ianmarsh

I would suggest spraying a soap / water mixture on the housing and watch for a bubble.

 

When I installed on my Aquatica the washer went on the inside and I used a wrench to tighten slightly. less than 1/8 turn.

 

Problem is, you need to spray the solution INSIDE the housing!!

I suppose you could put a small positive pressure in with a bike pump and check for bubbles, but that does not mimic how the "o"rings are designed to work.

Not sure if this would produce "false positive" results:(

got the Aquatica 5D III, installed that Airlock and well it's leaking after pumping it to -5 after 5min I have -3 then 15min later nothing. I tried listening where the pressure leakes but nothing.

Strange, I can't keep it to hold the -5 for more than 2min.

I had the same problem...mine was getting the bulkhead O ring to seat properly due to interference with the housing casting. Is there any interference on your housing?.

I used a bicycle torque wrench and snugged mine down to 5 Nm, if that helps. It did cut the threads into the paint on the side of the casting.

Of course, it may be that you have another leak elsewhere, but the most likely explanation is the new fitting.

Also make sure there is no air leaking around the pump to gauge interface. I used a cork to replace the pump handle while assessing stability of the vacuum.

ian

I spoke with Scott at Backscatter. He assured me that all the black fittings are anodized aluminum

I have confirmed this by removing my bulkhead and found that where the threads interfere with the casting on my Subal ND3, the threads are now silver.

Backscatter has a solution to this interference problem on my housing and will be producing bulkhead fittings that are slightly taller before the threaded portion begins.

That will clear the lip on the casting that binds the thread as the bulkhead seats. It will also allow the threaded cap or Airlock fitting to seat completely in the bulkhead which it doesn't currently do on my housing.

That should definitively solve this issue on my housing.

Ian

I received my Airlock last night and installed it on my Subal ND3.

I sent the following feedback email to Sean at backscatter this morning:

Sorry I wasn't clear.

I want the option of using a D3X and a D3s in the same housing without loss of functionality of either...

ian