I have seen a commercial for a leak detector, produced in Australia and sold for $36, postage included. Anyone has an experience of this product, or other brand to recommend? Is a LED Alarm better than a soud signal, I wonder. thanks
Underwater Camera Housing Leak Detector
- Thread starter Freewillow
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K
KeithG
Guest
There are several different types of leak detectors.
Old school ones detected the pool of water inside your housing via 2 bare wires and turned on a led. For $36 you will likely get one of these. I have one kicking around in a drawer somewhere.
Current technology is much more expensive (and hopefully better). The new leak detectors use a vacuum pump and a pressure sensor. You close the housing, pump a bit of a vacuum, wait. As long the vacuum stays you have no leak.
Old school ones detected the pool of water inside your housing via 2 bare wires and turned on a led. For $36 you will likely get one of these. I have one kicking around in a drawer somewhere.
Current technology is much more expensive (and hopefully better). The new leak detectors use a vacuum pump and a pressure sensor. You close the housing, pump a bit of a vacuum, wait. As long the vacuum stays you have no leak.
OP
Thak you for you answer. I have seen such vacuum pumps, but I beleive that they work only for Nauticam housings. I have an Ikelite housing. Do you know if this kind of system works on Ikelite housings?
PatW
Contributor
Free willow,
i have a vacuum system system on my Nauticam housing. It is great. Before there was always the nagging fear that I might not have a good seal. The great thing about the vacuum system is that you know that you have a seal. It also lets you know when you are losing the seal.
I think that Backscatter might have a vacuum system that can work through most housings by way of the bulkhead. The Nauticam system just works through a bulkhead and something like it should work on most housings.
i have a vacuum system system on my Nauticam housing. It is great. Before there was always the nagging fear that I might not have a good seal. The great thing about the vacuum system is that you know that you have a seal. It also lets you know when you are losing the seal.
I think that Backscatter might have a vacuum system that can work through most housings by way of the bulkhead. The Nauticam system just works through a bulkhead and something like it should work on most housings.
K
KeithG
Guest
They work in any housing they are installed in. I believe many are designed (sized) to use existing bulkhead connector holes.
They can be custom installed in any housing that has the necessary space and internal clearance. I drill extra holes in my housings to add bulkhead connectors for strobes. Some housings are extremely limited on placement options. Others have lots of room.
They can be custom installed in any housing that has the necessary space and internal clearance. I drill extra holes in my housings to add bulkhead connectors for strobes. Some housings are extremely limited on placement options. Others have lots of room.
Gilligan
Contributor
I use the one you mentioned with my Canon G10 and G12 housings. I have no bulkhead connector holes on my Canon housings. The blinking light type is better than nothing. I dunk my housing for a minute or two to check the light. It's no guaranty against a leak ar depth. If you had a major leak the camera is toast in salt water with or without a leak detector light.
Stoo
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The vacuum detection system is a 3rd party gizmo, and should work in any housing, but it does require a through-hull fitting. I was at Aquatica a couple of weeks ago dropping my housing off for service and looked at one. In my case, I have an unused hydrophone which could be removed to make space for the vacuum. I opted not to put one in, but the concept seems sound.
Basically you end up with a "nipple" that is about the size of a tire inflator valve. There is a small pump which is used to suck air our, creating a vacuum inside. I green LED indicates a good seal. I believe there is also a moisture indicator as part of this system, but don't quote me on that.
The obvious advantage of this system is that it (in theory) gives you a warning that you are losing the integrity of the housing, allowing you time to ascend. The traditional alarm only tells you that have water in the housing... which might be nice to know assuming you don't have 20 minutes of deco to do!
Damn, I think I have just convinced myself to put one of these things in. Ugh.
Basically you end up with a "nipple" that is about the size of a tire inflator valve. There is a small pump which is used to suck air our, creating a vacuum inside. I green LED indicates a good seal. I believe there is also a moisture indicator as part of this system, but don't quote me on that.
The obvious advantage of this system is that it (in theory) gives you a warning that you are losing the integrity of the housing, allowing you time to ascend. The traditional alarm only tells you that have water in the housing... which might be nice to know assuming you don't have 20 minutes of deco to do!
Damn, I think I have just convinced myself to put one of these things in. Ugh.
I recently installed one in my Subal 5d MKii housing, and I love it! (the one from Backscatter). It really does give me a newfound confidence in taking my housing in the water 
fisheater
Contributor
I use one of these.
Underwater Camera Housing Leak Detector - Underwater Camera Housing Leak Detector - Home Page
Haven't had a leak, yet, so I can't comment on how quickly it would detect it or how useful such knowledge was.
Underwater Camera Housing Leak Detector - Underwater Camera Housing Leak Detector - Home Page
Haven't had a leak, yet, so I can't comment on how quickly it would detect it or how useful such knowledge was.
Stoo
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That's the thing with this stuff... It's a bit like an insurance poilcy isn't it. Odds are, you'll never use it, but if you ever do need it, it's money well spent.
I have just told the Aquatica guys to put their vacuum system in... My final rationalization is that if I ever have an issue with leaking, it'll probably be when I am on vacation. Compared to the price of a photography "expedition", it's cheap by any measure!
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