The worst nightmare

Do you use a drysuit? Have you ever felt that cold spot suddenly starts to grow during the dive? You know you have much decompression time, and it will not be fun. Well, you can’t do anything about it right there. If it has not happened to you, it will sooner or later. It does not matter which brand of drysuit you buy, none will stay dry forever.

But you don’t have to wait weeks for your local store to fix the leak or send it away for a small puncture repair.

Why would the suit leak?

Sometimes the reason is obvious. If you have a torn neck or wrist seal, or a visible cut or puncture, look no further. Well, it is possible to have more than one leaking point, but you can not go further until you fix these.

What tools will you need?

• Compressed air tank with a regulator
• Methods to block the wrist and neck seal. I normally use these clamps which I have bought from the local ironmonger for a few euros and some wood sticks (make sure there are no splinters.)

• Soapy water, about 1.5-2 litres.
• Marker pen, so you will see the spots after deflating the suit. I usually use a white chalk marker. It is water-soluble, easy to remove after the process and easy to see.

Glue for repairs. Neoprene glue like black witch is good for the neoprene parts, but does not work on trilaminate. For those you can use Aquasure. This is my favourite type of it. (don’t use it excessively, it gets really stiff) or specific cement glue. 

Methods to find where the suit leaks

There are different methods to do this. You might have heard some or even tried to use them.

First method: Filling up the suit with water. This is the quickest way to find a small leak in the feet or arm area. Turn the suit inside out and fill up with water. Make sure you do not splash water outside, otherwise, you won’t see where it is seeping through. Mark the spot, pour the water out, and wait until it is fully dry before repairing.

Advantages of the method: Fast, doesn’t require a lot of equipment.

Disadvantages: only works at the extremities. Then the suit may become too heavy to hold and see the leak at the same time. Usually needs 2 people to handle it.

The next method is to use a torch and see where the light shines through. This method can identify bigger holes only. I never really apply this one ever, but requires the least amount of equipment.

My Favourite method:

I found this one the least messy, plus the suit mainly stays dry, therefore ready to glue immediately. Here is the step by step guide with videos.

Preparation

Turn your drysuit inside out. It is easy if you have it with socks. If your suit has boots, turn it until they go easily, but don’t force them too much, to avoid damaging the seal inside the boot. I have learned it the hard way, in the end, I had to replace the boot. I was not happy but could only blame myself. 

Turn the inflator valve around. Simply unscrew the 2 parts and put it back backwards. With this, you will have access to the valve to add air to the drysuit. You will need it fully inflated.

Block the wrists first

My favourite method is to use these clamps with 2 pieces of wood. Since I have the rings, I can’t reach the seals while the suit is inside out, therefore I block them first then flip the arm the other way. If you have the wrist seals simply glued on, you can add the clamps after turning it around.

Alternatively, you can use bottles (Half-litre soft drinks bottles or even cans are about the right size). The disadvantage is that they can slip out when you add the pressure, and you have to start the whole process again.

Add water

Then add soapy water inside the suit. When we add the pressure, it will simulate what happens during the dive. The “outer layer” is wet and the pressure tries to push water through the suit. This method works even if you have only a tiny leak which won’t create actual bubbles just dampness in a certain area. I had leaks which I tried to find with all other methods, even give it to professional repair places, and kept getting it back with “there is no leak here”. So why is my undersuit wet all the time? Finally managed to find it myself with this system.

Closing up

Make sure you keep the suit dry. Don’t spill the water all over it, because you won’t be able to see where it is leaking through. If you lift the suit a bit, the water will be in the legs, making it easier to close up the zip. 

Reach through the neck and make sure the zip is properly done up. Same when you go diving. There is no need for that half inch for ventilation!

Block the neck seal

Use 2 clamps to create a proper seal for the neck. Otherwise, it would start leaking out, and would not hold the pressure. You can use this method with latex, silicone and neoprene seals as well. Make sure you don’t have splinters sticking out of the wooden sticks. If you glue a piece of neoprene or other padding, it would be safer for the suit. 

Let’s find those pesky leaks

Now the fun begins! Inflate the suit until it’s under proper pressure. Keep an eye out for your neck seal, you can break it if you overdo it, but you can’t see a small leak if you don’t add enough pressure. Make sure you have enough compressed air at home, even if you have to reinflate 2-3 times. Watch out for the neckseal, when it gets stretched, you can stop adding air.

Spread the water inside the suit

Roll the suit around to make the water reach all parts inside. Especially those areas which you suspect leaking. Don’t need to squeeze it, just roll it around a few times.

Yes, I know it looks a bit funny. If you do this somewhere public, be ready for weird looks.

What are we looking for

Bubbles are a clear giveaway… Sometimes it is just dampness. If you have only a tiny leak, maybe just leave the drysuit alone for a few minutes, then feel whether it is damp anywhere. It helps if you have some strong light to see better. If you have any doubt, maybe you have just splashed some water on it yourself, wipe it off with a cloth or paper towel and check again for water. 

Mark the spots

Even if it feels obvious when you see the leak, believe me, it won’t be later. Mark all the spots you see. I use a chalk marker, it is water soluble, easy to remove later, but marks the leaky parts very clearly. 

Oh cr@p

This is something you don’t want to see. I have found a leak at the zip. It is not possible to fix that, so when you pick your drysuit make sure the company has a good warranty on them. I have nothing else but good experience with SANTI customer service in this matter. As they are not making the zips, they cannot be held responsible if they fail, but they offer a 2-year warranty on plastic zippers. Make sure you do your part and take care of it, clean and grease them regularly. Check out the video at the beginning of the article which is the same for all drysuit brands, since they all have either Tizip or YKK plastic zippers.  

Fixing the leaks

This could be a whole new topic, because you need to use different methods whether the hole is on neoprene or trilaminate part, whether it is a puncture or problem with the material.

But in general, you have to make sure that the area is completely dry and clean before you apply the glue.

You can buy the same material which is used for sealing the stitched area, but for punctures even bicycle tyre repair kit can work.

Do not use Aquasure excessively on large areas because it gets rigid, cracks and breaks quickly then leaks again in a short period of time.

Summary

As you can see, leak testing a drysuit is not rocket science. If you need to keep diving and don’t have time to wait weeks to get it back from the workshop, don’t be afraid to do it yourself. Of course, certain jobs like changing zip need professional help, but you don’t have to keep diving wet if you have only a small leak.

Did this method work for you? I would love to hear from you in the comments or email! Do you repair your suit yourself? I hope this step-by-step guide helped you to have dry dives again.

Feel free to check out my previous posts about various topics such as teaching in wing and backplate, PFO and DCS, rebreather diving and more.

If you have any questions regarding drysuits or TDI SDI courses feel free to contact me! Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks for visiting my website.