Air conditioned rooms and setting up gear

[pxguru 0]

As I'm based in Malaysia and dive a lot around Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia (as do many on this site from the posts I've read) I was wondering what people do about gear setup and storage overnight.

 

If my housing and camera are kept in my A/C room, then in the morning when I go for breakfast they are typically cold to the touch and the first waft of 30 deg C humid air fogs them for a good while. I have to leave them outside (somewhere safe or in sight of the breakfast table) to warm up before assembling the camera and housing for the day's diving.

 

Same in the evening...should I leave everything outside at ambient temp and risk their disappearance or bring them safely to bed with me?? If I put the gear together cold in the room can I assume I'll get no issues *inside* the housing when it ventures outside as there will be no moisture-laden air ingress or condensation trouble with the lens or inside the port?

 

Wondering what the rest of you guys have as standard operating procedure in the tropics when u can afford a room with AC!!

 

Steve

[RWBrooks 26]

Don't let ANY water touch the camera, wet/moist fingers etc, no moisture in the housing, no fogging in the housing.....allow the camera to acclimatise before housing it, Don't have the AC on so cold, turn the AC off whilst your having breakfast before you house the camera, save electricity by using a fan, and do your bit for the environment too!!!

Happy shooting!

Richard

[jcclink 8]

I dive Indonesia a lot in Oct/Nov, also with a Nexus housing. I've never had a fogging problem with it. I always work on the camera in my room. AC is on a moderate setting (not too cold). Sometimes I turn it off so the fan isn't blowing dust & stuff around the room while housing is open. If on a liveaboard I work in the camera room or on the dive deck, where ever they have a camera area. The system sits outside in the shade to acclimate to ambient temperature. Aluminum is a good conductor of heat compared to polycarbonate housings. There must be a sufficient temperature difference between the inside vs outside of the housing for condensation to occur. This has never been an issue for me.

Edited May 15, 2009 by jcclink

[cpix 1]

Never had an issue whilst on holidays in hot climates - usually put the housing together in a cool room (no moisture on my hands etc) without problems.

If you have problems, you could put the likes of one of these http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/2469..._Muncher_2.html under the base plate in your housing....

[Timmoranuk 10]

If the ambient humidity is high or the water temperature is low, and there is a risk of fogging, I flood the housing with clean dry breathing gas a moment before closing. An 'airgun' attached to the low pressure inflator hose does the job.

Edited May 15, 2009 by Timmoranuk

[james 0]

The information posted here is incorrect. The goal of housing your camera - whatever your housing is made of - is to trap as little H2O inside the housing before you go diving. The colder and drier the environment when you close the housing the better - as less H2O is present in the air that gets trapped in the housing. Acclimating the system (aka warming it up) before you close it has a highly NEGATIVE effect, as you'll trap moister air in the housing when you close it - i.e. you just trapped more H2O inside.

 

Basically you want to close the housing in the lowest dewpoint environment you can. Do a google search on "dewpoint" if you'd like more information, or I'd be happy to help here. The concept of dewpoint can also be used to explain why the gaseous H2O inside the housing becomes liquid H2O when you submerge the housing and it cools down.

 

Cheers

James

[diverdon 1]

The information posted here is incorrect. The goal of housing your camera - whatever your housing is made of - is to trap as little H2O inside the housing before you go diving. The colder and drier the environment when you close the housing the better - as less H2O is present in the air that gets trapped in the housing. Acclimating the system (aka warming it up) before you close it has a highly NEGATIVE effect, as you'll trap moister air in the housing when you close it - i.e. you just trapped more H2O inside.

 

Basically you want to close the housing in the lowest dewpoint environment you can. Do a google search on "dewpoint" if you'd like more information, or I'd be happy to help here. The concept of dewpoint can also be used to explain why the gaseous H2O inside the housing becomes liquid H2O when you submerge the housing and it cools down.

 

Cheers

James

 

What James said is 100% Correct. The cooler and dryer your stuff is when you assemble it the better off you will be. If you get some condensation on the housing after you leave the room with the unit already assembled I see no harm in that it will go away when the unit warms. Certainly when you put it in the water it will no longer be a problem.

[Bent C 18]

The information posted here is incorrect. The goal of housing your camera - whatever your housing is made of - is to trap as little H2O inside the housing before you go diving. The colder and drier the environment when you close the housing the better - as less H2O is present in the air that gets trapped in the housing. Acclimating the system (aka warming it up) before you close it has a highly NEGATIVE effect, as you'll trap moister air in the housing when you close it - i.e. you just trapped more H2O inside.

