I had a close call playing with the 100mm setup on my 40D. I was in the pool for about an hour and later when I opened the housing there was about 2 ounces of water where it shouldn't be. The camera is fine, luckily I never tipped it over, and kept it level. I did find a "little tiny hair" laying right across the case o-ring. It was the first time I'd had that port on so I did some double checks later without the camera installed and everything checks out. This is a little scary because I thought I was being careful. So I learned a lesson (again) and no harm done. My question is how do I know my leak detector is working? It never went off and there was more than enough water to do some damage. By the way, it's not located at the lowest part of the housing on the S&S MDX-40D. I was under the delusion that if I had a small leak I'd know about it. I'm now convinced that some sort of absorbo pad is a good idea, boy was I wrong about that. So how much water should it take to light up the detector? Do you folks test this with an eyedropper or something? If you get the sensor wet testing it regularly will it fail sooner? How do you know the battery is good? There is nothing I could find in the manual. Any help really appreciated. As you can tell from all the questions I'm not sleeping to well.
Steve
With the leak detector fitted to Subal housings all that is required to set it off is to touch it with a slightly moist finger (usually achieved by a quick lick of said finger). I usually test it every time I put the housing together before a dive. I've had four Subal housings over the last ten years and done hundreds of dives with each (except for the new 40D one) and never had a battery go flat. I figure if the alarm doesn't flash when I test it, it's time for a new battery.
all that is required to set it off is to touch it with a slightly moist finger (usually achieved by a quick lick of said finger).
Thanks Gudge, the wet finger trick didn't work on the Sea & Sea. So I ran it under the faucet. Turns out the little red light bulb works fine. It's the new battery that 's only a couple of months old. I sort of half wished a loud siren would go off, bells, whistles, something. Thanks for the info, I'll add "wet finger and insert" to my checklist. By the way your website is looking great!
Steve
Hi Steve,
I'm glad to hear that it was just a close call and not a direct hit. I also have a Subal housing and I do the same as above. Before I put the housing together I give my finger a lick and touch the sensor to make sure it's working. I also pack a spare battery with me just in case it ever burns out, but that doesn't happen too often. On my old F90 Subal I went through 2 batteries in 10 years.
Cheers,
Mike
I'm glad to hear that it was just a close call and not a direct hit.
On my old F90 Subal I went through 2 batteries in 10 years.
Thanks Mike, I had no idea how long the batteries should last. I keep learning all these little kennels of truth and goodness that you DSLR veterans have learned the hard way. Wetfinger test, who knew? Thank goodness for Wetpixel! Now where was that insurance thread....
Steve
I would not wet the leak detector too much - as once you get them wet they can be a real pain to deactivate. I'd check it every once in a while - but not every dive as you could easily get false alarms or get stuck with a leak detector that won't go off. They can be very hard to clean and dry after a flood.
Alex
Like Gudge, I test mine every time before I close the housing with a moist finger. As for how long the battery lasts, it depends I suppose. Jean at Aquatica told me to remove the battery when the housing is not in use, so I do so when I don't expect to dive for a few days or more. However, testing the alarm each time you load the housing will undoubtedly draw down the battery's power quicker. But the batteries I use are inexpensive, so if I go through a battery every few months, it's not a big deal.
The lick test works too well with my Aquatica alarm- I have reverted to using a small piece of metal to short out the two leads which saves me the aggrivation of listening to the alarm well after the lick test has been completed while waiting for every last bit of moisture to dry out. My batteries are cheap as well and I replace them once a year if they need it or not.
Add another Subal wetfinger-licker. And Alex is right, once that light goes on it is quite a job to stop it. And underwater it flashes like crazy. No way would you miss it.
Yes, that does indeed mean mine went off underwater. A very lucky escape......
Moist finger works fine on mine - never have problems with it staying on either! Usually test every few dives. Batteries seem to last several years as far as I can tell so far too.
From all your responses I'm tempted to make some rash judgements about the different classes of housing users. One could glean that Subal owners have some sort of oral fixation, but worry that once they get it all wet they won't know how to turn it off. Seacam owners are a little more subtle and have great staying power. Aquatica guys just use it till it wears out then go get another one. And Sea & Sea owners are a little slower than the rest and one finger just isn't enough but once they get going they last forever. Of course I may full working with a limited set of information.
Thanks for all the help guys, my housing checked out after some time in the pool. No leaks this time. Just for the record the S&S leak detector is covered and the wet fickle finger of fate won't set it off. There are no bells and whistles, just a small red bulb I hope I never see.
Having fun, Steve
Rash judgments? Try that lot out and you'll more than likely get a rash......
;-)
As Rene Descartes so rightly said, "May the harsh light of the leak detector never darken your diving", Steve
The camera is fine, luckily I never tipped it over, and kept it level. I did find a "little tiny hair" laying right across the case o-ring. It was the first time I'd had that port on so I did some double checks later without the camera installed and everything checks out. This is a little scary because I thought I was being careful. So I learned a lesson (again) and no harm done. My question is how do I know my leak detector is working? It never went off and there was more than enough water to do some damage. By the way, it's not located at the lowest part of the housing on the S&S MDX-40D. I was under the delusion that if I had a small leak I'd know about it. I'm now convinced that some sort of absorbo pad is a good idea, boy was I wrong about that. So how much water should it take to light up the detector? Do you folks test this with an eyedropper or something? If you get the sensor wet testing it regularly will it fail sooner? How do you know the battery is good? There is nothing I could find in the manual. Any help really appreciated. As you can tell from all the questions I'm not sleeping to well. 
