Question about o-rings?

[HantsDiver]

It's been a long time since I posted on this website. But I come asking for advice/knowledge from those who know a lot more than me. Life has been very very busy - but in less than a month I'll be back diving full time again for half a year.

I am far from an underwater photographer. In fact, my experience is limited to the extreme.

But aiming to change this I brought the Sony underwater housing for my rx100. Amazon had a great price on their warehouse deals so I snapped it up.

Then I looked how much for spare o-rings. My mouth hit the floor, I refreshed the browser. I contacted Sony to tell them the mistake. But alas it turns out Sony really so expect you to spend around $150 for the two o-rings. Something that costs pennies to make.

So... is it possible to get o-rings made? And if so how would one go about it? I've looked into aftermarket ones - and can't find any. How would I go about measuring the dimensions etc? Sorry for the daft questions - if I have no choice but to buy from Sony I'd rather throw the housing away when the o-ring is dead than pay those sort of ridiculous prices and be exploited.

I would like a spare soonish - as I'll be working/diving full time in a beach environment. So inevitably the o-ring will get sandy/damaged at some point.

Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to share their wisdom.

 

[Scubagaskets]

It's been a long time since I posted on this website. But I come asking for advice/knowledge from those who know a lot more than me. Life has been very very busy - but in less than a month I'll be back diving full time again for half a year.

I am far from an underwater photographer. In fact, my experience is limited to the extreme.

But aiming to change this I brought the Sony underwater housing for my rx100. Amazon had a great price on their warehouse deals so I snapped it up.

Then I looked how much for spare o-rings. My mouth hit the floor, I refreshed the browser. I contacted Sony to tell them the mistake. But alas it turns out Sony really so expect you to spend around $150 for the two o-rings. Something that costs pennies to make.

So... is it possible to get o-rings made? And if so how would one go about it? I've looked into aftermarket ones - and can't find any. How would I go about measuring the dimensions etc? Sorry for the daft questions - if I have no choice but to buy from Sony I'd rather throw the housing away when the o-ring is dead than pay those sort of ridiculous prices and be exploited.

I would like a spare soonish - as I'll be working/diving full time in a beach environment. So inevitably the o-ring will get sandy/damaged at some point.

Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to share their wisdom.[/QU

send me an email regarding the dimensions of this o-ring (cross section and diameter ) on info@scubagaskets and i will look in to that .

 

[Scubagaskets]

It's been a long time since I posted on this website. But I come asking for advice/knowledge from those who know a lot more than me. Life has been very very busy - but in less than a month I'll be back diving full time again for half a year.

I am far from an underwater photographer. In fact, my experience is limited to the extreme.

But aiming to change this I brought the Sony underwater housing for my rx100. Amazon had a great price on their warehouse deals so I snapped it up.

Then I looked how much for spare o-rings. My mouth hit the floor, I refreshed the browser. I contacted Sony to tell them the mistake. But alas it turns out Sony really so expect you to spend around $150 for the two o-rings. Something that costs pennies to make.

So... is it possible to get o-rings made? And if so how would one go about it? I've looked into aftermarket ones - and can't find any. How would I go about measuring the dimensions etc? Sorry for the daft questions - if I have no choice but to buy from Sony I'd rather throw the housing away when the o-ring is dead than pay those sort of ridiculous prices and be exploited.

I would like a spare soonish - as I'll be working/diving full time in a beach environment. So inevitably the o-ring will get sandy/damaged at some point.

Thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to share their wisdom.

are you talking about this o-ring ?
Spare O-ring for Meikon SONY RX100 I II III IV Underwater Housing Case W/ Grease | eBay

 

[HantsDiver]

are you talking about this o-ring ?
Spare O-ring for Meikon SONY RX100 I II III IV Underwater Housing Case W/ Grease | eBay

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm not sure if that is the one. As there are a lot of third party housings available.

The actual o-ring(s) are here:

Sony O-Ring (G120) (6408), Main, 468527801 - EET Europarts

Sony PACKING (6408),DROP PROTECT, 468527701 - EET Europarts

Convery those prices in dollars and then take some medication for the shock. The housing has two o rings - a main one and a secondary one to protect in case of a flood (I think).

I'm not sure of the dimensions. And I don't have any vernier callipers to measure it. But I am amazed a company has not offered these o rings in a third part format yet. They may have but I have not found them.

