My Drysuit's melting!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ghost.Diver]

Before my wife called Hoarders on me, I decided it was time to clean my office. One of my closets has all the scuba gear in it, all organized, unlike the rest of the room. Anyway, my drysuit was hanging up on a drysuit hanger and I noticed something funny about the wrist seals. As I looked closer, both wrist seals and the neck seal appeared to be melting. I touched the seals and they were just like fresh chocolate chip cookies; sticky, gooey and melted. I havent worn it in a while, but it's been hanging up in a climate controlled closet inside the house; (low humidity, mid 70's avg temp). Nothing rubber/latex in the closet showed any signs of this. I checked all my wings and they were all ok.

Anyone got any thoughts on what happened? Drysuit is a Whites trilam, seals replaced by Whites about 5-6 years ago.





This pic is whats left of each wrist seal, pulled off just like it was salt water taffy!!

 

[openhelix]

5-6 year old seals that weren't maintained regularly? Umm no surprise they're like taffy. Definitely time to get them replaced

 

[TSandM]

The original, Whites seals on my Fusion did this. They are the only seals I've had melt. Other latex seals have gotten flabby and soft, or torn, but only the Whites ones turned into goo. I am not the only person to have experienced this.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Latex seals degrade over time. Yours have disintegrated. Mine don't get gooey, but they start off getting tacky to the touch...then they leave behind black marks on my skin...eventually cracks form in the seals...and then they tear. It happens. Sorry about that.

I have to replace my latex neck seal approx. every 1-2 years.
My wrist seals seem to last significantly longer.

Lots of things accelerate latex deterioration. I've heard that ozone, certain suntan lotions, and even some people's sweat might initiate breakdown of the material.

Learn to replace the seals yourself. It's easier than you think. The secret is getting the right adhesive to do the job.

Hope this helps...

 

[Ghost.Diver]

5-6 year old seals that weren't maintained regularly? Umm no surprise they're like taffy. Definitely time to get them replaced

I'm pretty sure its a given that they need to be replaced before I dive dry again, but I appreciate the advice.

FWIW, the last time I dove my drysuit, I dove it in a team with two other people, who live in the same area as I do. As far as I know, their seals didnt turn to taffy, neither one of them has had their seals changed, and they haven't dove them since. So, before you ASSUME that I didn't maintain the seals properly, you could offer some insite on why they turned to taffy, since you seem to have a better understanding of this than I do.

But hey, I appreciate the suggestion on getting the seals replaced. I would have never been able to figure out where the water was coming in without your help!

 

[Ghost.Diver]

The original, Whites seals on my Fusion did this. They are the only seals I've had melt. Other latex seals have gotten flabby and soft, or torn, but only the Whites ones turned into goo. I am not the only person to have experienced this.

Yea, two of my buddies have DUI's and I'm pretty sure their seals never melted and have never been changed. I was worried about my wings after I saw this but I checked all of them and they were fine.

 

[Ghost.Diver]

Latex seals degrade over time. Yours have disintegrated....I have to replace my latex neck seal approx. every 1-2 years.
My wrist seals seem to last significantly longer.

Learn to replace the seals yourself. It's easier than you think. The secret is getting the right adhesive to do the job.

Hope this helps...

Thanks for the insite. When I bought the suit, it had been in the store for about a year and the seals were cracked, since it was bought new even though it was a year old, Whites took care of the seals under warranty.

As far as the right adhesive....I'll just use the goo to attach the new seals....damn stuff is tacky enough!

 

[bygolly]

Since you are going to be doing some work to the suit anyway, consider upgrading the neck and wrist systems to configurations that allow field repairs of those critical items. Here is one site that has the parts that can be added to your suit:

SI TECH AB

I'm sure others will chime in with other ideas or manufacturers. I just changed my neck seal system on my White's Fusion to the SI Neck Tite myself...very simple actually. I also switched over to the silicon seals as well to see if I get less irritation around my neck. So far so good and I have also heard that the silicon seals will take longer to deteriorate.

 

[rcpalmer1]

I have seen insect repent cause the seals to start melting. You would think a quick spray while gearing up would be washed of during the dive but once they start they don't stop. Luckily seals are cheap and easy to install.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

@bygolly:
Approximately how many dives have you done with the Neck Tite system?
Any issues with the hard ring getting in the way or irritating your neck?
Did you install it yourself or did you pay a shop to do it for you?
If you did it yourself, what adhesive did you use on your Fusion?

I've seen the system, but don't know anyone who's actually given it some good use (100+ dives).