when to lube o-ring for camera case?

Hey,
when is it neccessary to lube to o-ring for an underwater camera case? should you do it before every dive? Also, do you need to clean it after every use and how would you go about doing this? thanks

Do a search and get a bunch of answers, but I lube as needed. It depends on how the "O" ring contacts the housing. That is to say if the "O" ring is really being used like a gasket I prefer it to be on the dry side, but if the "O" ring has to slide into or between the housing I like it too "slide" and not pinch.
I am an advocate of cleaning and checking everytime I open the housing but I'll often make a couple of dives bewteen opening the housing, hope this helps

what mike said

When my husband got his first housing, he was advised by someone not to lube very often because then all kinds of crap would stick to the goo.

It flooded on day 3 of our trip to Bonaire, because the o-ring got scrunched up (not lubed enough).

These days we lube right before each day of diving. With my video rig, I don't always take the o-ring all the way out, but I'll at least run a little bit of grease around it. I can usually tell if it's at all dry, because closing it feels like I'm forcing something.

Taking it out and running it between your fingers is also a good way to check for any problems with the o-ring, or catch little bits of sand.

I am with Mike on this. I have been diving with cameras for about 5 years and I only lube when I pack them away after a trip or or more often if they are used for sliding or moving parts. I use a soft cloth and wipe the excess off.

thanks guys...its this housing...Fantasea CP-4 Pro Underwater Housing For Nikon Coolpix 4300 & 885

The o-ring acts i guess as more of a gasket... you put the o-ring in the groove and then the back part of the case "folds" over it to make the seal. So i don't have to slide it in or anything like that....keep it dry?

Yes dry, or a teenie tiny bit of grease. As has been stated use your finger and wipe the gasket to "feel" any problems or grit. Once it has been in salt water though you should remove the "o" rings and clean it at the end of a trip or the little bit of salt water when dry will create crystals

Check with the manufacturer. Some orings take special lube grease and some like mine,take none at all. If you use the wrong lube, you run the chance of the oring failing at the worst possible time.The way it was explained to me was that if you use the wrong lube, it can actually attack and destroy the oring.Worse it can damage the housing.

Personally I leave well alone. I lubed my Sony housing oring when I bought it in 2002 and haven't done anything further. It's now got 300+ dives on it and I've never seen a drop of water get in.
At the start of each trip I just run my little finger very lightly around the visible surfaces just to feel the film of grease and make sure there are no hairs, grit or salt crystals left over from the previous trip or storage - between trips I keep the housing ajar using the rubber piece supplied and keep it in a knotted plasic freezer bag.
First dive of each trip I just do a good visual before getting in the water - i'ts easy to see the mating area - and on the first descent I keep an eye on it. Then I don't worry about it any more. It stays out of sight in my BC pocket for the most part.

When I keep reading about people that actually remove their rings regularly (risk of nicking), clean them, (risk of stretching) relube them (risk of use the wrong lube once the original manufacturers tube finishes) and remount them (risk of introducing new foreign bodies) I prefer to leave well alone.

I have over 300 dives alone last year on an Ikelite housing last year alone. I remove each night the oring and it goes into a bag along with the port oring. In the morning I look at each carefully for sand, crystalized salt and hair. If necessary I gently rinse the oring(s) under the sink water, dry it with an old and very much washed white cotton t-shirt (no lint at all) and apply a very thin coat of new lube (I use a generic white type) before assembling the camera.