Help! Gates Housing Flood! My fault or their's?!

[jnicholson1437]

I work for a PBS station in Miami and we recently flooded our Gates housing for the Sony EX1 Camera. I found a possible oversight by Gates and am wondering if anyone can help me in deciding how to approach this. Here's what happened:

Myself and another cameraman switched domes the night before our last dive in the bahamas. We had been shooting with the Standard port and wanted to get some macro shots so we decided to put the flat port on. My coworker was the only one who had ever done this before so I let him do it. He didn't notice however that when he pulled the flat port out of its container that it was missing an o-ring. Mind you this was only his second time ever installing the port, so he didn't notice anything different. Apparently the port has what is called a seal o-ring and a buffer o-ring. The seal o-ring is the one that was still on the dome when it was installed. He couldnt get it to turn and snug up properly so I lended a hand and was able to get it on and tight. I didnt notice the buffer o-ring was missing.

Anyway we went out for our dive the next morning. The dive was in 10 to 12 ft of water and all was going smooth. Until...about an hour into the dive I noticed a small blotch of water on the port which meant water was leaking into the housing. I immediately turned the camera around and looked to see if it was the port since that was the only thing different about the housing. I saw nothing but as I was ascending I noticed a steady stream of bubbles coming out of the Gland where the stop and start record mechanism is located.

I rushed the housing to the surface and quickly swam it to the boat where my coworker grabbed it. He immediately opened it and a small amount of water came out. So small that the camera looked almost completely dry and he was sure everything was ok. Till about 5 minutes later the camera powered off and will not power back on.
Once I got on the boat I immediately inspected the housing to see what was going on. I turned the gland where the record mechanism was located and noticed that it was coming out pretty easily. I was able to remove it by hand within a few turns.

Now I was convinced what had happened. The record mechanism creates friction with each times it was pressed and that friction was turning and loosening the gland slowly. And it only takes a few turns before the gland o-ring seal would be broken. I now know from research that Gates says that all the glands are factory sealed with blue loctite and should only come off with the proper tool.

Anyway the confusion starts now because after getting the housing back on land we have discovered this missing buffer o-ring from the Flat port dome which has my coworker convinced that that is where the leak occurred.

My feeling is since it was the buffer o-ring and not the seal o-ring that was forgotten that the seal o-ring would have had to have failed for the leak to have occurred through the dome. That yes some water would gotten past the first area where the buffer is located but unless the seal failed it would not be able to enter the housing. (Please check page 19 of my link to see what I am talking about) Am I right or wrong in my thinking?

The reason this is important because it decides if the fault is on our hands or gates. I would appreciate any feedback, especially any from engineers or people who understand the functionality of how the o-rings and housing systems work.

If your curious as to what the o-rings look like and where they are located its on page 19 of this manual pdf for the housing port.
http://www.gateshousings.com/Housing Manuals/In PDF/EX1 SUC Guide R6 6-24-08 Flat.pdf

 

[Wookie]

First of all, Jeremy, The folks at Gates are above reproach when it comes to their housings. If it were me (and my camera is out of production, therefore barely replaceable) I'd give Pamela a call. Second, tell her the whole story. Tell her you saw a stream of bubbles from the stop/start record lever penetrates the bulkhead. Send the housing to them and let them inspect it. They may find a quality control problem with the way the housing is manufactured, or with the way the loctite is applied.

HOWEVER - I wouldn't expect them to repair/replace the camera. When you take a piece of delicate electronic equipment (camera) into a hazardous environment (ocean), you must expect Murphy to act upon said camera and cause it's complete and total destruction. I'd just file a claim with the insurance company (the station had insurance, right? Otherwise they are "self insured") and get my housing gone over with Gates (as they recommend once per year) and put my shiny new camera in my factory refurbished housing and go on to shoot some more of those incredible Changing Seas documentaries you do.

Blame is such a silly thing. Cameras flood. It's what they do.

Edit - It's quite possible there was a dual failure, water in the flat port, and air out the lever. therefore the "blame" would be shared.

 

[ronscuba]

Tough to say since the missing o-ring is clearly your fault. The loose gland is a different matter. If it's factory sealed with loctite, it shouldn't come loose on it's own.

 

[mobula]

As I understand it correctly, the seal O-ring is the one inside the opening of the housing? The buffer O-ring is outside and presses against the housing?

I own a Sealux housing with a Fathom port, very similar to the Gates version. They don't use the buffer O-ring like Gates does and it works. The port as a very slight tolerance, although it is sealed. The port weighs 4 kg....

So, I assume that there are two possibilities:

1) The housing should stay dry without the buffer O-ring. Then it could be a technical problem.

2) You had a particle, sand, hair or something else under or on the O-ring. You didn't take the O-ring out to check the ring and the groove before mounting it. This is what I suspect. Gates will not send a housing which is not water-proof.

I think it is not the missing O-ring.

My recommendation: before mouting a port or closing the housing take the O-rings out and test it with your finger or tung if there are dents or particles. Check the groove with the lamp. Then lubricate, check again and close.

You don't have an insurance for this?

 

[Marinevisions]

Apparently the port has what is called a seal o-ring and a buffer o-ring. The seal o-ring is the one that was still on the dome when it was installed. He couldnt get it to turn and snug up properly so I lended a hand and was able to get it on and tight. I didnt notice the buffer o-ring was missing.

The buffer o-ring does not affect the seal of the housing. One thing to note: If the ports are "very" hard to rotate into place then the o-rings mostly likely need to be "lightly" lubricated. It definitely should be easy enough for one person to install the port without any problem at all.

Now I was convinced what had happened. The record mechanism creates friction with each times it was pressed and that friction was turning and loosening the gland slowly. And it only takes a few turns before the gland o-ring seal would be broken. I now know from research that Gates says that all the glands are factory sealed with blue loctite and should only come off with the proper tool.

I agree with everyone else, that the gland issue should definitely be looked at by the Gates folks. Pamela and Karen will work very closely with you and make sure that everything is checked out.

Insurance: It is always best to have the camera and housing insured. There are plenty of things that can go wrong without it being anyone's fault and insurance is the only way of making sure you are covered.

 

[gunsrunner]

I read this post a while ago and thought you would like a link to it!!
Flooded GATES EX1 housing - Wetpixel :: Underwater Photography Forums

 

[jnicholson1437]

Ok so I appreciate all of your feedback and it was great that the two people I should have just called up and talked to about this (Frank and Joe) were first to respond. I have done as you both have suggested and talked to Pamela and John. Pamela told me that it appeared as though they never sealed the gland from the factory, and when I told her we lost a camera she quickly put me in touch with John. I know that Gates is a reputable company and certainly seems to put their customers first, and they proved that today. John asked for my story and after I explained it to him he told me that they would see what they could do about getting our camera fixed. It was a minimal flood as the leak came in slowly through the gland so I have hopes that this will bring a resolution to this case. I am very happy with the outcome of this and have learned a valuable lesson. INSURANCE!! But nevertheless we are pleased with both the honesty of gates and their incredible customer service. I will update when I know what the outcome of our camera is.