ikelite servicing schedules

Hi all

im in the process of upgrading my camera system .

one of the options i have short listed is the coolpix 8400 and the ikelite housing.

i have generally heard good comments about these housings but

a friend of mine has a film camera with ike housing , his comment when i asked him about his ike housing was

" Whenever you take an Ikalite housing into the water EVERY control that is not one of the small push buttons will need to be completely stripped down, cleaned and assembled. I estimated this process to take about 20min per control. If you don't do this then like me you will find lots of expensive corrosion. Find a different housing."

is this comment consistant with what other ikelite users have experenced ?

what general maintence do you do?

and how often do you do a full service?

any comments apreciated

regards

jugglematt

I don't know how many dives I've done with my D70 Ikelite housing, but it's around 4-500 at least during a two year period. And the only thing I've done is that I’ve changed the big o-ring. And I did that only because I felt that it was time, not because the old one was worn out.

Add to this that I’m not one of the best in the world when it comes to maintaining equipment.

So I wouldn’t worry about the quality of the Ikelite housing.

JuggleMatt,

Your friend is clearly mis-informed, in polite terminology

As Pedda states, hundreds of dives can be performed between service intervals if one checks the controls for sand / grit and rinses after salt water dives. Pump the small spring loaded buttons and pull out and lubing the control shafts once in a while. That's it....

If your friend thinks a bit of discoloration which will appear on ANY stainless steel nut, etc. after immersion in salt water is serious corrosion, he's way off base....

Just my opinion!

Dave Haas

I am with Pedda and Dave - while I take care of my Ike housing no way is it stripped down between dives.

Just dunk in the rinse tank and push the buttons / move the controls, I would not suggest that you leave your camera in the rinse tank unattended. Others can tend to dump theirs on top.

I nearly lost my D70 to a dump on top in the rinse tank, so now it is in out and a quick exit for me.

Pure hogwash. Pure self-inflicted urban myth. Most housings will go two years without servicing, but it's wise to do an annual servicing. Your friend doesn't really have a clue as to the quality of Ikelite if he is suggesting that only Ikelite housings need this. I don't need to go into defending Ike's products because his business longevity speaks for itself. You SHOULD have your system serviced every 9-15 months depending on the use, but if you service all o-rings on eaver dive you are actually increasing the odds of a flood. I don't mean leak, I mean catastrophy as in the Titanic.

Thanks for the reply guys

your comments back up what i have heard from most people.

i wanted to make shure i was making the correct decision .

would anyone like to recomended ikelite dealer?

regards

jugglematt

Depends where you are.

Here in the UK Cameras Underwater have been OK with me. In the US try one or two of the sponsers ads on the right.

Many of these guys are up on the list and seem to respond well to questions and the occasional complaint seems to get sorted out quite well also.

Paul C