 

Basically you want to close the housing in the lowest dewpoint environment you can. Do a google search on "dewpoint" if you'd like more information, or I'd be happy to help here. The concept of dewpoint can also be used to explain why the gaseous H2O inside the housing becomes liquid H2O when you submerge the housing and it cools down.

 

Cheers

James

 

One more for James. The AC-ed air in your cold room will hold very little water vapor compared to the warmer thai, malay or indonesian outdoor air (well, any warm outdoor air except if you happen to be in a really arid desert). The only issue you will have after assembling your rig in a cold, AC-ed room, will be condensation on the outside of the housing. This will obviously not affect your uw shooting.

 

Bent C

[pxguru 0]

One more for James. The AC-ed air in your cold room will hold very little water vapor compared to the warmer thai, malay or indonesian outdoor air (well, any warm outdoor air except if you happen to be in a really arid desert). The only issue you will have after assembling your rig in a cold, AC-ed room, will be condensation on the outside of the housing. This will obviously not affect your uw shooting.

 

Bent C

 

 

Thanks James et al for contributing here. Intuitively I can see how assembling everything in a cooler, drier environment works best... I've only just switched to the Nexus housing and have been using Ikelite in the past so was looking for any tips or tricks *before* I go to Sipadan on Thursday :-D

 

Anyone routinely use small silica gel bags inside their housings to ensure dryness?

 

Steve

[rtrski 20]

Also agree with James. Assemble and seal in a cold (therefore dry) air conditioned room. The housing WILL fog when you get outside into the heat and humidity - on the outer surfaces...in other words, with no effect. The effective 'higher volume' of cold air inside vs. warm air outside isn't a concern either, compared to the relative pressure of water outside once at any depth at all.

Edited May 16, 2009 by rtrski

[Bent C 18]

Anyone routinely use small silica gel bags inside their housings to ensure dryness?

 

Steve

 

I use Ikelite and I have never experienced fogging on my dslr housing. So I do not use silica bags for underwater purposes. On land, when in rainforests and I am not able to dry the gear in a room, I seal my camera and a new silica bag in an airtight plastic bag every night.

 

Bent C

[Kilili 0]

Always use the gel bags, plenty of room in D2x housing. Don't know if it helps, but surely can't hurt. Have never had problem with moisture fiving Indonesia every year. Only thing I do is make sure I reassemble in same room that it's stored, so not quick termerature changes that might cause condensation.

[Hexanchus 0]

The information posted here is incorrect. The goal of housing your camera - whatever your housing is made of - is to trap as little H2O inside the housing before you go diving. The colder and drier the environment when you close the housing the better - as less H2O is present in the air that gets trapped in the housing. Acclimating the system (aka warming it up) before you close it has a highly NEGATIVE effect, as you'll trap moister air in the housing when you close it - i.e. you just trapped more H2O inside.

 

Basically you want to close the housing in the lowest dewpoint environment you can. Do a google search on "dewpoint" if you'd like more information, or I'd be happy to help here. The concept of dewpoint can also be used to explain why the gaseous H2O inside the housing becomes liquid H2O when you submerge the housing and it cools down.

 

Cheers

James

 

I also agree that James is correct. For every 10 deg F you raise the temperature of air, the amount of moisture a given volume of air will hold (by weight) doubles. Condensation occurs when the temperature of the surface is colder than the dewpoint of the air it is in contact with. A/C not only cools the air, but dehumidifies it as well. Hence, you want to close the housing in the coolest, driest environment possible.

 

Tim

[resappraiser 0]

I dive Indonesia a lot in Oct/Nov, also with a Nexus housing. I've never had a fogging problem with it. I always work on the camera in my room. AC is on a moderate setting (not too cold). Sometimes I turn it off so the fan isn't blowing dust & stuff around the room while housing is open. If on a liveaboard I work in the camera room or on the dive deck, where ever they have a camera area. The system sits outside in the shade to acclimate to ambient temperature. Aluminum is a good conductor of heat compared to polycarbonate housings. There must be a sufficient temperature difference between the inside vs outside of the housing for condensation to occur. This has never been an issue for me.

Steve,

 

I always assemble my camera & housing in an a/c environment and I pack as many silica gel dessicant bags in the housing as I can cram in there without affecting the camera operation. Haven't had any problems with fogging either. And, I DO NOT open the case until I am through diving for the day. I usaully wait until I am back on land.

 

Best place I have found for the silica gel bags is at OpticalOceansales.com. Jack has a specail on "Drycam" right now. These things are blue and turn pink when they have absorbed any moisture in the air. Unfortunately, they can't be revived, but they are cheap enough to just toss them out if they are pink and replace with fresh blue ones.

 

Bob