case to keep the dust out. If you store it in a bag, don't fold the o-ring, but you can coil it like fppf suggests. This will allow it to fit into a smaller bag while not creasing the o-ring.

I grease the o-ring if I need to clean it, but I do carefully inspect the o-ring and the o-ring channels or sealing surfaces to make sure it is clean every time I load the camera in the housing.

As for greasing the o-ring, a light coat to make the o-ring shiny. Too much can cause problems. As well, when greasing, avoid pulling or stretching the o-ring too much as some o-rings, especially rubber ones, can stretch out too much. I generally push the o-ring through my fingers rather than pulling so as to avoid any unnecessary stretching.

A spare o-ring is generally good. I don't think I've ever damaged one, but my fear would be accidentally losing it. When I had my Ikelite ports, every time I took the port off, the o-ring would stay on the housing body and I might not notice it. As well, it usually sits on top of the port and can fall of quite easily.

I generally don't transport my housing closed without the o-ring. I don't like the idea of the sealing surfaces coming in contact with each other and potentially get banged around. I do leave the port off so the housing can't accidentally close while flying and create a pressure differential as the plane lands. That's happened before and it's not fun dealing with it. I save some old o-rings that can be used for storage or transportation.

I don't see any problem with leaving the camera loaded over a couple of days, but for me, I always unload so I can recharge the battery and use the camera for land shots when I am not diving.

 

[rexman24]

thanks for all the great advice, it is much appriciated!

 

[Taxgeek]

Hey Rexman.
On that housing (I have one), you'll want to practice removing the o-ring at home before you go. It's a little tricky to get out of the groove. You have to put the pads of your fingers on the o-ring on the two sides of the case, and gently push/squeeze the o-ring up toward the top of the case. If you do it right, the o-ring will stretch slightly and make a gap at the top, which you can grab with your finger if you are dexterous. Took me awhile to figure it out.

Also, with this housing, it floods easily (luckily no damage either time) from salt crystals in the o-ring groove. I would advise you to take the o-ring out every few days or so (or each evening if you're a worrier) and dry/clean the groove. It only takes one drop of saltwater to make a big enough crystal to flood the housing. It's amazing how much salt is in one drop of seawater!

Have fun with your S1!
Let me know if you'd like any specific shooting tips for that camera.