latex seals

[HeatCker]

i just had my latex neck seal replaced on my warm water (bilam) drysuit.
i got four years out of the neck seal and the wrist seals still look like new.
about 190 fresh water dives on that suit.
all the degradation is on the outside of the neckseal, the inside is fine.
the seal seemed to thin a bit, lost its tension/stretch, and the surface degraded/roughened.
what causes the neck seal to degrad when the wrist seals are like new?
is it common for neck seals to deteriorate first?
i talc the seals before donning.
i use seal saver every couple months.
what do you guys use to wash the seals after diving if anything?
thanks guys.

 

[WarrenZ]

Probably a reaction with the sunscreen on your face/neck.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

Latex wears, stretches and eventually fails, that may be inherent. Neoprene seems to last longer. I'm at about 6 years on the neoprene with no sighs of wear. And the neoprene is warmer too. They do take some more time to fit than latex since there is less stretch.

 

[3D diver]

Could be the sun itself degrading the exposed seal.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

4 years on a latex seal? That's awesome.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

Honestly, 4 years and almost 200 dives on a set of seals tells me that you're caring for your drysuit effectively. So realistically...you got 3-4 times the expected life out of a set of latex seals. I have found that neck seals do wear out quicker than wrist seals in a decent number of repairs that I've seen. I could attribute that to having to stretch the seal over your head(a higher % of stretch than a wrist seal over the hand). Also, sunscreen and sweat coming off of the face/head could degrade the seal quicker.

Nevertheless....after 4 years on a set of seals, I wouldn't even be concerned about it.

 

[HeatCker]

ok, thanks very much guys

mr carcharodon .. i have a neoprene neck seal on my Bare D6, nice and toasty when water temps drop into the 40 to 60 F range, good to know you got 6 yrs