NeckTite removal from Fusion

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Interesting,

Having done a couple of hundred dives in my fusion bullet with the SLT system, then doing a dive in one without the SLT, I'm really wanting to remove the Neck Tite Ring System. I mean WOW what a difference in comfort in and out of the water. Have the neck ring from day one, I new no better and after about 30-50 dives it became normal, the neck ring never interfered with valve drills etc, but I have to say diving the same suit with the neck ring was enlightening.

Yes I've blown a neck seal getting ready to dive and yes the neck ring had me back in the water in under 10 minutes. But that's once in in a lot of dives. Having changed out seals on my partners suit using the dry tape solution is a breeze and when she comes to me with a concern about a seal, its replaced and good to go in 20 minutes.

I'm going to keep my oval wrist rings that I upgraded to the Antares system as I find dry gloves the go when doing a lot of scootering.

I have an Xtreme Flex Latex Neck Seal from DRIS that I tried with my neck ring and it felt good, so I will replace the ring and silicon seal with that. I was thinking about swapping it out with the Quick Neck Seal System but decided that I would go straight to normal neck seal system. If I want to go back to neck ring I will put the Quick System on.

Now I've just had a look at removing my neck ring and it doesn't look as straight forward as replacing my partners standard neck seals. I think I'll send an email of to DRIS for some details on the removal process. The neck hole on my suite looks as though it was been made bigger then standard without much material for the neck seal to glue on too.




---------- Post added November 19th, 2014 at 07:07 AM ----------

How many dives do you have on the suit? Do like Akimbo said and let it hang on a hanger. Gravity will help shape it a bit.

Give it 10 or more dives...if you still don't like it, it can be removed. If we were to remove it, this is what I would do.....

Get some MEK, and use that and a rag to start to get under the black tape. Once you get it started, that will help release it. You do need alot of MEK on the rag. Do this in a well ventilated area and with gloves on. Once you get that off, seam rip the stitching with a seam ripper. Take out the ring. Then you can use a Urethane glue or the Heat tape we sell to put in a new seal :wink:

Do give the system a good chance though....it would be a shame to get rid of it unless you really can't stand it and have given it a fair shake.

Well I did a version of this. MEK is impossible to get where I live so I just used a heat gun and peeled the black tape off (heat gun is essential if you own a fusion). I used a seem ripper and took out the ring. Easy process.

Now I have a problem. I no longer have a disable drysuit. really, it is stuffed now, read on.

Seriously, the neck on my suit has been cut so the hole is massive. I was shocked when I took the ring off to find that the stitching which is only a couple of mm from the edge of the ring was stitched to only 1-2mm from the edge of the suit hole (that is how wide the hole had been cut), in fact there where sections where the stitching barely managed to catch any suit material. Goes to show how strong that black tape is, because it was the only thing really holding the ring on. i.e there was only 1-2mm (around 1/25 inch) of material overlap of material of ring and suit/shell.

Who ever installed the neck ring must have had a real bitch of time doing it. I'm in the situation where it is an absolute pig of an idea to install the ring back on using dry tape. Even if I wanted just replace the Neck Tite with Quick I would be stuck.

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I'm left shaking my head in disbelief at what was done to the suit to install the neck ring, I just understand why they did what they did. I think I would have been better off just ordering a normal fusion bullt and installing the ring myself, that way I would know for sure that there would be NO issues with switching back if I so desired. Which I do now, but now I can't dive until this sorted out....how ever long that will take.

Mike
 
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MikeWebb, That really sucks! I found something similar but easier to fix when I took a good look at my wrist rings. After seeing your dilemma I'm glad I decided to stick with the neck ring. If I could do it all over again I would have ordered my suit without the neck ring.
 
Sucks, yep. I have the issue logged with DRIS and just waiting for the right person to get back to me with DEMA on at the moment

I suspect it is going to be quicker if I sort it out myself. I'm trying source some good waterproof material and then I'm going to make a reducing ring and glue everything up.

I have a big sheet of rubber that would do it (an old hydroglove suite) but I would be in the same situation when that rubber ring rots out.

There is an outdoor shop nearby that has rain gear and cheap ponchos, but I'm not to sure how a heavy duty PVC bilaminate material would go.
 
Sucks, yep. I have the issue logged with DRIS and just waiting for the right person to get back to me with DEMA on at the moment

I suspect it is going to be quicker if I sort it out myself. I'm trying source some good waterproof material and then I'm going to make a reducing ring and glue everything up.

I have a big sheet of rubber that would do it (an old hydroglove suite) but I would be in the same situation when that rubber ring rots out.

There is an outdoor shop nearby that has rain gear and cheap ponchos, but I'm not to sure how a heavy duty PVC bilaminate material would go.

Michael, just got to my room from beingat the DEMA show. Can you skype me? Diverightinscuba is the handle
 
I just installed the newer (notch type) neck system in my fusion. MikeWebb, I feel you! My fusion had the standard latex seal taped in, and when I removed it, the hole that was left over was HUGE! I decided to soldier on as I wanted to dive it the following week, and ended up with a very ugly install with lots of folded material, BUT, it is DRY! If I were to do it again, I'd start by attaching points N,W,S,E, then compress and fold each quarter. What I ended up with were much larger folds as I worked around the edge.

If DRIS were to do it, I'd bet it would come out much cleaner, but it CAN work.
 
Just had a Skype session with Mike Pederson. Awesome customer service. Yep he said just do the normal marked quadrant install method just stretching the neck seal out a bit more. Just mount the dry adhesive tape to the suit first not to the neck seal as the tape will break as the neck seal gets stretched.

I might not get around to it today as I'm heading of for some non dry suit tropical diving in Bali for two weeks
 
Just wondering how the install went?
 
Sent it back to DRIS. what a disaster. If you want the ring system. Do it yourself. That way you don't have to deal with the whites butcher job if you decide to go back
 
Mike, thanks for the update. I think I will live with mine.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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