PVC Housing: Question

[Captain CaveMan]

theres glue out there made for pvc that will hold up to the psi of the water...

there 3 steps of the gluing-- there a cleaner (acetone) the you clean the pipe with first. then you put on a purple primer let it dry.-- theres all types of glues. medium and top notch glues Home depot or any hard ware store sells them and you dont have to worry about mixing. that glue is the same strength as epoxy. and you will know the joints are good. i used the same glues for high pressure airlines at my work. 200psi and still holding.

 

[V. G. McGillicuddy]

Hi.
Infared you mean auto focus? it works great!
The case is not too long as the front coupling is cut down on one end and lens rests on a 4" O ring and sealer/Glue no need for clamps.
then section of 4" Sch 40 pvc sewer pipe, with coupling on other end and inside I use a 4" sewer test plug to seal it, then a 4" cap with 3lbs of lead glued in it to make it neutral in the water-this section is not glued it slides on and off real tight on the plug end and you need to pry it off after dive. it is like a second seal too!
This winter I am doing one same way all out of sch 80 and a 1/2" thick lens for a LakeMichigan video dive to 165'FSW for the "Rouse Simons" or Christmas tree ship, And to me a much nicer ship wreck the W.B.Allen off Clevland Wisconsin .

This is a shot my pal Swimjim took on the >W.B.Allen< on our last dive this year.Photo is of the hand water pump see the mast in the back ground? they both stick up to 90' FSW- This is a Great LakeMichigan wreck!
Brad

Oooooohhh! Now I understand!
I didn't realize that your housing was 4" PVC! Mine is 6" in diameter because our video camera is tape-fed and not digital, so it's a little bigger. Do you know if they make those test plugs for 6" pipe?
By "infrared" I meant the night vision which is available on some cameras. It's not in color and it's a little grainy, but it might be handy at night.

And Caveman, I agree that PVC cement is incredibly strong, but I'm not sure how well it bonds to steel.

Regards,
McGill

 

[moneysavr]

McGill,
Oh Night viz with infared it should work as it dose with my drop cam,and I turn my video unit on / Off /record with a infared unit thru lens and works fine,I could use controls but no need to add leak or failure points to a unit that I dont need external controls on any how.
My camera is a tape unit but mini tape
Good luck and let us know how it works,I would say pvc glue will not touch metal,But I do know what will work! = JB WELD sand area to get it rough and mix your JB weld it will glue it good! But needs a good day to cure in a WARM SPOT!
Brad
P.S. And get down this way any weekend and I will get you some dives in,July the waters warm up nice to dive wet!

 

[V. G. McGillicuddy]

Aaaaaaahhh! Somebody mentioned "JB" and "Weld" in the same sentence!
Just kidding. I've had bad experiences with JB weld though. Maybe I didn't mix it right or something.
My next question is, what is the best way to mount the camera inside the housing? I am thinking about having a sort of tray, with a mounting bolt from a camera tripod sticking through the middle. To install the camera, I will screw the mounting bolt into the threaded hole on the bottom of the camera, snug it, and slide the tray into the housing. Is there a better way? If not, what should I use to hold the tray in place, once it's in the housing? Velcro? Snaps?

By the way, Brad, I was looking through your gallery today and I saw the newspaper articles about your re-discovery! That's pretty cool!

Regards,
McGill

Edit: P. S. The Anchor-Tite held up when I tested it today! Yay! Not that I'm going to give it my complete confidence or anything, but I think I've got the problem solved. -McG.

 

[moneysavr]

McGill Thanks, It was a cool find!! Re-find! and cant wait to get back out on all our wrecks and video them. Looks like we may have found a nother one last week!

