Is it OK to leak check a camera a day before a dive?

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lurker mike

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central florida
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I got a new PT0-44 housing, is getting the camera all sealed up the night before a dive ok to do? or should I do it on the boat just before the dive? I was just wondering if it would mess up the o-ring if I sealed it to soon before a dive. Also is there any other things/helpful hints I should know about? Thanks.
 
Yep, it is my standard way to do so.
By closing the camera the night before you also ensure that the air inside has less moisture because of a lower temperature. The cooler the air the lower the amount of moisture it can contain.

Try to prevent any opening and closing of the housing on a boat as much as possible.
 
That's the way I have been doing it for the last 5 years. Try to assemble the camera / housing in an air conditioned environment, the air will be drier too. I usually set mine up away from any distractions - TV, people etc.

I transport my camera in a cooler bag, sometimes with a few ice bricks in it to keep the setup cool.
 
the night before should be fine. too easy to make a mistake on the boat, the air is much damper too so more chance of condensation. Just don't do it the week before.
 
Check your camera in the rinse tank too. Don't turn it on, but press all the buttons to make sure all of the orings are secure. Pull it out of the tank and check for leaks. As a last step, I turn the camera on and shoot a photo in the tank. I also turn it on as I descend and check it every few feet because it might not leak until it's under pressure.
 
I usually assemble the night before which is mostly in a air conditioned room. When I run out of those silica bags, I use a sliver of paper towel inside for moisture absorption help. I have the Tough 8000 ( before this a 770 SW), so I usually take it out of the housing at night as my pocket camera, and then put it back in before we leave in the morning. I put it in the tank on the boat first thing. Probably the cooler with ice cubes is overkill, since it has to equilibrate to the outside temperatue and humidity sometime.
 
The ice packs are certainly not overkill. The air temp around here in summer is 30 deg C, the water temp 8 deg C. You need to Keep the housing at a cool temp in these conditions otherwise it will fog up for sure. The cooler is more for the foam padding it offers than anything else. Leaving the camera in the boat tank is one way of flooding it.
 
I always assemble the night before. Calm, cool, relaxed, pay attention.
In the room with AC is great. Also gives time for the desiccant packs to do there thing. By the morning the air in the housing is bone dry, so no fog.

As for cooler and ice, um, yeah ok?
Air temps in the summer here hit the high 80's and bottom temps are in the high 30's to low 40's. Never had a fogging issue yet. I just set the camera in a safe place on the deck out of the sun.
 
WE dive off RIBS - there is nowhere to set the camera down out of the sun. After I started using the ice bricks my camera (7070/PT-027) stopped fogging up. YMMV
 
thanks everybody. I'll be diving in 82 deg. F. with air temps in 85-90 deg. F. I'm not sure I could handle the cold stuff.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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