compressed air to dry housing

I was curious what people felt about using compressed air to remove water from the housing after rinsing it in fresh water. Could it force the water deeper into the o rings?

Thanks!

I can not imagine that it can cause a problem as long as it is not too much an in a too close range.

In my opinion the only time that it makes sense if you quickly need to open the Housing and want to avoid the waterdrops.

/Erik

I only use it if I need to get into the housing right away.

I try to focus the air flow on the flat metal areas and not the individual controls, keeping the air nozzle 10" - 15" away.

There is the risk of it forcing water into the orings etc .. BUT if you are opening it up anyway then you will be cleaning and redoing the orings anyway right ?

I personally like to towel dry .. the little body chamois as it is good for getting all the little drops out from everywhere !

When I wrote that it may force water deeper into the o ring, I was talking about the button o rings, not the main housing o ring. When using compressed air, I was amazed at how much water came out the those little buttons.

I've used compressed air to clear off the water from my housing many times, but only at a reasonable distance between nozzle & O rings!

R

As a design engineer in industry, using compressed air for driving water out of O-ring seals scares me.

Whenever I see it done I have to look away.

Have no doubt, a jet of air from a 100psi source aimed intentionally or accidentally down a blind hole (button seal O-Ring) could well exceed the design envelope of the seal.

It is one of those things you will get away with 99% (or more) of the time. The other 1% you risk blowing water past the seal (no big deal) or debris (sand salts etc) further into the seal which is where the risk lies.

A similar case often comes up in machine shops - in some, cleaning down of machines after use with air is acceptable practice and in others it is a firing offence.

Leaving water behind in the button O-rings I do not see as a big deal as long as the buttons are exercised in the rinse tank then the retained water is fresh.

FWIW I am with Giles and the towel option.

Paul C

Micro-fibre towel in a plastic bag between use. Avoid compressed air as it drives fibres and grit into the o-rings that you don't clean regularly, and could displace them.

Tim

Micro-fibre towel in a plastic bag between use. Avoid compressed air as it drives fibres and grit into the o-rings that you don't clean regularly, and could displace them.

 

Tim

 

I use a synthetic chamois cloth (very absorbent) and a photo puffer. Rinse housing, blow excess water from nooks and crannies, daub and wipe water with chamois, and open (back down). I have small squares of this cloth (lintless) to wipe/clean the exposed o-rings. I also use poly sponges on a stick (can’t remember what they are really called) from Radio Shack to apply o-ring lube. RS no longer stocks these SoSs. The chamois cloth should not scratch plastic like parts.

I use a Beaver 'blow gun' rigged to the low pressure inflator hose to dry off my rinsed housing. From a distance of 12 or more inches the force of gas it delivers is quite benign and just serves to quickly rid the housing of surplus water prior to towelling with a microfibre cloth.

I agree that a close range blast of compressed air directed into a button o-ring would be inadvisable.

I also use the blow gun to deliver a flush of bone dry breathing gas to the inside the housing immediately prior to sealing it. No more fogging...