 

[diversteve]

Carefully remove them - the edge of a credit card usually works and take them to a local hydraulic/pneumatic supplier and go to the service counter. They'll probably have a caliper since you won't be the first one to ever bring in a o-ring and for water, you want Nitrile or Buna-N - or maybe Viton.Tell them the application and they'll know the material to recommend.

If you can get the size/thickness/hardness - do they have WW Grainger's in England - they sell them. allorings.com is a US online seller.

I've bought o-rings for both my video housings that way - they cost about 30 cents each. Once they just gave me one out of a package.

At those prices you could invest $25 in a cheap caliper and be money ahead also.

You're going to have to take a chance on the durometer (hardness) so ask the counterperson - it should be possible to get close.

This assumes the two you need are round. If they're a formed shape you might be stuck.

 

[diversteve]

You could also try calling Sony Customer Support and be a little insistent till you get the right person who can give you the specifications they use. I know someone who did that for her still housing once.

Someone here might know also if you post the housing model #.

 

[HantsDiver]

You could also try calling Sony Customer Support and be a little insistent till you get the right person who can give you the specifications they use. I know someone who did that for her still housing once.

Someone here might know also if you post the housing model #.

It is this model: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MPK-URX100A-Underwater-Housing-Black/dp/B01M24KUT2

MPK-URX100A

I could try Sony - but I have my suspicions they will not give me the technical information. From what I've read the main outer one is not formed - but the inner secondary protection one may be (this is just from looking online at pics of the part).

The two o-rings are not far from the price of a whole new housing. Which is scandalous. I am even wondering if I could get away with just using the originals for 6 months? One of my gopros is about 5 years old and I'll happily use it without thinking. And I've never even put any grease or cleaned the o ring.

 

[EastEndDiver]

From BH Photo website

"It's Sony P/N 4-685-278-01. I had to contact Sony last fall to get that. It appears it's a JIS G120 o-ring based on the description.If I had one complaint about this camera housing, it's that Sony tells you if the o-ring is damaged to replace it. But then they don't make the replacement easily available. Sony sent me a link to a third party distributor (not B&H, unfortunately)."

Here is the link

SonyUnderwater Housing for RX100-Series Cameras

More info on Amazon

Amazon.com: Customer Questions & Answers

The O Ring store

Search Results -> JIS G120 : The O-Ring Store, We make getting O-Rings easy!

 

[HantsDiver]

From BH Photo website

"It's Sony P/N 4-685-278-01. I had to contact Sony last fall to get that. It appears it's a JIS G120 o-ring based on the description.If I had one complaint about this camera housing, it's that Sony tells you if the o-ring is damaged to replace it. But then they don't make the replacement easily available. Sony sent me a link to a third party distributor (not B&H, unfortunately)."

Here is the link

SonyUnderwater Housing for RX100-Series Cameras

More info on Amazon

Amazon.com: Customer Questions & Answers

The O Ring store

Search Results -> JIS G120 : The O-Ring Store, We make getting O-Rings easy!

Thanks - I was wondering what the G120 referred to. I've found a supplier which sells them for around £5. So I can buy a few and get free delivery.

I'm hoping this will be useful for others going forward as well! For anyone UK based the link is here: Viton O-Rings | Buy Viton (FKM) O-Rings & Seals | Polymax UK

I am not going to concern myself about the internal drip protector one. I'll live with just having the main one as a backup. I really appreciate your help (and everyone else). I think it's REALLY shoddy that Sony don't make this easier. They have made a wonderful camera, and from I can see (and admittedly what little I know) a nice case, and then screw it all up my making the most important service part incredibly hard to source. It's a bit like making people go through hell to get a spare battery.

I was aghast when I saw those prices before. A set of both o-rings is more than I paid for the housing!

 

[JackD342]

How much did the camera cost? And is the camera itself waterproof at all?

Be careful that you aren't penny-wise and pound foolish on the cost of o-rings versus equipment - not all o-rings are created equal. Some cameras use o-rings that absorb the lubrication, and require special silicone/grease. I don't know if yours is one of those or not, but the following content from the manual for your housing makes me suspect it is:
"Silicone grease
Only use the supplied silicone grease. Other kinds of grease will damage the O-ring and cause water leaks.
When you are finished with applying silicone grease, wash your hands with soap and water."

So how much are you willing to bet on an "after market" o-ring protecting your gear as well as the original?

With the rapid cycle of new camera models and item specific housings, a failure in the not too distant future may mean that BOTH the camera AND the housing need replacement, as finding the other half of a matched pair becomes more and more difficult once they are discontinued.