Keep the O-ring in or take it out?

[TPete61]

Being a Distributor of O-rings I can bring some additional FACTS to this thread. Parker a major O-ring manufacturer sells a Product called Super 'O' Lube part number 884-2. It is a silicone based grease. Parker DOES recomend grease for installation of o-rings in many applications. O-rings are most commonly used in the Pnuematic and Fluid power industry. They very frequently encounter Petroleum products. There isn't a problem storing your O-Rings in a bag of grease. If the grease is contaminated with small abrasive particles that is a different story. I would follow the housing manufacturer's instructions. I slight amount of grease on the housing O-ring allows the O-ring to seat itself as the pressure increases on the housing. Finally you will find that almost any manufacturer of Dive gear that uses and O-ring for a seal has silicone grease on there seals from the time of manufacture for assembly reasons as well as leakproof reliability. This being said I would closely follow Olympus recomendations on O-Ring installation.

 

[Kim]

Being a Distributor of O-rings I can bring some additional FACTS to this thread. Parker a major O-ring manufacturer sells a Product called Super 'O' Lube part number 884-2. It is a silicone based grease. Parker DOES recomend grease for installation of o-rings in many applications. O-rings are most commonly used in the Pnuematic and Fluid power industry. They very frequently encounter Petroleum products. There isn't a problem storing your O-Rings in a bag of grease. If the grease is contaminated with small abrasive particles that is a different story. I would follow the housing manufacturer's instructions. I slight amount of grease on the housing O-ring allows the O-ring to seat itself as the pressure increases on the housing. Finally you will find that almost any manufacturer of Dive gear that uses and O-ring for a seal has silicone grease on there seals from the time of manufacture for assembly reasons as well as leakproof reliability. This being said I would closely follow Olympus recomendations on O-Ring installation.

I think that you will find that Olympus O-rings are made of a different substance to O-rings that are used in the Pneumatic and Fluid industries and also not the same material used in general scuba gear. This is why Olympus supplies its own grease with them. There was a thread about this not too long ago - use ordinairy silicone grease on them and they will stretch and cause a flood (ask JustLeesa - it happened to her!)

One thread about this:
http://www.scubaboard.com/t61479-olympus-grease-versus-generic-grease.html

and another:
http://www.scubaboard.com/t61036-.html

 

[maractwin]

After reading those other threads it sounds like the genuine Olympus grease isn't actually silicon grease and will not cause the O-rings to stretch.

So the question becomes: is it better to store the O-rings installed in the housing or separately?

Olympus recommends not keeping them installed so that they do not become deformed by always having pressure on them.

-Mark

 

[jcclink]

What about all the tiny control o-rings? You don't remove them I hope. They stay compressed all the time & they're ok (unless debris gets in the gland maybe).

 

[Charlie99]

What about all the tiny control o-rings? You don't remove them I hope. They stay compressed all the time & they're ok (unless debris gets in the gland maybe).

The tiny control o-rings seem to be the weak point in the PT-016 housing for my Olympus 400.

It seems that an initial tiny bit of weeping thru will dry to be a salt crystal which then causes a bit more to weep thru. The problem was easy to solve by popping off the C-ring, pulling out the control shaft, cleaning and relubing everything. Occasionally using a toothpick to drip a bit of liquid silicone into the o-ring area has kept the problem from recurring.

For the main o-ring, using the method recommended by Olympus has worked for me --- removing the o-ring during extended storage. For convenience, I just leave it in the grease-coated ziplock bag used to lightly grease it. Knock on wood. It's worked for the one year / 95 dives I've had the housing.

Being a realist, though, I am watching to see when Olympus obsoletes the Stylus 300/400/410 series and will pick up a spare camera during the closeout sales.

 

[TPete61]

O-Rings used in these camera's are the same as Pneumatic and Fluidpower O-Rings. There are different O-Ring compounds and typically Camera's use a Shore A 70 Durometer hardness O-ring made from a Silicone Compound. There are many different O-Ring compounds for different applications. Silicone is the prefered compound for u/w housings.

 

[aquaoren]

As a newbie to UW photography, after reading all the threads about housing and o-rings, I'm still not sure whether to store the o-rings in the housing (PT-015) and whether you store the housing open or closed?
I'd appreciate feedback

 

[maractwin]

I've been trying to figure out the same thing.

All I've determined is that some people have had success leaving their o-rings in, and others taking them out. Some people have had floods by over maintaining their o-rings, and others have floods after not doing enough maintenance. Some people insist that the lubricant is bad for the o-rings, then cite a discussion which says the lubricant is fine.

I may have contributed to some of the confusion by pushing the method cited in Olympus' manual while trying to determine why some people thought that was the wrong advice.

My own impression after all of this is to do whatever you want that will not damage the o-rings, but be absolutely certain that there is no sand, lint, or hairs stuck to them when sealing the housing. I think that is the real cause of failures, and any maintenance procedures that help you keep them clean without stretching or deforming them is good.

-Mark

 

[Dee]

After leaving the o-ring in a closed housing for over 6 months and seeing how flat, distorted and dry it was...I now make sure I remove it if I won't be using the housing for more than a few weeks. I clean and LIGHTLY grease it then put it in a ziplock bag inside the housing. I can safely latch the housing to keep the inside clean.

I don't worry about who does what and when anymore. The system I use has worked for me for years with no ill effects.

 

[MAGELLAN]

Well, this all sounds very interesting indeed. I flooded my camera on the second day I used it. I was very dissapointed to say the least, but reading through this thread I remembered something about what I did that I hadn't thought of before. The night before the second dive I opened the case in my room, recharged the battery and removed the O-rings, and greased them. The next day on a shore dive, I was in the water no more that 5-10 minutes and the thing started leaking like a seive. Inspecting the camera afterwards, I could see no debris responsible for the leak, since then I've been at a loss as to what really happened, but I wish I had left the seals alone. So, maybe the grease is not necessary for sealing purposes, but more for maitainng the elasticity of the O-rings and should be used sparingly? My only other suspicion is the plunger O-rings. What's this about putting Silicone on them? :cwmddd: