Cleaning the housing O-ring

Hi,

Which fabric/cloth would you reccomend for cleaning the housing O-ring - so that no strings and other debri will remain on it. Also - it is always a bit greezy - just wipe it off?

Thanks,

Itay

irousso said:

Hi,

Which fabric/cloth would you reccomend for cleaning the housing O-ring - so that no strings and other debri will remain on it. Also - it is always a bit greezy - just wipe it off?

Thanks,

Itay

Click to expand...

Why don't you just ask FantaSea: http://www.fantasea.com/s.nl/sc.35/.f

Alternately, this thread from a year ago on the Underwater Photography forum may be useful. It is talking about a camera, not a housing, but the principles should be the same.

--
Chris R

Thanks Chris!

I did send this question to FantaSea couple of weeks ago - but no response...

Itay

From the Fantasea site:

3. Visually check the condition of the O-ring before every dive. If it is dirty, clean it with fresh water and dry it with a soft cloth as described above. If it is damaged in any way, such as cut or perforated, replace it before using the housing again.

4. It is recommended to slightly lubricate the housing's O-ring periodically. It's important to note that the amount of lubrication required on the O-ring is only enough to allow it to slip into place without friction, so it does not twist or become dislodged. More grease is not better, and could in some cases have a negative affect if it is applied in large amounts to form a build-up that could trap any debris or foreign matter.

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www.fantasea.com

I don't have any of their equipment, but have had a lot of "rugged cameras" with seals. "Soft cloth" is a bit too vague. Generally speaking, a car drying chamois cloth is lint free and soft. (I use them for drying clear glass wear.) The lubricant is a special silicone gasket lube. I'd have some extra gaskets and lube handy.

This is a tricky topic. Done wrong the seals will leak.

irousso said:

Hi,

Which fabric/cloth would you reccomend for cleaning the housing O-ring - so that no strings and other debri will remain on it. Also - it is always a bit greezy - just wipe it off?

Thanks,

Itay

Click to expand...

Camera model? Housing model? Chris R-UK and I are both guessing this is related to an earlier post of yours.

I've never been diving but I've designed and maintained a few o-ring glands (seals) in the past. Getting sand or grit in the seal area is the worst.

Pg 35 of the housing manual (PDF file) has maintenance instructions. They recommend using a soft cloth. Sounds like a sacrificial microfiber cloth or lint-free cloth would work fine. Trash the cloth afterward or keep it far far away from your lenses. Silicone grease used on o-rings is very hard to remove by the usual cleaning methods (soap, alcohol) - nothing seems to dissolve it.

I used to pull the o-ring through my fingers during inspection, this makes any sand or grit stuck to the o-ring easy to find and remove. Inspect the groove and the smooth sealing surface directly opposite the groove for sand, grit, and foreign material.

The light coating of silicone grease is there to make it easier for water pressure to push the o-ring into the sealing position. Using lots of grease only interferes with this movement. Silicone grease is a good idea because it doesn't react with the rubbery o-ring material. Depending on the o-ring material, petroleum-based greases (Vaseline) may cause swelling or softening of the o-ring.

--
Lance H

For lubricant ,silicone grease is the right stuff (Nikonos were shipped with a tube of it)



as for cloth I would use a well used handkerchief and keep that aside for the next time.

( there are different versions of "silicone" including glue. So it is important to make sure that for this the Grease type is used...)