tizip leaks

[Taliena]

I have a Santi suit with a tizip. The zip is from beginning of march 2012. When I forget to use the silicone grease, I get wet, the suit totally floods. Other dives say we never grease and never problems.
Sometimes I grease and get still wet. Then a next dive I am dry.
The problem is, I don't know when the zip leaks and when not. Without grease it leaks 100% of the time. With grease it leaks just sometimes. But I do technical diving, so I need to trust the suit.
What can I do to prevent leaking? If you test it, then you don't find a leak.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I had the same issue with a tizip. Passed the leak test but under pressure it leaked. I won't use tizips now.

 

[Taliena]

Problem is that the steel zip in my santi was leaking too. That is replaced without costs (I got problems after less than 50 dives). I had no choice, only tizip was possible (with an mares suit I have done over 600 dives without any problems with a steel zip). So they promised me a good zip. The zip is now 11 months old and I have been wet for a 10 times. Sometimes because I forgot to use grease, in january without any reason the suit flooded at 60m and I had to do a long deco. And today I greased and the suit leaked again.

 

[aaen]

Ever since I have had my zipper replaced and had a tizip put it my right foot gets damp.

I thought I punctured a hole in the suit but i am not able to find a leak in the boot. Now after reading this thread i wonder if the zipper is the issue. I'll have to check after a dive if my underwear is damp by the end of the zipper in the drysuit. Might be the reason why.

Hopefully it is not because i quite like the tizip and the ease of use.


Regards

Steve

 

[Aqua-Andy]

I had the same issue with a tizip. Passed the leak test but under pressure it leaked. I won't use tizips now.

I have had two metal zippers break between the teeth with less than 40 dives on each one. I would not purchase a suit with a metal zipper again. I have had a TiZip on my bare for two years and not a leak yet, I love the TiZip! The only issue I have seen to date with a TiZip is on a friends suit and it would not close all the way due to the placement of the zipper cover on the suit.

 

[dreamdive]

When I first got my Santi, I had a similar issue.

It totally resolved after lubricating (using the one from Santi or even one for a metal zipper) just the very end part of the zipper. You don't have to lube the whole thing! It is important to lube the "horseshoe" looking end-part.

BTW: I will never dive any other zipper but the TZip ever again!

Let me know if you have any further issues with it after trying to lube just that part.

Claudia

 

[underH2Oman]

I have not had any issue with the Tzip. I just lubed the closing end when new and again every 3 months(about 34-38 dives)

If the pressure is balanced on both sides of the suit the zipper should not have any problems but sometimes ..it happens.
If the pressure on the inside causes a squeeze effect on the diver - vacuum effect toward the water , that could cause the zipper to be more likely to allow water in the suit.

 

[Taliena]

I know from my zip that I need to grease the docking end EVERY dive. Do I forget it, then it leaks. But sometimes I do it and it it still leaks.
With my suit it is not a little bit leaking, when it start leeking, the suit totally floods.
I have had this directly at the beginning of dives. When I went up and then down again during a shallow recreational dive (first part of dive dry, then when going under again, then flooded), at a 60m depth.
I don't have heating under my suit because I don't trust that. I dive in cold waters, sometimes under ice. So a leak is a big problem.

I don't like to have a lot of air in the suit, but I had never problems with the steel zip, I just put air in it as much as needed not to squeeze. My other suit (that leaks too now, but that is a glue-problem on stitches, will be repaired, warranty) has a steel zip and never problems). I have done dives to over 330ft, so it is not that I don't know how to dive a drysuit.

 

[buddhasummer]

What have Santi said about it?

 

[TSandM]

Wow -- I haven't had anywhere near that much trouble with mine. I lubricate the end every two or three dives. If I forget and don't do it for a while, the zipper will be hard to dock and may leak initially -- but since our water is cold enough that a leak becomes pretty obvious even as you are standing and doing your gear checks, I back out and have my buddy yank on it a couple more times, and it seats and the leak stops.