Leaky boots

[Nwbrewer]

After 200 dives or so the boots on my DC suit have started leaking around the toes, and I haven't so far been able to fill the problem area with glue. (It would help if I could FIND the problem area!) Anyway I have 2 questions, 1 any good tips for patching these?

What do you prefer, boots or socks/rockboots? Any good recommendations for having someone put new boots on? I'd rather not deal with sending it back to DC for two reasons, 1st and foremost I think their boots kind of suck the tread wore off very quickly, and the seams at the toes started to come apart within 100 dives. (just ask mattleycrue or Joe about the tread grip on the DC boots) Secondarily, they seem to want a small fortune for everything. $75 for a pressure test? Really?

Any information you all have would be great!

Jake

[Grateful Diver]

Call Wally at Tacoma Scuba ... he can give you some options. He usually sends work like this back to DC ... but I think he can also do boot replacements in-house if you want to go that route ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Burntchef]

call ron at adventures down under , he just did my neck seal. quick turn around, great price and awesome quality. i am not sure if he does boots but i know he does zippers so boots gotts be easy in comparison.

[LCF]

I've had pretty good luck with sealing boot leaks with Aquaseal, if you can find the area that is leaking. Sometimes it seems as though it's necessary to flex the boot to find it. Remember, too, that just because your toes are wet at the end of the dive, doesn't mean the leak is in the toe of the boot -- it's much more likely to be somewhere where the boot flexes or is abraded, like where your fins sit (or in my case, where my finkeepers compressed the boot when it was empty).

We just found and fixed a leak in Peter's boots. He thought it was in the foot, but it was up at the top of the instep.

[Nwbrewer]

I've had pretty good luck with sealing boot leaks with Aquaseal, if you can find the area that is leaking. Sometimes it seems as though it's necessary to flex the boot to find it. Remember, too, that just because your toes are wet at the end of the dive, doesn't mean the leak is in the toe of the boot -- it's much more likely to be somewhere where the boot flexes or is abraded, like where your fins sit (or in my case, where my finkeepers compressed the boot when it was empty).

We just found and fixed a leak in Peter's boots. He thought it was in the foot, but it was up at the top of the instep.

I tried to find the leak before, but I'm going to give it another go this week. Rather irritating. I have 2300 psi in a 130 left over that I intend to use to try and find that leak and the one in my dump valve.

[Penopolypants]

In looking for leaks in the feet, you might want to try hanging it up while it's dry, filling it up with water, and looking for drips. Since it's hanging it's also a little easier to manipulate the feet and find those pesky no-see-ums.

[Nwbrewer]

In looking for leaks in the feet, you might want to try hanging it up while it's dry, filling it up with water, and looking for drips. Since it's hanging it's also a little easier to manipulate the feet and find those pesky no-see-ums.

I thought about it, but it's a neo suit. I'm not sure how many weeks it would take to dry out the inside if I did that, so I'm keeping it as a last resort.

[airsix]

My friend Jake Vernig would probably pull all the seams apart and use the old suit pieces as a pattern to make an entire new one from scratch. And it would be awesome. You should call him. He'll tell you what to do.

[pogiguy05]

Just a thought but could you plug your wrist and neck seals and inflate it, then put your boot ina bucket and look for bubbles? You may flex it to find a leak that happens that way.

Just my two cents and what I thought was a good idea.

[Nwbrewer]

My friend Jake Vernig would probably pull all the seams apart and use the old suit pieces as a pattern to make an entire new one from scratch. And it would be awesome. You should call him. He'll tell you what to do.

Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind. I was actually thinking I could just buy some of these - http://muckboots.com/aspm.htm cut them down a bit and glue them on. But I think boots should be sewn then glued on right? My machine won't do it.

Popiguy, that's kind of what I did last time, then I tried a buck of soapy water. No bubbles, still wet feet. So I smeared the entire toe area on both the inside and outside with E6000. Still have wet toes.

[pogiguy05]

Well then I agree with Grateful Diver and talk to Wally. He always does a great job on my suits and he takes pride in what he does. He is not gonna tell you or sell you something you dont want or need. It might be one of them things that do need to go back to the manufacturer to be fixed.

[Mongo]

Try coating/ dipping them in this: http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

[Paulicarp]

Try coating/ dipping them in this: http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

he he he, put your suit on, we'll dip you in a 50gal drum of yellow plastidip

[airsix]

Try coating/ dipping them in this: http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

he he he, put your suit on, we'll dip you in a 50gal drum of yellow plastidip

Even better: Strip and shave him, spray him down with PAM non-stick cooking spray, then dip him. Instant custom fit drysuit. So-long cave cut, hello Dip-cut!

No, I don't want to be involved.

[spatman]

Even better: Strip and shave him, spray him down with PAM non-stick cooking spray, then dip him. Instant custom fit drysuit. So-long cave cut, hello Dip-cut!

No, I don't want to be involved.

no need to shave him, the Plasti-Dip will take care of that.

[selkie]

Even better: Strip and shave him, spray him down with PAM non-stick cooking spray, then dip him. Instant custom fit drysuit. So-long cave cut, hello Dip-cut!

No, I don't want to be involved.

no need to shave him, the Plasti-Dip will take care of that.

Fur lined suit!!!!

[Mongo]

Try coating/ dipping them in this: http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

he he he, put your suit on, we'll dip you in a 50gal drum of yellow plastidip

Even better: Strip and shave him, spray him down with PAM non-stick cooking spray, then dip him. Instant custom fit drysuit. So-long cave cut, hello Dip-cut!

No, I don't want to be involved.

You may be on to something.... you could even pick your colors. I would personally steer away from clear though.

[pogiguy05]

[Waynne Fowler]

Jake I've several customers with the DC suits who've had this same problem. When we finally found the leaks, they were all failing at the instep area of the foot. Turned out the top of the fins foot pocket was rubbing on the sock and killing the material. We fixed them by applying aquaseal to the inside in that area,(remember to sprinkle some baby powder on the aquaseal as it gets tacky, this makes sure your foot slides in and out without hangin up) in a month or so we had to do a bit larger area, and then a bit more later on.... 2 had DC replace them only to have them do it again about 6 months later. We finally sent the suits to DUI and had the socks replaced with the CF200 material and they've been dry for several years now. All of them. I just don't think the DC sock material holds up that well.

Good luck jake.

[crowplus]

An unconventional way used to find leaks in my CF200 is what I refer to as the "light" method. It is not as reliable as a true pressure test, but it has helped me find weak/leak points. In a pitch-dark room, put a high power light inside the suit and run it along suspected leak points. On my suit, light is visible through puncture/weak spots. Not sure how this works on other types of suits/materials. I patch from the inside with the liberal use of a Cotol 240/Aquaseal thin mix. The last time I patched my socks I just did the entire foot bed seam and up the heel seam. Dry so far.

[Nwbrewer]

I found the leak (one of them anyway) this weekend using the inflate and dunk method. Let's of black E6000 on the toes and I think I my have fixed it. Hopefully get a dive in this week.

I also took my shoulder dump apart and rinsed with a LOT of fresh water. A vacuum test indicates I fixed that leak, assuming it was the dump valve and not a leak near it.

Jake