Left Arm Wet from Shoulder to Wrist....????

[ggthatcher]

I'm now about 10 dives into my D1. Everything on the suit seems to be dialed in except for a wet sleeve. For an undergarment, I wear 1 pair of wicking thermal and a jogging wicking Fila jacket type thing. I dive in water around 50-55 degrees. Warmth is fine.

I went through a few dives with both arms getting a bit damp. Currently, it is just my left arm.

Things I've tried.
1. In order to reduce the impact of vein, I've started to wear an extra wrist seal. I'll just slip it on over my hand, and then proceed to put the drysuit on. The wrist seal in the suit lays over the extra one to provide an extra layer. Impact: None.... Still a wet arm.

2. I have a drying fan that I have on a 4 inch pipe. I created an air-lock in the suit and then put the wrist into water. Impact: No bubbles seen.

Is there a chance that the stitching or seals have a small micro leak in them that will let water in, at pressure. This past weekend, my max depth was only 49ft on 2 dives of about 40 mins each. I fear that this weekend when I will be going down deeper, that the pressure will force a higher amount of water into the suit.

Are the other things I can do to troubleshoot where this may be coming from?

Waterproof!!! Help!!!
This is essentially a brand new suit.

 

[lv2dive]

I'm not Waterproof but is your dump valve on your left arm/shoulder and are you running your suit rather tight? Especially if you keep your dump valve full open, you may be getting water intrusion as you descend.

 

[Keith.M]

I would suspect your exhaust valve. Do you dive with it fully open? You might want to tighten it down a few clicks.

Are you ever manually activating the valve? That can cause a leak for sure.

 

[Drin]

Sounds like the dump valve to me. Water wicks in strange ways into drysuits. You may feel the cold of it in your forearm even though the leak is up near your shoulder. Testing the valve would be my first approach.

-Adrian

 

[ggthatcher]

I dive with it fully open. The reason I never suspected the dump valve is that I assume that it would clearly be wet starting at that point, and moving downwards. However, the pattern of water on my arm makes me think it is at the wrist and moving up.

However, I can VERY EASILY close the valve by a few clicks and see if that makes a difference. I never manually activate the valve.

I'll be in the water on Sunday.

I just thought of a very good test for this would be to encase my left arm in some sort of waterproof bag from the wrist up to about my elbow. If the water is coming from the wrist seal, my arm should stay dry. If it is coming from the dump valve, my arm should still get wet. However, if it is leaking down the arm on the outside of the webbing, it could start up the arm and only show up at the wrist.

Worth trying.
Thanks

 

[barilhu]

You may want to try stretchy dry glove on top of your seal. This way you will known if it come from the seal. I love my D1. Use it mostly in 39f water......

 

[Keith.M]

The easiest thing first is to close the exhaust valve down a few clicks. If it is still wet, then you can think of other things to try.

 

[the_dragon_no1]

New suit = tighten up the exhaust valve against the suit, maybe.. happens to lots of new suits after a few dives.

 

[Yoyodyne-88]

"This past weekend, my max depth was only 49ft on 2 dives of about 40 mins each. I fear that this weekend when I will be going down deeper, that the pressure will force a higher amount of water into the suit."

Before you go, review your "intro to scuba" manual. Your comment scares me.
The pressures inside the suit and outside the suit will never be anything but equal, at ANY depth - except for a extremely slight expansion of the air during ascent, which is controlled by the exhaust valve.

After that, flush water or blow air through the valve - it may have a small piece of debris caught in it.

 

[ggthatcher]

Thanks to all of you who responded with helpful, and non-condescending comments. I really do appreciate it.