The new Mini Vivid 5 Vacuum Leak Detector.

Started by Kraken de Mabini · April 20, 20188 yr

8Posts
8Replies

Kraken de Mabini Archived member 1243 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

April 20, 20188 yr

The new Mini Vivid 5 Vacuum Leak Detector.

A housing leak detector is essential to prevent housing floods and for this I have relied on the standard Vivid V5 vacuum leak detector for two years; it has saved me from some embarrassing wet moments. After learning about Miso's new creation, the mini version of the Vivid 5, I have installed one in my Subal housing.

Description:

The Mini Vivid 5 unit is 24 mm long, almost half the length of the standard detector. It consists of:

1. An external unit with three parts: a connector which is screwed into a bulkhead port and contains the electronics; a cylindrical body with the vacuum valve; and a screw-on cap.

2. An internal unit for the battery holder, mounted inside the housing.

Built-in wires with male to female plugs connect both units.

Photo #1 shows the disassembled detectors, with the standard Leak Detector above, and the new mini unit below.

Photos 2 and 3 show the installed mini and standard detectors,

Photo 4 is of the coin battery holder for the mini detector, mounted inside a housing.

Photo 5 shows the three types of pumps used to create a housing vacuum:

top: a pistol grip pump with built-in vacuum manometer,

middle: the Vivid syringe-type manual pump, and

bottom: the Vivid electric pump with an internal 9V battery. I find this electric pump easiest to use.

Installation:

After lightly lubricating the O ring with silicon grease, I threaded the connecting wire through an M14 bulkhead port, screwed the detector's base firmly into the port, and screwed the detector's body into its base.

The internal unit with the battery holder I mounted on the upper inside of the housing, and connected the two wires.

Testing:

I closed my housing and pumped a vacuum until the detector's LED light was blinking green. The next day the mini Leak Detector was still blinking green, telling me the housing remained sealed, nice and water proof.

Allow me to add that I also keep my housing's built-in humidity detector with its alarm and LED flashing red light in fully working condition, with a fresh battery and frequent testing.

Edited April 20, 20188 yr by Kraken de Mabini
okuma Archived member 971 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

April 20, 20188 yr

A nice presentation!

Thank you Eli.
tomhauburn1 Archived member 19 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

May 5, 20188 yr

I wonder if this would work on the stock sensor in a Aquatica Nikon D7000 body? It has a sensor installed but not sure if it works with vacuum?
Eyematey Archived member 248 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

May 5, 20188 yr

Missing some photos?
pbalves Archived member 256 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

May 6, 20188 yr

If the sensor is the AQUATICA SURVEYOR, it has the vacuum sensor included. In that case you just need a vacuum valve and a pump. You do not need the electronics (witch means saving). Miso has the solution for you. I have an Aquatica Housing (Canon 7D mkII) and installed the valve from Miso.
serpentara Archived member 21 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

December 9, 20187 yr

Stupid question I am sure but where do I buy the 5 mini? I have a version 3 that I have already replaced the PCB once and probably need to do so again (the light is stuck on always on red).

Having the electronics (at least the battery) inside the housing makes sense to me.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited December 9, 20187 yr by serpentara
TimG Archived member 4938 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

December 9, 20187 yr

Stupid question I am sure but where do I buy the 5 mini? I have a version 3 that I have already replaced the PCB once and probably need to do so again (the light is stuck on always on red).

Having the electronics (at least the battery) inside the housing makes sense to me.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hmm, curious, it's not on the Vivid website but it is available from several u/w photography equipment dealers. You could email Miso at Vivid. He's really helpful and very quick to reply.

A couple of points on the V5 and the in-housing battery. It may be an obvious point but I found I had to be very careful about where I fitted the battery in the housing. I got it too close to the camera slide mechanism and, if I wasn't very careful, there was a risk of the battery either blocking the installation of the camera - or the camera was pulling the very thin Vivid battery cable. I used two-sided tape to hold the battery in place - which works well. I also used some of that cable shrink wrapping to neaten it and make the cable easier to fasten down inside the housing.

The other point - and I know Miso is aware of this - is that some of the metal used for the V5 (certainly in the relatively early model I had) was quite thin. The V5 system is much slimmer than the V3/V4 and maybe not quite as robust - or at least in the earlier models.
sunnyboy010101 Archived member 172 posts
Originally published on Wetpixel.com

December 11, 20187 yr

I bought my V4 direct from Miso at Vivid. No problem shipping to Canada, great person to deal with. I've had no issues with mine at all, though I did just have to replace the battery. The manual says "good for about 100 hours", but I got a lot more than that, and Miso sent a spare battery with the unit that made it a quick swap.