Take a scrap of your 6"PVC TUBE the lenght of your cam,duct tape or mask tape both ends as high as you need to make a "tray or form" and mix and pour some fibere glass resin in, let it set and take tape off and get form out may need to tap it! glue some velcro on top of it,and glue other in your pvc cam case it makes a flat tray.
Dont use too much velcro that 1 1/4 stuff wall mart sells is STRONG!
Brad

 

[V. G. McGillicuddy]

Hmmmm... I was kind of hoping to use the camera's built-in mounting hole. I don't think my parents would approve of me sticking velcro to the bottom of their camera.
Also, with the tray method, I would be able to use the space underneath the tray to stash a little lead or a simple flood-alert device.
The resin idea is simple though, and I suppose that I could mold some lead into it if I wanted to...
How do they hold the cameras into the factory-made housings?

Thanks,
McGill

 

[diversteve]

Hmmmm... I was kind of hoping to use the camera's built-in mounting hole. I don't think my parents would approve of me sticking velcro to the bottom of their camera.

But they do approve of your taking it underwater?

Also, with the tray method, I would be able to use the space underneath the tray to stash a little lead or a simple flood-alert device.
The resin idea is simple though, and I suppose that I could mold some lead into it if I wanted to...
How do they hold the cameras into the factory-made housings?

Most have a slide-out tray that fits into slots grooved in the side of the housing. Mine is tapered slightly so as it's pushed in all the way, it sticks in the groove. Or you can just engineer it so the back of the tray is held in by the back glass. Piece of 1/4"-3/8" plex with a hole in it will work fine. Make sure your lens is flat up against the front glass when mounted.

I've recommended the use of softweights in the space underneath the tray, they're removable and will reduce some of the external weight you'll to compensate. With my housing, which is engineered for my camcorder, I still need 4-6 lbs. in saltwater to make it neutrally buoyant. If you're fabricating some sort of weight holder below the housing, be sure to allow for it to move front/back for trim.

Attached are a couple of old pics I have, showing an old Quest and and L&M Stingray housing - you can see the tracks in the sidewall just above the bottom - where the Quest plate installed and the plate in place on the Stingray.

 

[Groundhog246]

Here's a shot of mine (2 seasons old now). You can see the 'tray' the camera mounts on. It's just thin plexi, mounts with an "thumbscrew" from a flash holder for an old SLR I had. I also glued a strip of plexi to make sure it also lines up straight on the tray (so then the controls always mesh properly. There's a led weight on the left to balance the fact the camera is off center). Front and rear plates are 1/2" plexi. Had grooves for the o-rings machined in the end on a lathe. Controls for start/stop and zoom (if I build another I will not install zoom control). Most recent mod is trying to accommodate a wide angle lens adaptor. Also tossed in a shot a buddy took of me filming at about 85 feet. You can see the ballast weights (white tubes under, filled with led shot to achieve slight negative and adjustable fore & aft for balance) and handles. Have since modified for internal weights and top maount for the handle.

 

[V. G. McGillicuddy]

Hmmm...... Okay. I'll see what I can come up with.
In other news, I posted a couple more pictures of the lens and how the o-ring is held in place. Feedback on this would be appreciated as well!

Oh, and Sjspeck, my parents don't exactly approve of my taking their camera underwater, but they okay'd it. Dad said that I'd better take the housing down on at least three seperate tests before I put the camera in.

Thanks again,
McGill

 

[Groundhog246]

I hope you're prepared for flack when it floods. In my experience, whether it's commercial or homebuilt, a flood is more of a when than an if.
Flooded my Olympus in it's Olympus housing the summer of 2004. The ring that secures lens port had worked loose and it started leaking at about 15 feet. Surfaced, removed batteries, memory card, etc and allowed to dry for a week, before testing and it's still working.
And I flooded my camcorder last May. Homebuilt housing, front (1/2") plexi cracked at 85 feet. Thumbed the dive, passed the housing aboard where they opened it up and removed batteries asap. Dried it in the sun for three days and it still works.
Luckily both were flooded in fresh water. I have learned and take more care, but another flood will not be a major surprise.