Oceanic Pro Plus 2 Battery Leak

[ibj40]

Following up on the great advice from @DIVEWATCHDOCTOR, here's where I am today.

We did our pool session (12 fsw for about ten minutes) and the battery compartment, as expected, didn't leak.

Today I took out the screws and removed the cover, and this is what I found.

IMG_7548 by Jim Forte, on Flickr

Clearly, the problem was expertly diagnosed.

So, I took those two inserts out, and cleaned up the mounting holes in the computer case to make sure there wasn't any contamination to keep the adhesive from bonding.

IMG_7549 by Jim Forte, on Flickr

IMG_7550 by Jim Forte, on Flickr

I used a mixture of graphite and Super Glue, based on the advice from a friend who frequently bonds metal to plastic.

I coated each one of the inserts, and holding each with their respective screw, placed them back into the housing.

Once they had set up for two hours, I re-lubed the o-ring, and replaced the cover.

The two repaired inserts held full screwing pressure; however the other two wouldn't pull down tight.

So, as I write this, I have performed the same procedure on the other two inserts and waiting for them to set up.

Next real dive trip is mid-May, where we will put them to the ultimate test.

 

[DIVEWATCHDOCTOR]

@ibj40,

Glad you were able to solve the lower two inserts problem in your Oceanic ProPlus 2. I have two questions for you:

a) What happened with the upper two inserts? Were you also successful?

b) Where did you get/buy the graphite?

 

[ibj40]

@ibj40,

Glad you were able to solve the lower two inserts problem in your Oceanic ProPlus 2. I have two questions for you:

a) What happened with the upper two inserts? Were you also successful?

b) Where did you get/buy the graphite?

@DIVEWATCHDOCTOR

Funny you should ask.

When I replaced the battery cover after allowing the two lower inserts to cure for about two hours, the top two screws wouldn't pull down, so off came everything again.

The top two inserts would pull out easily, so I repeated the process.

Upon another two-hour curing period, I tried to pull down all four screws and only the right two held, the left two had failed again.

The "graphite" I am using is shavings from a spare element for the PILOT Croquis I carry to write on my slate.

I sharpen it with a pencil hand-held pencil sharpener, and then grind that residue down to a powder.

The Super Glue mix process is pretty imprecise, and I don't think I got an even application across all four inserts.

I will repeat for the two left side inserts today.

Keep me in your prayers!

 

[DIVEWATCHDOCTOR]

I wish you good luck. But If I was you, I would give it some additional time for curing. Not just the two hours probably indicated in the package. I would let the Super Glue cure for at least 12 hours at room temperature. Keep us posted.

 

[Johnoly]

Keep me in your prayers!

But superglue doesn't flex and the plastic housing does expand & contract on normal dives from water pressure. It might need a more forgiving 2 part epoxy but more importantly doing a surface prep with a scalpel & magnifer to give a grooved surface on the plastic side for the epoxy to grab on to. That's why the insert has grooves. Just a guessamente,,but 80ft deep is 35 pounds per square inch of pressure.(someone's going to correct me, that's OK) But that housing flex's ALOT, just like GoPro housing do when the buttons jam and stop working on deeper dives.

 

[DIVEWATCHDOCTOR]

@ibj40,

Agree with @Johnoly. Carving some tiny grooves or irregularities in the plastic will give more grip to either the Superglue or 2 part epoxy, whichever you decide to use.

 

[ibj40]

@ibj40,

Agree with @Johnoly. Carving some tiny grooves or irregularities in the plastic will give more grip to either the Superglue or 2 part epoxy, whichever you decide to use.

Well, been busy this morning, and haven't been here since, so graphite/Super Glue applied to the loose inserts.

Interestingly, if you look closely at the insert (which hopefully I won't have to again), they are actually threaded on the bottom.

This means metal into plastic, which in my mind, just invites failure, since you are trying to get the screws as tight as possible to prevent leaking.

Going to let the mixture set for a full 24 hours, per @DIVEWATCHDOCTOR 's advice.

And then we shall see if the screws tighten.

As to expansion/contraction at depth, that will have to wait until May.

Until then, will be saving up all my beer cans to cash in for potentially another computer.

Thanks for all the input!

 

[Johnoly]

Until then, will be saving up all my beer cans to cash in for potentially another computer.

I've been using the ProPlus 2 for the last 15 year and done multiple battery changes. I haven't broken any inserts like yours. I use the correct size screw driver and put it between my thumb and index finger only and that's as tight as I want the screws. I don't over torque or "skip' the screw driver head. Let the Oring do all the work of sealing out the water. The battery cover is just to hold the oring inplace without movement(even water pressure movement). In 15 year's I've never flooded the battery. I can get about 400 dives before it needs a battery change.

Since we dive multiple dives deep in Jupiter usually at 100+ and push our nitrox mix at the mid 30's, the ProPlus2 is the only computer that won't put us into deco on the 3rd tank if we clear the NDL graph of the yellow bars and get it back to green before surfacing. The ProPlus 2 also is unique in that the very important information is ALL on the main screen so you don't have to push buttons to get the other information you want unlike the PP3 and later models. Without pushing a button and just one look and I can see Compass heading, total dive time, gas amount, O2 graph, NDL graph and Dive time remaining at that depth before the Deco light turns on (which then crushes your NDL on the next tank). The PP2 is a GREAT work horse computer for commercial divers like us that really need to maximize bottom time but stay out of deco. It lets you ride that razor's edge and gives you every bit of critical info with just one glance.

Oceanic used to have plenty of 'refurbished' units in stock they would let you trade in a broken one for about $125. But I've heard they ran out so now it's upgrade to a full price model and the screen format sucks because of button pushes. I have 3 PP2's in storage(no batt) so I have a future supply.

It's a really good computer that will let you max your bottom time and a one glance screen.

 

[ibj40]

I've been using the ProPlus 2 for the last 15 year and done multiple battery changes. I haven't broken any inserts like yours. I use the correct size screw driver and put it between my thumb and index finger only and that's as tight as I want the screws. I don't over torque or "skip' the screw driver head. Let the Oring do all the work of sealing out the water. The battery cover is just to hold the oring inplace without movement(even water pressure movement). In 15 year's I've never flooded the battery. I can get about 400 dives before it needs a battery change.

@Johnoly Let me make a couple of things abundantly clear.

First, after diving Suunto computers, starting with an Eon and up through a Cobra II, the ProPlus 2 is the best computer I have ever dived.

Second, and most importantly, until I opened it after it flooded, I had never performed maintenance on this computer, relying on a dive shop to do battery replacements.

I am attempting to cure someone else's mistake, and learning on the fly.

I truly appreciate all the support and advice I have received here.

 

[ibj40]

Update.

Second attempt at graphite/Super Glue failed on the left two again.

Right side pulled down tight.

Going to JB Weld tomorrow.

Stay tuned.