Repairing Latex seals

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S. starfish

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Messages
363
Reaction score
6
Location
Vancouver, Canada
# of dives
500 - 999
While explaining/showing my OW class what a drysuit is a small part of my neck seal disintegrated and ripped about an inch. The suit has nearly 150 dives on it and I was going to send the suit in to get the seals replaced anyway but I need it to be operational for the next three weeks, anybody know a quick, temporary fix for a ripped latex seal?
 
You could try a bicycle tire repair patch. If you try this method, get the patch that's for the race bike tires. Make sure that you clean the area with a solvent 1st, then rough it up real good and solvent clean again before applying the patch. Neck seals take a lot of abuse donning/doffing and depending on the location of the tear, this quicky repair could be iffy. Replacing seals, both neck and wrists, is not that difficult and you could easily take care of this yourself on one of your non diving days. You could check with Bob3, here on the board, to buy a new seal. HTH
 
I had a friend that used duct tape on his during a live aboard trip. It worked for a few days until he could get it replaced. I carry a spare set of wrist seals and a neck seal along with the glue and tools to replace them for long trips. It's not that hard to do.
 
I've had to patch a ripped neckseal while out in the boonies on a demolition project; if you have any scrap seal material make a "T" shaped patch & glue the critter on. Mine lasted 2 weeks, 'till the job was over.
150 dives isn't very many at all, seals are supposed to last way longer than that if tended to & kept away from "seal killers" like oil, soap, ozone, sunlight, etc.
 
Hmm... I always thought that the seals (at least the whites ones) we're supposed to be replaced around that amount of dives. I do try to take good care of them though.
I'm wondering if either latex gloves or bit of an esmarch bandage would work.
 
You might want to upgrade to heavier weight (thickness) seals, some of the critters out there are pretty thin.
If it didn't take so dang long to get a letter across the border I could mail you a little slab of scrap latex rubber.
There are all probably sorts of rubber gloves you could check out, the trick is to find something with about the same stretch factor (or slightly less); having a patch that's stiffer sets up stress where the edge of the patch meets the old material.
Check with your local kayak outfitter, they should probably have a "neck gasket" as they like to call them.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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