Drying a Drysuit

[segundo3000gt]

I recently purchased a Bare D6 neoprene drysuit and had a chance to try it out. I was happy with the warmth it provided down to 40 degrees. Once I got out of the water I rolled the suit up still wet and put it in the bag to transport it home. I washed it off a bit in the tub/shower and hung it to dry from a feet up hanger on the PVC drying rack I built (attached picture shows the rack with wetsuits on it). Somewhere in the process water got into the suit and worked its way down to the feet. After five days of hanging from the rack the feet are still damp inside the suit. The back entry zipper has been open since taking the suit off and my hope had been that there would be enough airflow to dry out anything inside the drysuit that got wet. I ended up grabbing a fan and propping it up to blow air into the suit and I'm not sure yet if that will solve the problem.

Does anyone have any advice for what I might have done wrong or what I could do to simplify the process of drying the drysuit after a dive?

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Build a "Dalton Drysuit Dryer".

There are photos on the board...

Basically it uses a fan to blow air through PVC pipes to dry the suit and accoutrements.

I'll see if I can find a link.

Here they are:

http://www.atlanticunderwater.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=0

http://home.earthlink.net/~toddclagett/NovaTech/drysuitdryer.htm

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-99328.html

you can modify as desired...

Best,

Doc

 

[CompuDude]

Does anyone have any advice for what I might have done wrong or what I could do to simplify the process of drying the drysuit after a dive?

The Dalton Dryer is ideal, but the simplest method is to just turn your suit inside-out so the feet can dry out.

 

[segundo3000gt]

That's what my LDS suggested. I've got the boots built into the suit so I don't know if I'll be able to completely flip it inside out but I should be able to get it most of the way.

 

[CompuDude]

That's what my LDS suggested. I've got the boots built into the suit so I don't know if I'll be able to completely flip it inside out but I should be able to get it most of the way.

Most of the way will still be enough to let it dry a LOT faster than it would otherwise. Should dry fine overnight, barring unusually cold or humid conditions.

 

[The Kraken]

One little thing that can help . . .
. . . go to your nearest serious backpacking/camping store and buy some small diameter fiberglass or carbon fiber tent pole material, enough to overlap if you were to place it inside your dry suit.

Buy some rubber pads to put on the ends, or tape with duct tape.

After you've cleaned your dry suit, open it up, roll the tent pole into a circle and place it inside your dry suit and let it expand.

If you leave the suit unzipped, the rod will keep the body of the suit spread open and facilitate the drying process.

(Personally I use a piece of thin stainless steel stripping, but it's what I had on hand at the time)

the K

 

[Tom Winters]

I built a Dalton drysuit dryer - someone had posted a link on The Deco Stop for a small ac-blower that I incorporated. It does a great job of drying out the feet, plus the leg extension PVC detach to make storage of the rack easier.
A dryer is easy enough to cobble together, and there is no arguing with the suit to turn it inside-out.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Mine looks the same as Tom's, but on the ends of each of the PVC base-pieces I put smaller PVC supports to dry rock boots, hood, gloves, and SMB, etc.

The real benefit of dryers, IMO, is convenience w/re: time/schedules. You can come home, wash your gear, throw it on the dryer, in several hours its all dry, and you can re-pack it for the next trip. It minimizes the time required to turn gear around.

FWIW,

Doc

 

[segundo3000gt]

I'll have to consider the Dalton Dryer as a next project. Simply turning the suit inside out seemed to dry it out inside of a few hours. The inside wasn't exactly soaked, but was wet enough to make a dive uncomfortable. Now the problem is that the drysuit smells like laundry that got left in the washer for a few days. Can you febreeze a drysuit? Maybe I'll just hang it outside a bit to see if the fresh air helps.

 

[CompuDude]

Wash inside thoroughly with wetsuit-style "get out the funk" type detergents (mirazyme, etc), or at least some simple green, to help freshen it up a bit. And then flip it back inside out to dry again.

Sometimes just water with a capful or two of mint Listerine does the trick.