How dry is a Pinnacle Black Ice dry suit supposed to be???

[calabash digger]

I keep getting water ingress in my suit....Just got it back from being pressured checked and patched. My feet are filling with water on my Black Ice after two tanks... Man I am very disappointed spent over $300 on it last month getting it serviced.. This is my first dry suit and I dont have anything to compare it to. I bought this suit last November and used it all winter and it has always leaked some.... How dry should a neoprene dry suit keep you?

 

[tbone1004]

it's supposed to be dry.... where is the water coming in from? Wear something gray as your outermost layer and after the first dive, see where you are wet.
Assuming the seals are in good shape and the zipper isn't leaking, here's where I'd start looking.

Make sure the neoprene neck seal is actually sealing. Neoprene neck seals take a bit of practice to get them rolled properly and if you are contorting yourself or have hair in the way, it can leak quite easily. They're really comfy, but not as good of a seal as latex.
Turn the dump valve back a couple of clicks, some of them will leak a bit when they are open all the way.

These suits are prone to pinhole leaks and with the merino lining they are damn near impossible to trace. If it was pressure tested "inside-in", then it's possible that the pinholes didn't show because the suit normally leaks when it is under vacuum. Try the gray clothes trick and see if you can nail it down where the water is coming in.

 

[calabash digger]

Thanks ! Seals are new and zippers are in good shape. I will try the gray cloths trick. My Dive buddy normally rolls it around two inches . My valves are capped off because we dont want another system to manage in the dark waters while chasing artifacts.

 

[lexvil]

As Tbone pointed out wear something light colored put the suit on and get in the water. If your feet are filling I would start at the neck seal, first making its rolled properly especially at the rear and that hair isn’t breaking the seal.

 

[calabash digger]

I dont think it is the neck seal. Yesterday I was at the boat in chest deep water and I picked my BCD and put it on the boat. I felt a big flush of cold water down low...I used to do construction and when a roof was leaking it could be tricky to find the leak... hoping it is not gonna be like that on this suit.

 

[lexvil]

I dont think it is the neck seal. Yesterday I was at the boat in chest deep water and I picked my BCD and put it on the boat. I felt a big flush of cold water down low...I used to do construction and when a roof was leaking it could be tricky to find the leak... hoping it is not gonna be like that on this suit.

Hunting this down will take time and a methodical method, do you ever add air to the suit when in use?

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

These suits are prone to leak at neck seal due to wide shoulder design , I ended up replacing the latex with neoprene and it resolved the issue , nice warm dry suit when they work . good luck

 

[Storker]

it's supposed to be mostly dry most of the time

FTFY.

A drysuit will never keep you perfectly dry. You just can't escape condensation and the occasional leak. But it will keep you dry and warm enough most of the time. I can't remember one single time where my suit wasn't quite damp on the inside - and my undersuit quite damp on the outside. If nothing else, so at least from condensation. Step into a watertight plastic bag, spend ~1 hour inside it, and there's no way you'll be perfectly dry when you get out.

 

[calabash digger]

I get the condensation part but I am pouring half gallon of water out of each leg..

 

[calabash digger]

Hunting this down will take time and a methodical method, do you ever add air to the suit when in use?

Never add air got the valves capped off.