Lifetime of Waterproof silicone seals

[Storker]

So, today I changed the wrist seals on my Waterproof D7 since I had a rather significant and very noticeable leak on my last dive. No big deal, that's the advantage of silicone seals mounted with a ring system. After changing the seriously leaking seal, I inspected the other one and found a few pinholes in that one as well. They weren't large enough to give a noticeable leak, but I decided to change that one as well. Took me less than ten minutes to change both seals, so that's good I guess..

However, the suit is two years old and has barely 40 dives. IMO that's a lot less than should be expected. So I'd like to hear if other users here have any experience about the lifetime of those seals.

 

[dberry]

The hole you showed in the other thread looked to be 4-5mm, not exactly what I'd call a "pinhole". (Unless you folks up north use REALLY big pins.) Was that just from regular wear, or could it have been pinched or nicked?

 

[Storker]

could it have been pinched or nicked?

Probably, and you're quite right. That wasn't a pinhole. They don't show on that picture.

 

[Trailboss123]

I also use waterproof brand silicone neck and wrist seals with my Whites dry suit (ring system). I have found that it is very important to apply a generous amount of talc powder to my seals between diving (during storage). If you don't, they will dry out and be prone to getting holes, cracks, tears, etc. Since doing this, I have had to replace only 1 wrist seal in 2 years (200+ dives)- never needed to replace the other wrist seal or my neck seal yet. Important to use pure talc powder and not baby powder. Good dive shops should carry pure talc-- also known as billiard talc (used by pool players for their cue sticks). I keep a set of backup replacement seals in a ziploc bag full of talc powder.