O ring Replacement

[Cacia]

After how many dives should I change the O-ring?

I have had the camera down about 200 dives. There is the port o-ring and the main.

Ikelite--the black ones.


Oh...forgot to search!

Should the o-rings be taken off completely and kept in a zip lock? I have been just leaving them on the housing and the housing kind of half together but not clamped. Is this poor form? (Will the o-rings get a memory at the compressed points?)

 

[shark.byte.usa]

LOL, I just asked the same question about leaving oring in or out in the oly forum. I just got my first camera so I'm no good for info, but FWIW my manual says change once a year.

Garrett

 

[Mariozi]

I keep them in between dives of the same boat trip, with the housing on a bucket of water.
Other than that after each day of divingI take them out and clean them as soon as possible.
Generally I follow the procedures described on Bob Warkentin's Nikonos Workshop.
If you'd like a PDF copy of it, send me an e-mail. Though it is written for Nikonos, it gives you a good idea of o-rings function, durability, storage, how salt cristals form, how they can be prevented and removed, etc.

Best

 

[fdog]

Yo Catherine!

The text book answer is once every 12 to 18 months, for both user-servicable o-rings (as you describe), as well as fixed o-rings (control glands and whatnot).

My impression is that you're diving at least a couple times a week, so your use rates are high enough to warrant replacement sooner than that if wear & tear pops up.

So it's not really per-dive, but age of the o-ring, and, damage (which would be caused by lots of dives).

What I do is just inspect the o-ring when lubing. If I see checking, or nicks, or it just doesn't feel as supple as when new, replace it. They're cheap enough, and lots less hassle than a flood.

For housings of mine that don't see water for a while, I have three sets of o-rings:
>a dive set
>a storage set
>a spare set

When stored, I have the storage set in place (well, duh). This allows the housing to be clamped shut, with a rubber impact cushon (the o-ring) in place. I could care less about deformation, a concern you rightly have, because they are lowly, demoted storage o-rings.

Then I pop in the dive o-rings, which also forces me to inspect and clean the sealing surfaces, too.

When not diving, the o-rings are in a ziplock next to a piece of cardboard.

With your diving rates, I'd just leave the dive o-rings in place, and replace them with the spares sooner. You might rotate them 30 degrees once in a while to relieve the corners.

"Loosely clamped" has to balance reduced deformation against the chance of impact damage. As long as the two sides are not firmly held together, a drop or smack can result in the two plastic sides hitting each other, causing damage or chipping at the worst place, the sealing surfaces. For me, it's either clamped or completely separate.

All the best, James