Maintenance of WP-N1 housing

[ChemProf]

Hi all,

I've tried Nikon support but they seem to be dead in the water...

I have a WP-N1 housing for my J2 camera, and easily understand the simple directions on its care, but there is nothing offered about seals other than maintenance of the main O-ring. There are the multitude of buttons and knobs elsewhere which strike me as needing some maintenance as well...

Do these need some sort of periodic lubrication? What would be used if so, and how often?

 

[bvanant]

Like all housings, the Nikon has o-rings on shafts to keep the buttons waterproof. After each dive day, put the whole thing in some clean water and press the buttons several times after soaking for a while (30 min or so, diffusion is slow).
Every 400 dives or so (depending on where you dive) either get them serviced or service them yourself. Typically there is a c-clip on the end of the shaft holding it in. Remove (very carefully) the clip, pull out the shaft and replace or clean and lube the o-ring. Put it back and test in the rinse tank with no camera. If you don't want to mess with this yourself send it to Devon at Pacific Camera and he will do it for you.
Bill

 

[DoubleAA]

I have the same housing. I bought an extra for $50 and an extra main O-ring. I have two ebay cameras and paid $50 for the housing so if one floods its not the end of the world. For regular maintenance make sure you keep the main oring clean and lubed. A few salt crystals there or a hair can cause it to leak.

I soak for an hour or so after diving and then press buttons multiple times. On my last trip I was the only one using the fresh camera bucket and camera soak tank at the shop so that made it nice and easy.

 

[fmerkel]

As stated by bvanant, there are O-rings (1-2 depending on the model), + spring + thrust washer on each button. Most of them are not hard to remove, BUT VERY FIDDLY!
The tiny c-clip can fly, easy to lose. If you are careful and meticulous, not too hard. If you are sloppy and fumble fingered you won't like it.
A 'few' buttons are on angles/levers/offsets and can be more of a challenge. They put them in, they have to come out, but you have to figure some of them out.

 

[ChemProf]

Thanks for this input! I have been pretty religious about the after dive care. I haven't used the housing since last year (20 dives or so max using the camera), so I'm certainly not at the 400 mentioned.

What I did notice getting it out of the closet was that one or two of the buttons seemed to "stick" (not really--showed greater resistance, and one released slower than normal). The feeling is like pushing through stubborn O-rings. This made me wonder if I should go ahead and service it now?

Or is a pool test with an empty case adequate? (I'm guessing not, compared with 100 feet...)

Is there a standard lubricant to use?

Thanks again!

 

[DoubleAA]

The housing should have come with a tube of silicone lubricant. WP-G1000 Silicone Grease. Any from your LDS should do.

 

[ChemProf]

The housing should have come with a tube of silicone lubricant. WP-G1000 Silicone Grease. Any from your LDS should do.

OK. I'm an absolute newbie with this and didn't know if the main O-ring lube was appropriate for the others. While it makes sense, the manual is very specific to its use on that (though it does not exclude others, or course).

Thanks!

 

[bvanant]

There are tons of threads on lubricants for o-rings. Bottom line Tribolube and Christolube are safe for ALL types of o-rings used in Scuba. You only need one kind.
Bill

 

[Timmyjoe]

B&H Photo is selling the WP-N1 housings, brand new, for $49. I bought an extra, and if my current one ever starts leaking, or I get close to the 400 dives mentioned above, I'll just switch to the new housing.

Best,
-Tim