Leaky O-Rings On your Metal Detector We have a Cream for That!!!!

Everybody.Welcome to episode 146 of the Metal Detecting Show podcast.My name is Kiran and I have been metal detecting for the last 30 years.This week we chat about how to seal your metal detector,or at least how to maintain those seals on any metal detector that you can use underwater.So let's get on with the show.So this question comes from Tyra,who messaged me via YouTube asking the question,How can she maintained the SEALs and just the general metal detector after being in the sea with us, particularly on the water?Because I believe is using the Excalibur two beautiful detector.I've always wanted one of them.But anyways, yeah, so Tyra wants to know what she should be considering when looking after her Excalibur two specifically in around seals and oil rings.So once you start talking about seals and O-rings and underwater metal detectors, you naturally have to talk about the IP rating.IP ratings are defined by the international standard and 65 to 9under is the British equivalent,the S, E and 65 to 9.I want the IP rating because it gives any container really that it can be a container for anything really.But generally, it's used in electronic housing.And as you know, your metal detector is electronic and it does have a housing.And a housing has to be sealed to a correct standard for the manufacturer to be able to say this detector is able to go to ten meters or to turkey fees for one hour.Let's do a brief overview of the IP rating.So the IP rating is made up of two numbers.The first number is in relation to dust and dirt, and it goes to a maximum of six.So the higher the number,the better protection it has in relation to dust ingress.And the second number is in relation to liquids.And that can go all the way up as far as nine.But generally,you will only see it as far as eight.So most devices will have an IP rating of IP 66, IP 66 means the enclosure has a rating of six.So that means it can stop all tostart dirt ingress into an enclosure and then six in liquid,which means it can be splashed and no water will get into it.Don't quote me on that.And but you can check out the ratings yourself online.Now we are talking about underwater metal detector.You can have two IP ratings that may be of interest.One is pretty rare and it's IP 69and that is the highest IP rating.So that means that no DART, nor does the DART can get into it and no liquid can get into it even under steam conditions.But generally, the detector will have an IP68 rating,which means that it has at least a full dust and dirt protection.But also protection from any water entering the housing for one meter for one hour.The water. That's the minimum.So you will see ratings like your detector can go up to 66 feet or 20 meters.Not that you want to go down at the bottom.Your detector generally can go to 30 feet and they will come with an IP rating of IP 68.So if your detector is rated for underwater, it generally means that IP 68.So the likes of the legend,the Knox, the CTA, X, the x, Colaba,Excalibur two generally will have an IP rating of IP 68.And it's very important that you heed the manufacturer's warning about that,particularly when going underwater with your metal detector, because liquid air pressure has an awful habit of finding a way into your enclosure.Even if there's the tiniest nick or hole in the ceiling, it doesn't even have to be pinhole smaller than that.And the higher the pressure,the easier it will at water to get inside your enclosure.And that is why it's very important for you to religiously maintain your metal detector after you've had it underwater,but most especially if you've had it in saltwater.Now, most detectors will have two connectors into the enclosure, one for the coil and one for headphones generally.And that's why you can't get a higher than an IP68 rating because they can't guarantee no water will get in past those conduits.And because of that,you need to keep a firm eye and a firm grip on the condition of those conduits or sockets after every hunt, especially if it's saltwater.Rinse down your detector completely,Make sure there's no sand dart dust on it at all.Give it a full and thorough rhinestone.It is waterproof after all.Once it's rinsed down, dry it off,then and only then disconnect your coil wire and your headphone wire.And the first thing you do is inspect.You need to inspect both areas.Some sockets will have an oil ring and we'll talk about the oil ring now in a minute.But in general, you need to look inside those sockets and look for two things.Any water or dark in there and any corrosion.Because if your detector is in salt water,those contacts are very likely to corrode at some stage.You need to be very careful and do your preventative maintenance on your metal detector because you don't want to end up in a situation where you need to do corrective maintenance.Preventive maintenance prevents the issue from happening, and corrective maintenance is when you have to send it off to the manufacturer for them to fix the seals and to re seal off your metal detector and dry it out and even change electronics because you've got a leak in it.So anyways, back to your sockets.Double check our sockets,but also double check the connectors.You generally have a male and a female,so you have four connectors to check to run the metal detector housing and then the one on the coil and one on the headphones.You need to double check them.Next step you do is you take a can of compressed air,the type you can get from an 80 consumable shop,and you blast out each of those four connectors to make sure there's no hidden debris in there,under no water in there.And that will keep your socket in a good enough condition.Now, be careful you don't blow out your ring again.We'll get on to that in a second.That's the next thing.But I do want to make a quick point.Don't use air from a compressor unless you know for sure that they're not putting oil into the air.Oil is fine. And you think it's not going to do any harm?Certain oils can degrade with or rings depending on the make of the orange.So just go with the kind of air from the consumable shop,blast out your four connectors and that will get them and keep them in good condition.Now onto O-rings.O-rings are generally made of silicon and because of that you need to be religious in maintaining and looking after your O-rings.So if your connectors do have O-rings take them out, you can get an orange pick and pick them out gently and inspect them religiously.And if you're looking at them and you see a nick or something on them and you think, oh, that actually that would be grand.It's only something small replacer straight away.If there's anything,even a scar or indent on their O-ring,take it out and replace it.O-rings generally come in a standard size and you can get them from anywhere really,or you can pay double or triple the cost from your metal detector manufacturers.But you know, each that are on.But yes,keep a close eye on the condition of your O-rings and replace even at the slightest little bit of degradation.How can you stop the degradation?Some people don't recommend oil and we'll talk about we cover that in the second.But generally, if you have a Silicon O-ring, you can use silicone lubricant on the small little tube that will last you forever.And I would highly recommend that you maintain your O-rings or plenty of silicone lubricant.And my last point is,if you have a silicone O-ring,don't use any petroleum jelly on it or Vaseline because there's nothing like petroleum jelly to rot silicone O-ring.So don't use petroleum jelly saved after the prison.Use silicone lubricant for your O-ring because the last thing you want is gnawing right away underneath,giving you leakage in the near future.That's it for this week.He's another short one like unsubscribe.Leave me a review if you feel like it.If you're feeling a bit mad,tell a friend about the podcast.If you're feeling super appreciative and you see a topic on the forum,a topic that you know I've covered in the past, copy a link from the episode where I talk about that or that will really get the podcast over.You can get the links that every one of my episodes on website where you can also get transcriptions and show notes.So make sure to check it out.I'll just have to say is, guys,thanks for listening this week.Get out there.Keep your offerings clean.Good luck and happy hunting.