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Fix a dry suit leak?


Badger

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I have a leak in my O'Neill Boost dry suit. It appears the fabric is wearing out right where three seams come together. Has anyone had this issue and tried to fix themselves or will O'Neill fix something like this? I'll post a pic when I get back to the full site, but it's hard to see.

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Here's the pic. I think the leak is to the right of the intersection of the seams. There's a clear semi circle of vinyl that's hard to see. The leak is right at the edge of that. Is there a patch I can glue in?

post-2570-0-40675100-1447641861_thumb.jp

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I have repaired many leaky seams and replaced multiple wrists, legs, and one neck in my vintage 1994 Stay Dry with a product called Seam Grip - similar to Aqua seal. Got a big 8 oz tube on amazon a couple years ago. Store it in a ziplock in the freezer and it lasts forever. It's a quick 24 hour fix if you can't wait for the factory turn around. And you will find many other uses once you have it in your freezer!

I would use a toothbrush to paint the injured area.

Edited by Rednucleus
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ahopkins22LSV

you can send it back to Oneal and they will fix it at no charge.

They will also redo all the seams. Again at no charge.. It will be a tad bit smaller though.

Only if it is new enough. I just had the seals replaced on mine and it was $20 a seal. Not complaining but, I am pretty sure there is a cut off on the free replacements.

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Only if it is new enough. I just had the seals replaced on mine and it was $20 a seal. Not complaining but, I am pretty sure there is a cut off on the free replacements.

NOt sure about the age...mine is 10+ years and has been fixed multiple times and not charged for the repairs.....maybe on the cheapy ones? Which is why ya get what ya pay for!

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ahopkins22LSV

NOt sure about the age...mine is 10+ years and has been fixed multiple times and not charged for the repairs.....maybe on the cheapy ones? Which is why ya get what ya pay for!

Mine is a Boost, not a cheap one. Maybe they just changed policies. I don't think mine is 10 years old.

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NOt sure about the age...mine is 10+ years and has been fixed multiple times and not charged for the repairs.....maybe on the cheapy ones? Which is why ya get what ya pay for!

Why multiple repairs? Mine is made in 2001 & only had new feet on it one time. My Santa suit is even older & never had seals replaced on it ever..... but it only gets used one day a year too.

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Why multiple repairs? Mine is made in 2001 & only had new feet on it one time. My Santa suit is even older & never had seals replaced on it ever..... but it only gets used one day a year too.

I ski year round...probably as much or even more during the fall and winter months.....the suit lasts about 2 years before there are leaks around the arm pits and crotch.

And you know how cold the columbia is around Feb - Apr!

Edited by WINEGRAPEGROWER
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I ski year round...probably as much or even more during the fall and winter months.....the suit lasts about 2 years before their are leaks around the arm pits and crothch.

And you know how cold the columbia is around Feb - Apr!

Same here, all around Washington & Oregon, quite a few times in Cali. Never had a problem with the arm pits or crotches rotting out.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I ski year round...probably as much or even more during the fall and winter months.....the suit lasts about 2 years before their are leaks around the arm pits and crothch.

And you know how cold the columbia is around Feb - Apr!

It's the radiation in the water from Hanford.

On a related topic, how & where do you guys store your Dry suits??

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It's the radiation in the water from Hanford.

On a related topic, how & where do you guys store your Dry suits??

Haha, nice. I have a couple friends who keep their Malibus in the Yacht Club marina. Nice riding.

Wiley told me it has to be rolled up & sealed up in a big zip lock baggie that they included. Been doing it that way ever since.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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It's the radiation in the water from Hanford.

On a related topic, how & where do you guys store your Dry suits??

YA but that glow in the dark makes night skiing possible year round. Plus ya get a warm tingling feeling after a couple of sets!

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Is the seam grip soft enough to use on a wetsuit too? I have a 1/2 inch long separation on mine and really can't justify a whole new suit for it.

I have repaired many leaky seams and replaced multiple wrists, legs, and one neck in my vintage 1994 Stay Dry with a product called Seam Grip - similar to Aqua seal. Got a big 8 oz tube on amazon a couple years ago. Store it in a ziplock in the freezer and it lasts forever. It's a quick 24 hour fix if you can't wait for the factory turn around. And you will find many other uses once you have it in your freezer!

