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Hi,

I'm an incorrigible Do-It-Yourself type and one project
got a boost recently when I found a finely machined AL
cylinder complete with endcaps and o-ring seals.  It looks
like it possibly was an experimental sonar but the internal
elecronics have been removed.

Now the o-ring seals are unfamiliar to me.  It's a compression
seal against the inner wall of the cyclinder. The grove and o-ring
is on the endcap. However, the o-ring is acompanied by a flat sided
plastic ring on the side of the o-ring that will be exposed to
water once submerged:

(The rectangular profile stiff plastic ring is lablled "R")

                ------+  +---+
      Cylinder wall   !  !   !
----------------------+  !   !
+-------!      !---------+   ! < water enter from this side
!       ! O  R !             !
!       +------+    LID


The  O/R compartment is caked with a white wax-like substance.

My speculation is that the R-ring helps keep the wax in place on
the mating surface (this is bare aluminum [aluminium to those
observing correct spelling]).  Either that or the groove was
machined by someone who had hit the Elephant beer a bit hard.

Anyone knows what advantages the R rings adds to the seal ?

Thanks,
John

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