Thoughts on silicon grease replacement?

[Jamdiver]

Exactly, that is why my first camera flooded. I used the "wrong" grease and it ruined the O-ring.

Sorry that it takes so long for everything to get to you....Paradise does have it's disadvantages :frown:

Aaaack alright....
As long as I get it before a trip I have planned to Saba I should be fine.

So just one final question here, 'grease for silicon o-rings' from another brand say Olympus or Sea& sea for example would be fine to use??

 

[justleesa]

ya know...after what happened to me, I'm just too scared to try anything but the original grease....

Hope that someone shows up and has a better answer for you

 

[Cacia]

Okay, Leesa and Gilligan. Now you have my attention...guess I needed the long explanation Gilligan gave. What about the Ikelite O-rings? (black) I have been using "any silicone" .....am I doomed? Lately, I have a preminition I am about to flood. Getting sloppy.

 

[aHeavyD]

I bought a tube of Dow Corning 111, Valve lubericant and sealant. I use it on my camera o-rings and have no problems. It's a food grade silicone. I found it on a search of the internet. also Leasurepro sell silicone that I have used.

 

[alcina]

Jam -

FWIW you may find you do NOT need more lube on the oring. For my Canons I routinely do not use anything - I just run my fingers along it to make sure it isn't dry. All the grease does is keep your oring pliable...it does not help the seal by itself.

A little spit on the fingers, run the oring through and viola I am good to go...and that's when I actually take the oring out of the groove.

YMMV

 

[dleffert]

Aaaack alright....
As long as I get it before a trip I have planned to Saba I should be fine.

So just one final question here, 'grease for silicon o-rings' from another brand say Olympus or Sea& sea for example would be fine to use??

FWIW, I was talking to the Ikelite service folks awhile back about this very same question, and basically what I got told is that OEM's are using a wide variety of different materials for their o-rings and there are a lot of different o-ring lubricants being made as well, and the chances of a compatibility match while cross-branding are somewhere between slim and none (and Slim's walking out the door).

I was told that non-compatibility would lead to o-ring stretching and failure so I would be better off to use the Ikelite lube on their o-rings and the Sony lube on my Sony housing o-rings, and not take the risks of mixing.

 

[Gilligan]

Ok thank you very much for that Gilligan.
I did a search and came up with your thread on this subject I believe.
Ii'm pretty sure that the Canon O-ring is made of the same substance as the Olympus.

So should I look for a fluorosilicone based product in the interim?
What i'm really trying to get at, is there a product that you know of that is compatible with camera O-rings??

As it is my o-ring is already prepped for tomorrow's dive with the Canon silicon grease, however I do need to replace it though..

Are you in a position to order the grease from Yuzo in Japan?
He has it on his website

If not I was told by the same person at Backscatter.com that the Sea & Sea film camera O-ring grease is compatible. I never tried it so don't hold me to it.

 

[Gilligan]

Okay, Leesa and Gilligan. Now you have my attention...guess I needed the long explanation Gilligan gave. What about the Ikelite O-rings? (black) I have been using "any silicone" .....am I doomed? Lately, I have a preminition I am about to flood. Getting sloppy.

I never had a flood as a result of using the food grade generic silicone but I sure went through a few O-rings because they stretched out.

Since then I have never used anything but the Oly grease.

I tend to agree with dleffert's post about the different manufacturers using different materials for their O-rings. They want you to buy their grease.

For the price of the brand specific grease and the amount of time it lasts it's not worth the risk of using other products.

 

[Gilligan]

I bought a tube of Dow Corning 111, Valve lubericant and sealant. I use it on my camera o-rings and have no problems. It's a food grade silicone. I found it on a search of the internet. also Leasurepro sell silicone that I have used.

The dive shop grease is pure food grade silicone grease and that is what stretched out my Oly O-rings.

It may be okay on your O-rings but not on others.

It's just not worth the risk.

OEM grease is cheaper in the long run than replacing stretched out O-rings or worse, a flooded housing.

 

[Jamdiver]

Fair enough, thank you very much for your advice and insight Gilligan.
In the interim if lubrication is necessary spit will have to do until I get another tube of the Canon grease.

Yuzo sounds interesting Gilligan, however Japan is even further than the states from here .