I want to put together a service kit for my UW kit.

• what should all be in a “save a dive” kit for photography?

• What’s the best silicone for cleaning and moisturizing o-rings?

• Any tips for maintaining UW gear for a newbie?

Thanks!

3 minutes ago, ericstrege said:

I want to put together a service kit for my UW kit.

• what should all be in a “save a dive” kit for photography?

• What’s the best silicone for cleaning and moisturizing o-rings?

• Any tips for maintaining UW gear for a newbie?

Thanks!

the base answer is the S&S specific lube, expensive but you know it works. Many people use Tribolube which is a perfluoro ether grease that is universal lube for all types of o-rings, available from engineering supply stores. The Blue S&S o-rings are silicone rubber and you need to avoid using actual silicone grease which will cause them to swell.

Grease doesn't clean and moisturize your o-rings, it is purely a lubricant and you want just enough to have a sheen on the o-rings. You need a lube so the o-ring can slide in it's groove to compress against the housing which is what forms the seal, extra grease won't seal any better. For your ports they are twist and turn so the o-rings can benefit from a little more generous lube than the bare minimum as they can be very tight to turn otherwise.

The main housing o-ring on your housing sits in a flat groove and technically doesn't need lube, but a bare sheen won't hurt. Ikelite has a similar o-ring and they advise against using lube, other manufacturers advise to lube the o-ring. Excess grease can pick up particles so using the bare mnimum on this type of o-ring helps.

Give the housing a long soak after each dive session and then dry it off, you can use microfibre towels. I use a hand held air duster to blow water off. Work all your buttons to exchange trapped salt water, it can dry in the button and form salt crystals eventually.

You should have a spare o-ring set on a trip, it's something I would change in your room or at home not on a crowded dive boat. Keep your grease, o-ring remover , and any cleaning supplies in a zip lock baggie to avoid picking up dust/grit/hair. I use foam tipped makeup applicators to wipe out the o-ring grooves. Be vary careful when disconnecting your sync cables you don't want to drip salt water into the connector. Blowing it off before unscrewing helps. You might want to consider a spare sync cable in your spares kit, they are known source of issues.