I would use a toothbrush to paint the injured area.

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Is the seam grip soft enough to use on a wetsuit too? I have a 1/2 inch long separation on mine and really can't justify a whole new suit for it.

Works well on wet suits too. This season I plan to use it to reinforce the knees on my old Viper 3/4 suit - not made anymore and still my favorite for much of the year. Do several layers with at least 4 hours between coats for big repairs. I put a piece of plastic behind the repair and I also turn it inside out to do both sides. Still has nice elasticity to it when cured.

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Thanks for all the tips. I've been busy the last couple of days. I'll get a call into O'Neill first, and then make a decision on which way to go. I also paid last year to get a the wrist seals replaced at the factory. I'm not so happy that I might have to send it back in 1 year later. I also noticed that the ankle seals are cracking as well.

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Thanks for all the tips. I've been busy the last couple of days. I'll get a call into O'Neill first, and then make a decision on which way to go. I also paid last year to get a the wrist seals replaced at the factory. I'm not so happy that I might have to send it back in 1 year later. I also noticed that the ankle seals are cracking as well.

Ankles & wrists are an easy at home repair. I get replacement seals from Wileys in Seattle - great customer service. I use a hair dryer to soften the old glue and remove the seal, then clean with alcohol. Don't need to work too hard at getting all the old glue off. I inflate a balloon to get a good seal fit, roll the edges back, apply the seam seal then roll back down over the glue. Also lightly roughen both seal and suit with a fine sandpaper before gluing. You can also use a suitable sized bottle instead of a balloon and slide it in the arm/leg. After you do a few it's a pretty quick operation.

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  • 4 years later...

Resurrecting an old thread.  I blew a seal on My O'neill boost drysuit.  I called and they are currently not doing repairs for suits more than 1 year old and out of warranty.  I would be happy to pay them to do this.  They probably won't be doing them in the forseeable future either, so it looks like I am on my own.  

I could not find replacement seals online.  Does anyone know where I can get them?  

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23 hours ago, TallRedRider said:

Resurrecting an old thread.  I blew a seal on My O'neill boost drysuit.  I called and they are currently not doing repairs for suits more than 1 year old and out of warranty.  I would be happy to pay them to do this.  They probably won't be doing them in the forseeable future either, so it looks like I am on my own.  

I could not find replacement seals online.  Does anyone know where I can get them?  

lots of dive shops online have replacement latex seals.  I did my neck seal on my drysuit.  it was a little harrowing to cut the old seal down and truth be told it could look a little better, but it works great.  I should've done all of the seals at once because of course I blew out an ankle seal.  Winter project.  Lots of places online have ankle seals or wrist seals for $20 per pair.

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Crap, I apologize.  I swear I did not find replacement seals online when I first looked.  Now I see them everywhere. 

This could be fun, especially if I fail, haha.   

 

On a side note, it was 18 months ago I blew out an ankle seal.  I had them replace both ankles, and asked them to carefully inspect the wrists and do those too if they thought they needed them.  They said the wrists were fine.   Given that it is obvious the other wrist is about to go out as well, I wish I had just done all of them at once.  Losing recreation time to me is worth more than the extra expense that it would have taken.  

Edited by TallRedRider
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16 minutes ago, TallRedRider said:

Crap, I apologize.  I swear I did not find replacement seals online when I first looked.  Now I see them everywhere. 

This could be fun, especially if I fail, haha.   

 

On a side note, it was 18 months ago I blew out an ankle seal.  I had them replace both ankles, and asked them to carefully inspect the wrists and do those too if they thought they needed them.  They said the wrists were fine.   Given that it is obvious the other wrist is about to go out as well, I wish I had just done all of them at once.  Losing recreation time to me is worth more than the extra expense that it would have taken.  

I feel like my seals were fine... till they weren't.  Like it didn't rip the weekend before, ya know?

It's not hard and there are lots of youtube vids.  the neck seal is more of a challenge because you need to figure out something for the form to hold the seal stretched open for gluing, but the ankles and wrists can probably use a soup can.

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59 minutes ago, shawndoggy said:

the neck seal is more of a challenge because you need to figure out something for the form to hold the seal stretched open for gluing,

Just use an inflatable ball of approximate size.

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