View Full Version : Olympus PT 016 housing for mju 400
Interested in finding out if anyone has had a leak problem with the above housing.
We are now about to test dive our second housing after first leaked at 15 m. Friends have returned camera and housing to supplier after 3 housings failed on test dive to 17 m.
Problem appears to be the little buttons on back - they leak if knocked when using an adjacent button. No leak if you just take the housing in - so please test all butons if you buy one before putting camera in.
Have got a PT016 and dived with it down to 30m several times...no leaks so far and have pressed all the buttons.
Have just got the Olympus PT 016...... Have tried it three times (empty) and three times it leaked.
The main o-ring seems fine (its been down to the rated 40m) ....but a couple of the buttons drip slowly.... Have tried re-greasing but that's not solved problem yet....
Will give it another go before sending back to Olympus.....
Another two friends have bought the same housing recently and I'll report if they have similar problems..
have had word from olympus that there is a faulty batch so don't persevere return to supplier and ask for new replacement
ScubaJon
23-05-2004, 18:42
Yes I've got exactly the same problem, I thought it was just me not greasing the seal enough but I used plenty of grease today and followed the manufactures recommendations, no leak with just the housing - add the camera and use it on a dive and it leaks. Considerably its not just condensation.
What do you recommend I do? Won?t Olympus just turn round and say I?ve not been greasing the seal correctly?
Cheers,
Jon
Gary Exton
24-05-2004, 17:30
I have had 4 housings so far that have leaked.
I also know of another diver that has sent his back twice.
I have contacted Olympus UK and they know of no issues with the housing and apparently they only have had 1% failure rate.
I find this strange as 3 people in our dive club have the housing and out of seven housings between them six have been sent back.
Jon,
from memory and other forums, seems this is a known problem with a batch of housings. Can't remember where I saw it but I think if you take it back you should be received with knowing looks. HTH
Yes I've got exactly the same problem, I thought it was just me not greasing the seal enough but I used plenty of grease today and followed the manufactures recommendations, no leak with just the housing - add the camera and use it on a dive and it leaks. Considerably its not just condensation.
What do you recommend I do? Won?t Olympus just turn round and say I?ve not been greasing the seal correctly?
Cheers,
Jon
Jon, I hope your camera is ok? I am currently awaiting a third housing - but luckily the retailer has contacted Olympus and insisted that the next one sent to me is pre-tested to an equivalent water pressure of 40m. Unfortunately this will take two weeks :(
I just wish Olympus would test (even if randomly) these housings prior to despatch as they 'generally' don't seem to be fit for purpose. Does anyone know where we stand legally if the housing leaks with your camera in it? Is there any specific insurance cover we can get?
NeilB - I think you've been lucky with your housing. I've had two housings and both have leaked (the second without pressing any buttons).
Gary - it appears all our club members PT016 housings leak - RD just doesn't press any buttons other than to activate the 'shutter' - his housing had water in when I inspected it.
scubajon
27-05-2004, 11:23
Yes I hope the camera is ok! Its got soaked on many occasions, thankfully with the camera being weather proof it seems to have survived. I am glad I have found people in a similar boat as I thought it was just me not sealing the camera correctly, but after testing it so many times it must be a fault with the housing.
So after many leaks and reading your replies I've sent the housing back to where I bought it from, without any hesitation they said they are going to send it back Olympus for pressure testing. I just hope the new one does not leak, at ?5 ago sending it back recorded delivery its not cheap!
I'd be interested to know if we can take this further with Olympus?
As it is surely not doing our cameras any good in the long run.
I had this same problem at similar depth. After 3 replacements, gave up on Olympus and bought some fatter o-rings for the plunger seals. There was no doubt it would have otherwise ruined my camera. It was a bit of work to replace each of the plunger seals but at least they are all the same. No problems with the main casing o-ring.
The plungers are now a bit stiffer to operate but no more leaks. I just have to keep them well lubed with silicon grease so they retract. It was either that or scrap my OS400 for underwater use.
If Olympus has since admitted the problem, I may consider looking at the (alleged) new fixed replacement housing and see what they did to fix it.
Sceptical DeepDog
scubajon
16-06-2004, 12:08
I'm still waiting for my housing unit from Olympus, I've been told It takes 4 weeks for them to check it and this gets done in Portugal!
This is a joke, I have bought the housing unit specially for the summer months and due to Olympus's incompetence's in their manufacturing and testing I'm with out a housing unit for the summer.
How have others got on with theirs? Are they working ok now?
stephen martin
28-06-2004, 13:37
have had word from olympus that there is a faulty batch so don't persevere return to supplier and ask for new replacement
Is there any way of identifying the faulty batch....
Gary Exton
06-07-2004, 14:05
I'm still waiting for my housing unit from Olympus, I've been told It takes 4 weeks for them to check it and this gets done in Portugal!
This is a joke, I have bought the housing unit specially for the summer months and due to Olympus's incompetence's in their manufacturing and testing I'm with out a housing unit for the summer.
How have others got on with theirs? Are they working ok now?
Lee will be the best person to answer the question weather they are on now.
I dived with Lee over the weekend and his big cheesy grin after the first dive to test his new housing said it all.
NO leaks. The housing seems to have been modified with a flange that now actually compresses the 'O' ring.
Interested in finding out if anyone has had a leak problem with the above housing.
We are now about to test dive our second housing after first leaked at 15 m. Friends have returned camera and housing to supplier after 3 housings failed on test dive to 17 m.
Problem appears to be the little buttons on back - they leak if knocked when using an adjacent button. No leak if you just take the housing in - so please test all butons if you buy one before putting camera in.
Yes, Gary is right.... Finally I have an Olympus PT-016 housing that does not leak! Olympus seem to have made a few adjustments with 'O' rings. It appears that the push-rod 'O' rings are stiffer, apparently the push-rods themselves are shorter. I also think that they have added a flange to the rear closing lid - this allows the back to compress the main 'O' ring and hey-presto NO LEAKS!
If you have a leaky PT-016 housing then I would strongly suggest that you return it to be exchanged as Olympus are completely aware of the problem.
I have tested the housing to 30m and all is well so far...
:=Interested in finding out if anyone has had a leak problem with the above housing.
:=We are now about to test dive our second housing after first leaked at 15 m. Friends have returned camera and housing to supplier after 3 housings failed on test dive to 17 m.
:=Problem appears to be the little buttons on back - they leak if knocked when using an adjacent button. No leak if you just take the housing in - so please test all butons if you buy one before putting camera in.
Yes, Gary is right.... Finally I have an Olympus PT-016 housing that does not leak! Olympus seem to have made a few adjustments with 'O' rings. It appears that the push-rod 'O' rings are stiffer, apparently the push-rods themselves are shorter. I also think that they have added a flange to the rear closing lid - this allows the back to compress the main 'O' ring and hey-presto NO LEAKS!
If you have a leaky PT-016 housing then I would strongly suggest that you return it to be exchanged as Olympus are completely aware of the problem.
I have tested the housing to 30m and all is well so far...
I gave up on Olympus. When I contacted them, they claimed no knowledge of an issue (possible, but not likely).
As mentioned in an earlier post, I replaced the plunger o-rings and fixed the leak. There was no leakage but the plungers could not retract beyond about 30 meters. The additional o-ring friction plus depth pressure was too much for the factory springs. After much searching for springs and other solutions, I finally found another o-ring size that worked well. (Larger than the original but smaller than my first replacement)
Using these new o-rings, I pretested the housing to about 52 meters (171FSW) There was no leakage and even at that depth, the plungers were able to retract with no problem.
If anyone wants additional info on this feel free to ask.
DeepDog
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