Does Anyone Turn Their DS Inside Out?

[dkatchalov]

I've done about 4 dives on my new pinnacle evo 2 trilam DS.

During the dives, I found that my wrist seals leaked slightly due to the body hair on my wrists. As a result, I found the neo sock and the inside of the legs on the DS to be damp after the dive.

The thing is - when I got home and hung the suit up on a hanger to dry, I discovered the next day that the neo socks and the inside of the legs were a lot more wet than when I got out of the water... I think the reason is that the socks/legs are relatively inaccessible for air to get in & dry them and the moisture from inside the suit gets in their and stays, thus making them more wet than they originally were.

So to dry the inside of the socks, I have to turn the legs inside out, which seems to be torturing the suit and the seals!. Is there any way I can avoid condensation in the feet when I dry the suit? Is turning the suit inside out to dry normal?

Thanks.

 

[grumpymedic]

You might look into getting a Hangair. It would help to get some air down into the feet area.HangAir®

 

[Doc Intrepid]

I've done about 4 dives on my new pinnacle evo 2 trilam DS.

During the dives, I found that my wrist seals leaked slightly due to the body hair on my wrists. As a result, I found the neo sock and the inside of the legs on the DS to be damp after the dive.

It could be that your wrist seals leaked. It could also be, however, that the dampness on the inside of your suit resulted from a combination of sweat and condensation. Remember that your drysuit doesn't breath any better than a large plastic bag would. If you exercised while wearing a large plastic bag, sealed at neck, wrists, and ankles; your exercise clothing would be wet beneath it from sweat and condensation. It's the same in a drysuit. Factors that will cause this to vary from dive to dive include the level of exertion and the temp of the water, etc.

The thing is - when I got home and hung the suit up on a hanger to dry, I discovered the next day that the neo socks and the inside of the legs were a lot more wet than when I got out of the water... I think the reason is that the socks/legs are relatively inaccessible for air to get in & dry them and the moisture from inside the suit gets in their and stays, thus making them more wet than they originally were.

So to dry the inside of the socks, I have to turn the legs inside out, which seems to be torturing the suit and the seals!. Is there any way I can avoid condensation in the feet when I dry the suit? Is turning the suit inside out to dry normal?

HangAirs work on the road, but they are passive - e.g. nothing forces air through the suit. To really dry your suit you should consider building a drysuit dryer. You don't need to heat the air moving through the suit - a simple fan and a PVC construction will work to blow room temp air through the insides of the suit after you wash it postdive. I'll see if I can't find a few links for you, but this has been discussed on the board previously (search for terms including Dalton Dryer, drysuit dryer, blowers, etc.):

Doc

Linkies:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/making-your-own-gear/99328-drysuit-dryer.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/do-yourself-diy/43137-my-drying-rack.html
(see link posted on post #12 for Dalton's original article)

 

[dkatchalov]

Thanks for the replies. I have thought about a DS rack, but I live in an apartment and the storage cage downstairs does not really have enough room for a rack.

I'm just wondering how everyone else dries their boots / neo socks out??

Will it help to hang the suit up by the boots so all the moisture in the boots/legs makes its way down to the torso, which is open??

Thanks.

 

[TSandM]

I hang my suit upside down, and when it's really wet inside, I hang it with the zipper open, and turn a 20" fan on in the room where it's hanging. But when the boots have gotten REALLY wet inside (I've had a couple of bad leaks), I've turned it inside out and aimed the 20" fan into the boots.

If your socks are getting THAT wet on every dive, I'd be suspicious of a leak.

 

[fdog]

Ah, the advantages of technology!

Every dry suit I've used gets condensation on the inside - the colder the water, the more the condensation. Given the same temperature water, shell suits generate more condensation than compressed neoprene, and regular neoprene drysuits the least of all.

I've always turned them inside out and hung them up overnight to dry. Works fine as long as it's warm. If you have attached boots, you are truly stuck with building a dryer....

As for the technology part, I will admit that the DUI CF200 is kind of a PITA to flip inside out. Since switching to a Fusion, it takes longer to hang up than flip inside out.


All the best, James

 

[dkatchalov]

I hang my suit upside down, and when it's really wet inside, I hang it with the zipper open, and turn a 20" fan on in the room where it's hanging. But when the boots have gotten REALLY wet inside (I've had a couple of bad leaks), I've turned it inside out and aimed the 20" fan into the boots.

If your socks are getting THAT wet on every dive, I'd be suspicious of a leak.

I dont think it is a leak that is causing this... I mean I wear cotton socks inside the neo socks and they are not that wet.... I am pretty sure the neo socks get wetter the next day after diving due to the condensation... I will try to hang the suit up by the boots next time to see if that helps.

 

[medic001918]

My wife and I hang out drysuits upside down. We use these hangers from LP: Blue Reef Ultimate Dry-Suit Hanger from LeisurePro.com They seem to work well so far to dry the suits quickly. I wear a Bare XCD2 Crushed Neo suit, and she has a Bare HD Trilam. Our suits dry pretty quickly and I haven't noticed any negative effects on the suit. There's no way for it to crease the suit and it's supported by the feet. It might be something to look into.

Shane

 

[kidspot]

I used to turn my bilam inside out every few dives and rinse the inside out just because I didn't want it getting "smelly" inside and it was usually pretty damp after a dive here just because it was so hot on land gearing up.

I don't know how hard it is on seals etc. though.

Aloha, Tim

 

[skynscuba]

I bought a Peet Shoe dryer (works great for booties as is), and some 2" PVC and couplers to make
6 foot extensions, long enough to hang my drysuit on. Haven't done a DS dive since I got it, but I expect it to work just fine overnight. You could also build your own blower/pvc jungle, but not worth the effort to me. The Peet dryer (google it or look on eBay) is just a couple of low wattage heating elements, and the air moves (barely) by convection. I'm thinking that they are about 18 watts per side, so they put out about as much heat as a 25 watt lightbulb would (per side).