What’s the best way to find a leak in a drysuit? The wife’s right wool sock was all wet today when she took off her suit.
I was thinking of using my shop air compressor and blowing some air into the leg while crunching the knee area around the hose nozzle, and then submerging the foot area of the drysuit in a 5 gal. bucket or laundry tub or something, and look for bubbles. Any other ideas?
fill it with water and look for drips NM
Make and size?
I’m not sure you have to work very hard on this. If she is a female like me, with size 6.5 or less feet, I can pretty much guarantee you that any Goretex booties will develop leaks. It’s because of the amount of material that gets folded up into the shoes, leaks are inevitable.
My first Kokatat suit goes back to its maker every year for one or another repair including a wet test. I’ve been quite pleased with their repair work and turnaround, tho’ it is always best to call and see how things are running. I’ve had it take just two weeks, with the shipping fees for faster service costing more than the repair. My suit also has an astounding array of patches due to leaks from folds - I’ve had coaches comment that I have more patches than the last suit they replaced.
fleece socks on the outside of the
booty. Roger at IR recommended trying it. He said a lot of small leaks on the booties can be from abrasion. Sand and pebbles get caught in between a neoprene booty and the drysuit sock. The rubbing can wear small holes fairly quickly. The fleece outer sock lessens the abrasive forces.
You’re on the right track
Inflate the whole suit with your shop vac, but leave a sizable hole for air to escape so as not to damage the suit. Do this by inflating though the neck with one wrist cuff sealed, the other left open to regulate pressure. When the suit is good and firm, don’t bother to submerge in water, just brush on a mixture of dish soap and water and look for bubbles. Mark any leaks with Whiteout typing correction fluid. That stuff will write on anything, wet or dry. Repairs can be made when the suit is dry and deflated with Aquaseal or Gore-tex tape, depending on the location.
Do NOT fill the suit with water, you will burst the seams.