Nauticam Vacuum Valve II

As I understand it, the fogging happens because the air inside the housing cools down after the rig is immersed in the water, and as the air's capacity to hold water vapor drops with temperature, it precipitates out of the air - onto the coldest surface that it can find. Aluminium conducts heat better than glass, which conducts heat better than plastic - so in a metal housing, water precipitates on the housing itself and you never notice it, while in a polycarbonate housing, the port glass cools down first, so that's where the fog goes, ruining your dive.

I wonder what happens with acrylic domes on plastic housings - has anyone had a dome on an Ikelite, Fantasea, Nimar or SeaFrogs housing fog up on them?

Got the valve today and have done a dry test. Will be heading to Cuba in a month to get the new set-up wet for the first time!

One downside of the Nauticam leak detection set-up: My D500 housing is currently in the shop getting a new one-don't even want to know yet what this will cost. Two issues came up. First problem and cause of the damage, I maybe got a drop of seawater on the little battery while opening the housing a couple of hours after the dive. Seawater caused the battery to corrode and foul the detector with corrosion. Could not be cleaned adequately to prevent the alarm from going off constantly and the light from flashing red. You can only get the whole assembly. Second issue is that although there is a separate dry cover and two o-rings, one on the cover and one on the release button, I've had some intrusion on the threads around the cap and just enough water vapor inside to slightly corrode the button shaft, causing the button to stick a bit. I have never had any water intrusion into the housing and never had the alarm go off underwater. All this happened either in the rinse tank or between uses. In future, I'll pump it up before soaking it in the sink. I'll also service the o-ring under the cover more regularly. My only complaint is that because you can't rinse under the cover, if you get a little salt in there, it stays. Might have to regularly swab under the button with Nauticam o-ring grease.

One downside of the Nauticam leak detection set-up: My D500 housing is currently in the shop getting a new one-don't even want to know yet what this will cost. Two issues came up. First problem and cause of the damage, I maybe got a drop of seawater on the little battery while opening the housing a couple of hours after the dive. Seawater caused the battery to corrode and foul the detector with corrosion. Could not be cleaned adequately to prevent the alarm from going off constantly and the light from flashing red. You can only get the whole assembly. Second issue is that although there is a separate dry cover and two o-rings, one on the cover and one on the release button, I've had some intrusion on the threads around the cap and just enough water vapor inside to slightly corrode the button shaft, causing the button to stick a bit. I have never had any water intrusion into the housing and never had the alarm go off underwater. All this happened either in the rinse tank or between uses. In future, I'll pump it up before soaking it in the sink. I'll also service the o-ring under the cover more regularly. My only complaint is that because you can't rinse under the cover, if you get a little salt in there, it stays. Might have to regularly swab under the button with Nauticam o-ring grease.

You really rely on the o-ring under the cap to seal, the o-ring should get similar care to the main door o-ring. with inspection and the occasional lube. Having said that small o-rings like those on torches seem to look after themselves, they never seem to get grit on them or hairs on them. I always inspect them and occasionally apply a touch of grease. I wouldn't like to rely on the push button underneath to seal.

One downside of the Nauticam leak detection set-up: My D500 housing is currently in the shop getting a new one-don't even want to know yet what this will cost. Two issues came up. First problem and cause of the damage, I maybe got a drop of seawater on the little battery while opening the housing a couple of hours after the dive. Seawater caused the battery to corrode and foul the detector with corrosion. Could not be cleaned adequately to prevent the alarm from going off constantly and the light from flashing red. You can only get the whole assembly. Second issue is that although there is a separate dry cover and two o-rings, one on the cover and one on the release button, I've had some intrusion on the threads around the cap and just enough water vapor inside to slightly corrode the button shaft, causing the button to stick a bit. I have never had any water intrusion into the housing and never had the alarm go off underwater. All this happened either in the rinse tank or between uses. In future, I'll pump it up before soaking it in the sink. I'll also service the o-ring under the cover more regularly. My only complaint is that because you can't rinse under the cover, if you get a little salt in there, it stays. Might have to regularly swab under the button with Nauticam o-ring grease.

You should be able to just get parts of the vacuum system fixed at your local service centre rather than having to buy a complete system.

 

 

You should be able to just get parts of the vacuum system fixed at your local service centre rather than having to buy a complete system.

According to the service center, unless you can just clip the ends of the wires to clean it up, it's the whole system. (Mine corroded the battery holder when the battery leaked, after a week in the closed case, this spilled over onto the detection wires and completely corroded them)

Hello together

I make new a Upgrade from the Sony Nex6 in the Nauticam Housing to the Sony A6500 in the Nauticam Housing. Bevor

I used now 5 years the Sony Nex6 without the vaccum System.

But now when i changed the camera and the Housing, i bouth a vacuum System for my new Housing, because it give`s me more security.

i think too this is a good Investition.

Because i am new now with this System, maybe somebody can tell me, if ist ok to activate the vacuum the day bevor diving( i mean in the evening after the last dive?

or is this to long time and is^t better to make it maybe only 1 hour bevor diving?

With this i don`t know what`s the best.

Doris

Hello together

 

I make new a Upgrade from the Sony Nex6 in the Nauticam Housing to the Sony A6500 in the Nauticam Housing. Bevor

I used now 5 years the Sony Nex6 without the vaccum System.

 

But now when i changed the camera and the Housing, i bouth a vacuum System for my new Housing, because it give`s me more security.

i think too this is a good Investition.

Because i am new now with this System, maybe somebody can tell me, if ist ok to activate the vacuum the day bevor diving( i mean in the evening after the last dive?

or is this to long time and is^t better to make it maybe only 1 hour bevor diving?

 

With this i don`t know what`s the best.

 

Doris

I often set mine up the night before diving, the battery has a very long life and it works just fine. A longer time is better to have long enough to leak enough air to detect a drop in vacuum.

Hello Chris

thank you very much for your answer. That`s fein, when i can prepare my camera the evening bevor diving, then i don`t have stress bevor diving :-).

Hello together

 

I make new a Upgrade from the Sony Nex6 in the Nauticam Housing to the Sony A6500 in the Nauticam Housing. Bevor

I used now 5 years the Sony Nex6 without the vaccum System.

 

But now when i changed the camera and the Housing, i bouth a vacuum System for my new Housing, because it give`s me more security.

i think too this is a good Investition.

Because i am new now with this System, maybe somebody can tell me, if ist ok to activate the vacuum the day bevor diving( i mean in the evening after the last dive?

or is this to long time and is^t better to make it maybe only 1 hour bevor diving?

 

With this i don`t know what`s the best.

 

Doris

Definitely night before. Batteries will last for over a year. Check it in the morning before putting it in the water, still green is good to go. Don't forget to check your green light under water occasionally. Wipe the rig or blow off fully before opening. One drop on the sensor or battery will ruin your trip.