Housing Storage Between Dives.

Hi Folks,

just curious as to what others are doing with their housings during surface intervals. I have been keeping mine latched but am a little

concerned if this may have any detrimental effect on the Main O-ring. I felt it was the best option though, as I'm paranoid about the

possibility of the sealing surface being damaged if not covered.

Are there other methods you have used?

Is there any real issues keeping the housing closed?

Cheers,

Jim.

Hi Jim,

I have my setup in a big red cooler bag. Once I am back at the shop I take my setup out and give a quick rinse in the fresh water tub and dry off the strobes with a towel. I then change over battery packs (Ikelite Ds125/160) and place the whole setup back in the cooler bag and put it out of the way in a cool shadey spot away from the hussel and bussel of a busy diveshop.

The cooler bag is cheap ($25 from Big W) and if need be you can fill it with fresh water and have a mobile rinse tub. Its padded and get on boats as it doesnt roll about over the deck. Hey you can also fill it with ice and have some cold beers or Bundy waiting for you after the dive......

I dont open the housing unless I need to do something like change battery or change lenses. The Nikon batteries last for sometime (multiple days of shooting) but if you start using Video they dont last that long and maybe need changing after a couple of dives. I have 32gb memory card which I dont owrry about changing until the end of the days diving.

Regards Mark

Also Nexus housing here. During a trip I only open the housing when necessary to change CF card or battery. Otherwise it stays closed & latched. O-ring compression is a non-problem. After the trip everything gets a good cleaning/maintenance then put away in its Pelican case (minus camera/lens) until next time. Housing remains closed & latched with o-ring in place. Housings, strobes, lights, etc ship closed with o-rings in place. Who knows how long units have been sitting on a dealer's shelf before someone buys them, so I don't see a problem leaving o-rings in place.

HI,

After I have finished my diving, I soak my housing & dry it & take it all apart including the housing

O ring & place small off cuts of O ring in the grovve then close it up. Then all put in my safe, until

the next time.

Andy

Sorry I wasn't clear at all as to what I meant, really shouldn't post when that tired What I'm wondering about is longer term storage,

ie: once you're home, have done the cleaning and maintenance and then storing the housing until next dive day(I dive most weekends)

Like Mark I use a large Cooler Bag too. After cleaning and drying I inspect O-rings, lube if necessary then close up housing and store in

bag in the cupboard. Nexus body O-rings are fiddly to re-insert in the grove once removed and I haven't been game to try as yet so

Andy's clever idea probably won't work for me.

Cheers,

Jim.

Slightly off topic, but do you guys have a brand or model of these cooler bags from Big W? - I've been trying to find one for a while and the biggest that I have been able to find is the $2 jobby from Woolworths.

Try www.aocoolers.com

Slightly off topic, but do you guys have a brand or model of these cooler bags from Big W? - I've been trying to find one for a while and the biggest that I have been able to find is the $2 jobby from Woolworths.

Hi Kent,

I got one of the large soft coolers, Spinifex brand, from Anaconda when they had them on special. Very well built and with a firm base.

Cheers,

Jim.

Slightly off topic, but do you guys have a brand or model of these cooler bags from Big W? - I've been trying to find one for a while and the biggest that I have been able to find is the $2 jobby from Woolworths.

The one i bought two weeks ago was called "Smash". I thinkits the 30 car bag size......about $26

Cheers Mark

...Like Mark I use a large Cooler Bag too. After cleaning and drying I inspect O-rings, lube if necessary then close up housing and store in

bag in the cupboard. Nexus body O-rings are fiddly to re-insert in the grove once removed and I haven't been game to try as yet so

Andy's clever idea probably won't work for me.

Cheers,

Jim.

Hi Jim,

I don't have a Nexus housing and can't say I'm familiar with the O-ring in a groove but I think it might be similar to the port O-rings from Ikelite. Sand and other grit can get under and around the O-ring, which can cause a leak. I'd suggest removing them and cleaning the entire O-ring and groove. I take my rig apart between dive trips and store the whole thing in plastic dust-free storage boxes.

Hi Whaleshark,

the o-ring placement on Ikelite bodies make it both easy to remove for cleaning and easy for debris to come between it and the back plate. On the Nexus

it is in a groove on the front half of the housing and the manual states that it shouldn't be removed unless absolutely necessary. It also indicates it is a

very fiddly procedure as the o-ring groove has many bends in it and it's easy to get the tensioning on the o-ring uneven leading to flooding. I have so far

found it sufficient to inspect the o-ring for any grit and then use a soft toothbrush to brush/flick out any particles before re-greasing.

I am curious as to what other folks do to maintain this critical seal on their Aluminium housings.

Cheers,

Jim.

Also Nexus housing here. During a trip I only open the housing when necessary to change CF card or battery. Otherwise it stays closed & latched. O-ring compression is a non-problem. After the trip everything gets a good cleaning/maintenance then put away in its Pelican case (minus camera/lens) until next time. Housing remains closed & latched with o-ring in place. Housings, strobes, lights, etc ship closed with o-rings in place. Who knows how long units have been sitting on a dealer's shelf before someone buys them, so I don't see a problem leaving o-rings in place.

I'd been thinking of asking similar questions on here, but this topic is covering all the points. I'm storing mine much the same way as 'jcclink' except in addition i'm leaving the macro port attached and on its seal (Aquatica AD90). Does anybody see any problems or more importantly as anyone had any flooding / housing leak problems related to this practice.

Andy.

Try www.aocoolers.com

I got one of these! (easy for UK users)

http://www.castaway-tackle.co.uk/1530/Dren...-Cool-Bags.html

Andy.

Really funny. I searched (or i thought i tried to search thorougly) wetpixel on soft pak coolers and only found one for the Polar company. large bag worked great and greatful i had it in Curacao last month where the dive boat holding 21 (!) only had a 'baby' rinse tank for compact point and shoots! Thankfully I had my cooler bag and the dive personnel filled it each day with fresh water so my rig was always protected and on its own.

The polar bag cost $89.00 US. i found nothing for 26 dollars!

Years ago I had read that at least for the Nikonos camera system, Nikon recommended for long term storage to remove all o rings so that compression would not take place, so I do that on my Nauticam.

Allan

Why worry about the back door oring as there are internal orings on the control shafts under pressure all the time. At the end of the trip at home i do not latch the rear door for storage. I only open the housing to replace the sd card or change camera batteries. For travel in the plane i latch the rear door of housing but the front port has a loose cover on it to equalize pressure. Strobe battery door is open also.

On my Aquatica housing, after a through rinse and soaking, I remove the main o-ring, clean the grooves and the o-ring. Then lube it and put it in a small ziploc bag inside the housing. Then close and latch the housing. With the main o-ring staring me when I open the housing for the next trip, I don't think that I would forget to install it. But Murphy's law prevails. But I dive with this rig about once every 1-2 months so it sits alot.