Controls that do not provide in and out movement will require removal of the shaft to lubricate, but this is usually required only every 50 to 100 dives. The control definitely should be serviced if a shaft does not turn freely.
Yikes, I am sending mine in for maintenance. I think I have 200+ dives on my Ikelite housing. FWIW, I have been pretty hard on my housing. I rinse it each time, probably pressing the buttons about every other rinse. I have never had a flood, knock on wood.
All sorts of people have handled my housing, handed it up and down, etc.
It has traveled in a Pelican on about 16 flights. The one thing I do religously is "feel the rings" by putting a tiny bit of silicone on my fingers. I am feeling for a grain of grit, or maybe a hair. I always dunk test it before splashing.
One thing I do, that I have been advised not to do, by people who know more than me, is I leave it in the rinse bucket. People with more experience and knowledge tell me this is not good. I do not know why I continue to leave my set up in a big bath (no masks, or other items) except to say that it seems logical to me that the camera does not take impact or get hit by tanks, feet, gear, and choppy seas causing impact. I will report back when I flood. Also, I am careful about closing the clamps bilaterally, applying equal tension, simultaneously. Divers reporting that they hold the port tight until at depth of 10 ft or so, have me wondering about my "camera in bath method." Maybe I have just been lucky...meanwhile everyone around me as flooded. I think there must be a little voo doo involved!
