si-tech / dry suit problem

[perche]

Hi,

Last year I bought a dry suit ( trilaminate - Bare). I found an address in this forum. I bought through a www site and the guy sent me the dry suit. Since december 2005, every dive, I found water around the left shoulder. Undergarnment are wet and I'm freezing. Perhaps it's a problem of the Si-Tech "purge"? How can I detect that?
I have to take in count the shipping costs, any tax custom to Canada from Switzerland, etc..
So that any thought would be appreciated.

best regards

 

[Mike Newman]

The relief valves are not hard to check and to service, but make sure that any inspection and work (if necessary) is done by a reliable dive technician. If it's a simple issue, it may take only minutes to solve your problem.

I hope you have a good store nearby - good luck with this - trying to dive dry with a leak sucks!

 

[perche]

Misunderstanding. Sorry!
I was concerned by the left shoulder valve to dump air in the dry suit.
I'm not sure if people in Switzerland are interested to repair a valve for a dry suit bought in Canada...
This is the reason why I'm asking you how to manage this problem.

 

[gcbryan]

It should be an easy fix. Just take it to your favorite local dive store and they should be able to fix it. If they have a repair department they won't care where you bought it but will charge you for the repair.

 

[perche]

If they have a repair department they won't care where you bought

not true
:monkeydan

If somebody could answer to the question: how to dectect a problem
involving the left shoulder si-tech exhaust valve?

thanks

best regards

 

[dbulmer]

To help others answer your question directly.

Have you eliminated your undersuit as a potential cause? Sometimes the undersuit can (excess material) get trapped under the valve?

Have you tried loosening and then re-tightening the valve on the shoulder?

 

[oxyhacker]

Has it always leaked, or just started? You are aware, I assume, that they are adjustable and may leak in the wide open position.

If you can unscrew the mounting plate inside the suit, it is often possible to get one's mouth over the end of the valve, and try blowing through it and sucking on it, and detect if it is leaking. You may also be able to observe the mushroom/check valve then, and see if that's the problem.

A warm water soak followed by dumping a lot of water through the valve can often help, expecially if the problems followed a dive in salt or dirt water.

Repair on dump valves these days too often limited to throwing away the the old valve and selling you a new one, so you want to check for the obvious before taking it to a shop, unless the shop is a friendly one.

 

[Diver0001]

not true
:monkeydan

If somebody could answer to the question: how to dectect a problem
involving the left shoulder si-tech exhaust valve?

thanks

best regards

This is a really difficult problem to detect.

All that you know for sure is that water is getting in. You first need to know if it's getting in around the neck or the neck seal, *through* the valve or around the valve.

You need to dive it to eliminiate *through* the valve. The way you can do that is to make a dive with it and close the valve all the way. When you ascend, don't open the valve or purge it, pull open the wrist seal on the other side of the suit to vent on the way up. If your should is dry, then the water is coming through the valve.

If you're not dry then it's either the neck or the water is coming in around the valve.

To see if it's coming in around the valve, hang it up in your shower. Use whatever you can (a pop bottle, for example) to seal off the neck and wrists and pump it up nice and hard (don't pop it ). Spray soapy water on the valve with a spritser. If you see bubbles then the water is coming in around the valve.

If it's not coming in through the valve or around the valve then I would suspect the neck seal. You can use the soapy water thing for that too.

Now that I think about it, there is another possibility too. It's possible that your suit has a pin-hole leak in it somewhere around the shoulder. To find that, sit in a dark room. Use a flashlight on the inside of the suit and go over it millimetre for millimetre. If you can see light coming through the suit you've got a pinhole leak. Mark it right away so you only need to find it once.

Does that help?

R..

 

[Diver0001]

Has it always leaked, or just started? You are aware, I assume, that they are adjustable and may leak in the wide open position.

If you can unscrew the mounting plate inside the suit, it is often possible to get one's mouth over the end of the valve, and try blowing through it and sucking on it, and detect if it is leaking. You may also be able to observe the mushroom/check valve then, and see if that's the problem.

OH... that's nice. Probably work better than diving it.

R..

 

[perche]

Have you eliminated your undersuit as a potential cause? Sometimes the undersuit can (excess material) get trapped under the valve?

sure 100%

Have you tried loosening and then re-tightening the valve on the shoulder?

a so-called specialist did that. He told me I didn't put enough air in my dry suit. etc...

I don't believe to much that! There is a problem around (in the dry suit - left shoulder) or with the valve because every dive I see water in this location. It's not a small leak because the garnment (espiacally in back) is wet. Water is 4C in surface!

best regards