Silicone Grease, All the Same?

[divinh]

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but both my camera housings came with a tube of silicone grease to lube the o-rings. The directions make a point to say to only use the silicone grease supplied, or I may damage the material the o-ring is made out of.

I'm about to replace the battery in my Cressi Giotto dive computer. The Cressi battery kit came with a new battery door, o-ring, and battery, but no silicone grease. The instructions say to use silicone grease on the o-ring for installation.

I have a small tube of Danco silicone grease that I picked up to fix a faucet. It's "food grade", which means it's safe to use with drinking water or on any equipment that touches food. This isn't so important for an o-ring on a dive computer, but is there any quality difference between this silicone grease and the silicone grease I'm supposed to be using?

 

[lexvil]

I would use it without a second thought but maybe someone here knows why you shouldn’t.

 

[CT Sean]

My understanding is the camera housing O-rings (that are usually bright and colorful) are often made of something that is more fragile and can swell with the wrong type of grease (hence the warning and the special grease). A regular buna o-ring that probably came with your kit shouldn't have that problem and either grease is likely more than adequate. Keep in mind the grease isn't for sealing anything - it's just to lubricate it for the slight movement when the battery cover is twisted on and off.

 

[Johnoly]

The right o-ring grease is so penny's cheap >>> compared to a flood.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

Maybe I've been doing it wrong all the years but I use the same tub of Trident silicone grease for camera housings, watches and regulator overhauls. Never had an issue. Ok, I broke down and used Cristo-Lube on my Atomic regs, but that has been my sole deviation. My 2psi. Mark

 

[michael-fisch]

After the Christo-Lube cruds up and starts working like sandpaper in 6 or 8 months, you'll go back to silicone grease, even on O2 regs, and return to doing services every 5 years, whether needed or not.
Been there, done that and I haven't regretted it in the last 25 years, but I only do it on my own gear.
Michael

 

[Manjula Ellepola]

Silicone grease is a very important part of sealing and I think is totally underrated. It fills the micro fissures irregularities in the O-ring and the sealing capacity is increased considerably. It prevents the Oring from drying out and disintegrating under pressure. Lubricates the slight movements between the two parts as the external pressure varies. Proper maintenance of O-rings can prevent a lot of accidents. Devil is in the detail.

 

[runsongas]

check the viscosity of the grease. different greases can have varying viscosity. i prefer a slightly thicker grease.

 

[divinh]

The right o-ring grease is so penny's cheap >>> compared to a flood.

The instructions don't specify a brand or any particular variant of silicone grease.

 

[divinh]

Silicone grease is a very important part of sealing and I think is totally underrated. It fills the micro fissures irregularities in the O-ring and the sealing capacity is increased considerably. It prevents the Oring from drying out and disintegrating under pressure. Lubricates the slight movements between the two parts as the external pressure varies. Proper maintenance of O-rings can prevent a lot of accidents. Devil is in the detail.

For the faucet head, one of those rotating kitchen ones, the o-ring alone allowed for water to leak. Once the silicone grease was applied, no leaks, and the faucet head could be rotated as desired without issue. From that, it does appear to seal as well.