"dry" suit?

[ibnygator]

So, I've completed two lessons in the pool this week with the drysuit that I bought off of ebay. I'm very comfortable with buoyancy in the suit and have spent a good deal of time practicing recovery from an uncontrolled feet up ascent. One lesson I did with no undergarments and the next I did with my new one piece from Janice (she does very nice work, by the way).

What I am not happy about is that my "dry" suit hasn't exactly stayed dry.
I have been wet after both sessions, much more after the second. I am sure that some amount of that wetness can be attributed to perspiration, but I doubt that all of it can be. My question is, do you think that I can attribute the leaking to all of the excessive activity that comes with adding extra air in an inverted position to simulate an uncontrolled ascent and then flipping over to regain control? I had the suit looked over by the owner of my LDS and he said the the suit and the seals looked good . I'm going to get it leak tested, but I was just curious about others' experiences with dry suit training.

Thanks,

 

[nickjb]

If you move around a lot or move quickly the neck and wrist seals will leak. They are fine in normal use but craning your neck around and waving your arms around will result in wetness (fine in the pool, not fun in a cold lake)

 

[ibnygator]

That's what I thought I'd hear from folks, Nick. I'll be doing my open water dives in the drysuit in the St. Lawrence next weekend (low 40s I think), so I'll make sure not to thrash around too much.

Thanks,

 

[ericfine50]

Where are you getting wet.If it is the neck and wrists, it could be you are cranking the neck could cause leakage. You can also leak test the suit by clamping off the wrist/neck seals and filling the suit with air. Then use a spray bottle with soapy water to look for leaks.

Eric

 

[Mo2vation]

I too leaked in the pool durring the sessions. Because it was silly-warm water, I didn't even notice until I got out and had to towel off.

The first time in the cold water - it took all of 0 seconds to figure out that if I do XXX, I'll break my neck seal and get a chilling drip of cool water down the back. I'm awake now!!! :wacko:

I no longer leak.

K

 

[O-ring]

My dump valve wasn't tight enough and I noticed a wet upper arm a couple times. I just cranked it down a half turn and problem solved..

 

[Scubaroo]

Inspect the zipper, and the material that forms the seal between the two edges of the zipper - my new drysuit (also eBay) had a teeny-tiny gob of glue from manufacturing that was on the edge of the zipper, and until I scraped it off with a fingernail, my chest was always wet after a dive. The tiny gap it created was enough to suck water in as the suit squeezed.

 

[ibnygator]

Don't crank my head around and make jerky movements that allow water in the seals. Now to expand the thread a bit. I felt very good about my buoyancy, but had a bit of trouble with trim. I kept feeling like my feet were floating up and my head was sinking. I had my B/P and wing with an LP95 with 5 pounds of weight on the harness. The weighting felt right in total, but like I said...floaty feet. The suit came with ankle weights, but I want to learn without the "training wheels". After a while, my instructor took my Mares Volo fins and gave me his heavier IDI fins. That helped but didn't solve it entirely.

I know I need to adjust trim but I'm not sure how to. (Not doing DIR F until two weeks from now). Oh yeah to add to it...I couldn't reach my tank valve so I know I need to move the tank up towards my head. I think that that is going to exacerbate the situation, but has to be done.

 

[ericfine50]

Get a pair of the SP Jets or IDIs or the XL Turtles. They are heavier and can help with the floatly feet. Channging of the tank height can also help.

eric

 

[Arnaud]

Do you have latex or neoprene seals?

If the seals are not properly positioned, it's very easy to get the seals to leak, especially latex. The other comments are all valid.

The other possibility is basic perspiration. I know my drysuit is never really dry...