Housing Care Between Dive Trips

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Randallr

Contributor
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Location
New York, NY
# of dives
200 - 499
Newbie photographer just back from first - and first successful - UW photo trip. And I've got a question for you wiser hands: What should I do with the housing (Olympus PT-050) until my next trip? I took the camera out, of course. I soaked the housing for an hour in fresh water and worked all the buttons and levers several times. I dried it off. Now, do I just leave it closed and sealed until the next trip, or is there something more I should be doing to care for it, or for the O-ring?
 
I would leave it open, not closed, in a cool, dry, dark (i.e. No sunlight) place. Also, make sure that te seals are lubed before storage. That should be it.
Sent from my Windows Phone using Board Express
 
The alternate suggestion is to remove the o-ring and put it in a ziplock bag and then you can leave the housing closed to keep the dust out of it. Either way, the goal is to not have long term pressure on the o-ring.
 
I remove the o-ring and clean it with soap and water. After it dries, I put it in a clean baggie and store it in the (closed) case.
 
What purpose does the plastic bag serve if the o-ring is stored inside the closed housing?
 
Keeps the silicone from smearing up the inside of your case? :)
 
The baggie also keeps junk from accumulating on the o-ring. The silicone is slightly sticky, worse if you use too much silicone. Reduces the change of missing something on the o-ring that you might no see / feel before reinstalling.
 
Be aware that there are ziplock bags and ZipLoc bags. Avoid the really cheap ones (many store brands or ones that your paper clips came in) because they often contain plasticizers that can migrate into the silicone oil (or whatever you use). The name brand ones have no extractable plasticizers so should be fine.
My housing lives in a big plastic box with all of its components (ports, extensions etc) and I put the main housing o-ring inside a rigid plastic container in the box.
Bill
 
Be aware that there are ziplock bags and ZipLoc bags. Avoid the really cheap ones (many store brands or ones that your paper clips came in) because they often contain plasticizers that can migrate into the silicone oil (or whatever you use). The name brand ones have no extractable plasticizers so should be fine.
My housing lives in a big plastic box with all of its components (ports, extensions etc) and I put the main housing o-ring inside a rigid plastic container in the box.
Bill

This is really interesting. Is there a way to determine if my plastic bags do or don't contain these plasticizers? Thanks.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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