Dry Suit issue

[SKREAM]

Has anyone had an issue with their dry suit zipper after only 20 or so dives?
I purchased a DUI dry suit last March and do not have many dives on it but recently found myself with a leak just below the zipper. My LDS has said it is unusual and I think it may be a manufacturing issue but it is now outside the official warranty period.
Thoughts? Has anyone an idea of general cost of repair?

 

[bogrady]

A leak in a DUI after only 20 dives is a result of either incredibly poor maintenance, or a manufacturing defect. No way should a zipper, treated right, leak after 20 dives. This should be a free repair and your LDS - I'm assuming you bought it from a reputable dealer - should support you in pressing DUI to fix it.

 

[SKREAM]

The suit is extremely well maintained by me and no one else has access to it. I don't store it incorrectly, religiously wax the zipper every other dive, always dry it out fully, don't turn it inside out which might put stress on the zipper. So, I don't understand what could be the issue. My LDS is quite reputable, and I've asked them to speak with DUI, but they have said that DUI may very likely would not view it as a warranty item past the one year limit. I'm posting to get a feel for whether anyone else has had this as an issue with DUI suits. I'd like to think that the manufacturer would stand behind its product; but I'm not overly optimistic at this point.

 

[liuk3]

How long have you had the suit that it is out of the warranty period with only 20 dives?

 

[astrofunk]

Nope, your zipper shouldn't fail after 20 dives.

You might try dealing directly with DUI's service department. I've consistently had good experiences with them. For instance, I once punctured my bootie and sent the suit directly to DUI for repair. When pressure-testing after making the repair, they found a pinhole leak near the zipper (which I hadn't even noticed). They fixed the leak under warranty, despite the fact that my suit was quite a bit older than yours.

 

[radiocraig]

contact DUI customer service and they will take care of it...they stand behind there product and are good people that go above and beyond to make the customer happy

 

[fppf]

Some times you can over wax a zipper, which can cause dirt to build up and wear it.

I had and issue with my zipper on my pinnacle suit, end up being operator error. The zipper sealed fine for the first couple of dives, then started to leak. What I found was it was not getting zipped all the way, the brass body must kiss the rubber end stop for the zipper to seal.

 

[SKREAM]

Thanks for the reply. I bought in the spring and then essentially had a couple of weekend trips with it, but was diving wet all last summer in Ohio. This spring I noticed the leak when I went to do a quarry dive. In between the suit was carefully stored and maintained as instructed.
One of the other postings suggested a wax issue, but this does not apply to me and it is not an issue of the zipper not being secured.

 

[SteveAD]

DUI is not the kind of company which will try to duck their responsibility based on the technicality of a warrantee term. and a zipper should not be leaking after 20 dives. if your LDS doesn't want to step up to the plate for you call them direct.

 

[SKREAM]

Thanks, I've got my LDS people contacting DUI today to see if they'll honour the warranty knowing the suit has limited dives. I could not believe it when I was told by the shop that the manufacturer would likely not honour the warranty. But, we'll see what they say, and maybe I'll have to get in touch with the manufacturer directly and plead my case. Either way, it looks like I'm back to wet suit diving in cold water[I need to be getting younger for this, not older].