12 replies to this topic

[mrbubbles]

i finally got a drysuit, a dui. I tryed it at catalina this sunday, and I got the general hang of it, altho it was hard not to take a camera. My question is care of the suit. What are , if any general maintanance tips, or proceedures i should do to protect my huge investment. Thanks

[LChan]

I have a DUI.

That is a great suit.

here is the manual.
http://www.dui-onlin...ysuitmanual.pdf

[fdog]

The big one: frequent and thorough fresh water rinsing, inside and out.

Every day of use:
>apply zipper lube.
>use Seal Saver.

And lastly, keep it stored indoors (not in the garage) in a nice dark closet.

All the best, James

[breals]

i finally got a drysuit, a dui. I tryed it at catalina this sunday, and I got the general hang of it, altho it was hard not to take a camera. My question is care of the suit. What are , if any general maintanance tips, or proceedures i should do to protect my huge investment. Thanks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here is what I do:

Zip up suit, put it on a drysuit hanger and hang from a hook on the side of my house. I then take the hose with a shower head and spray the suit down. I take care to rinse the inside of the pockets, getting sand off the feet and pressing the exhaust button as I spray water into it. When it's hanging zipped up, you don't get any water into the suit and it's ready to hang dry when you are finished.

I let my suit dry in the shade, out of direct sunlight and away from things that produce ozone, like your water heater. Ozone destroys the seals.

After the suit is dry, I use zipper wax and then zip the suit open and closed a couple of times. I then zip my suit back up and hang it in my dive shed. When I go diving, I then and only then put it in the bag. I want to take the pressure off the zipper, it's the most expensive item to replace on your suit and I'm already on my second one.

I don't use seal saver, the folks at DUI told me that it can make reattaching new seals difficult plus, I dive so much that I go through seals pretty fast anyway. The later is the main reason I had the zip seals put on.

[e12pilot]

Your suit manufacturer should outline their recommendations for the care of your new suit. Some manufacturers have different procedures for storing their specific suit, which may actually impact warranty work, etc.

Some suggest rolling the suit for storage (USIA), however some suggest hanging it. either way will work fine, and the main cause for concern (as mentioned above) would be the zipper.

Keep that guy nice and waxy and you will be just fine.

Happy dry-diving!

Peter

[Nazaar]

ome suggest rolling the suit for storage (USIA), however some suggest hanging it. either way will work fine, and the main cause for concern (as mentioned above) would be the zipper.

If you're storing it for relatively long periods in any conditions, or in some sort of humidity and warmth, make sure you prepare the seals as well. If left straight after being washed they'll eventually stick together, and soon after will permanently adhere to one another. Good way to guarantee a new set of seals will be needed. Store with heaps of talc or similar to stop them sticking.

[TimG]

Yep, really good rinse; periodic rinse out of the inside (otherwise it gets stinky!) and dry the suit inside out; reverse it once dry and wax the zipper. I remove the wrist seals if I am not using the suit for a while - and store them in my freezer. And talc the neck seal. I roll my suit for storage but this is the recommendation of DUI - great suits!

[AndyBarker]

HI,

Just do what it says on the tin

Or I should say as it says in the suit manual

Andy. :ph34r: :ph34r:

[jjwdiver]

One thing I would add to this is if you have an air system that creates ozone in your house (Alpine Air, etc...brands), then keep your scuba gear as far away from it as possible. The "ozone" it produces with eat the crap out of your seals, hoses, fins, etc.

Just an FYI

[onokai]

above qoute-I don't use seal saver, the folks at DUI told me that it can make reattaching new seals difficult plus-

I also stay away from this product and use corn starch now the past 5 years over talc which I used the 1st 20 years of my diving. Powder the seals be fore storage. Another tip to keep the latex and suit from rotting is live away from any large city- move to a place whaere the air quaility is good-this makes the rubber goods last a much longer time. Mark

[fdog]

above qoute-I don't use seal saver, the folks at DUI told me that it can make reattaching new seals difficult plus-
<snip>

I too have been told this by DUI owners. Still, if they don't need replacing it is a moot point.

White's specifically reccomends the use of Seal Saver, BTW. My wife has been diving White's about 2 years longer than I have, and hers is still on the original seals which are in fantastic shape. Maybe White's has a different formulation, but it certainly feels like regular latex.

(Seal Saver sounds like it should be endorsed by ALF, doesn't it?)

All the best, James

[onokai]

I too have been told this by DUI owners. Still, if they don't need replacing it is a moot point.

White's specifically reccomends the use of Seal Saver, BTW. My wife has been diving White's about 2 years longer than I have, and hers is still on the original seals which are in fantastic shape. Maybe White's has a different formulation, but it certainly feels like regular latex.

(Seal Saver sounds like it should be endorsed by ALF, doesn't it?)

All the best, James

F Dog
I have changed out a zillion seals on Nokias and dui's and viking's but whites sews their seals before gluing-how do you change them Out?? If you send them to canada they take forever to turn them around?.Mark

[Nunomix]

I rinse my drysuit after each dive with warm (not too hot) water. I rinse it carefully specially in the valves. While rinsing the dump valve and open and close the valve several times. With the inflating valve I press it also several times while rinsing it.

After rinsing my suit I hang it in my bedroom with the inside zip open. I also put talc in the seals if storing for longer periods (never happens ).

I do not wax my zipper every dive because it actually will help grab stuff to the zip and eventually damage it. I only wax it when I feel that the zip would start needing it. Also from time to time I use a toothbrush with soapy water and brush the zipper (with the zip open).

Take care of your drysuit and your drysuit will take good care of you!!!

Cheers

Nuno