Hey peeps,

I just got off the phone to a customer who has glued a repair on his bladder.

Please, Please, Please, DO NOT put glue on your bladders unless you are unable to get to a kite shop for a repair. Any reputable kite shop can do permanent, quality repairs on any bladder so long as you haven't put glue on it.

If you put glue on the bladder and it leaks, it adds at least an hour to the shop repair we then have to do, to remove all of the glue residue. Then we have to begin the repair process from the beginning again.

Again, Glue should never be used on a bladder unless you are more than 500km from a kite shop. If within this distance, make the journey, it will save you hassle in the future.

PS. I hate glue on bladders!

DM

glue is for sniffing not bladder repairs....

a shop tells you not to use glue to fix your gear but won't tell you how they fix your gear without glue
will take the doctor's advice I think
no wind today anyhow

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Rails said..


a shop tells you not to use glue to fix your gear but won't tell you how they fix your gear without glue
will take the doctor's advice I think
no wind today anyhow

Ever heard of kitefix tape??

With the interweb these days it's not rocket science.. I'll break it down for you as you seem a bit simple..

Buy Kitefix kit
Find hole in bucket of water. Dry, circle with marker pen gently
Clean with swab that comes with kitefix kit- allow 2 mins to dry excess alcohol off bladder
Cut tape to allow inch overlap all around hole
Put on.

Jingle Bells

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NoBS said..

Find hole in bucket of water.

my bucket has a big hole at the top

I was that customer who spoke to DM. The repair area was the valve, not the bladder body. I bought a self stick valve and initially attempted using that. The kite is a late model North (infact it has had only 2 months use and the intake valve fails?!! What the f*** is that?). The original valve is welded on and is surrounded by heaps of corrugations. When I bought the self stick valve I was instructed (not by DM) to stick the valve over the corrugations and all. Anyway the obvious happened - the adhesive gave up and I had to start again. From a previous Seabreeze forum Stormsure glue had been recommended by several posters. I removed the poxy adhesive from the self stick valve and roughened the remaining collar with a Dremel type tool. I then removed all the corrugations from the valve base on the bladder leaving a level roughened area. I cleaned both join areas with alcohol and used a protective separating sheet pushed inside the bladder, and cut a hole in a separating sheet to fit on top of the valve. I then carefully applied enough Stormsure to valve base on the bladder to provide a little squeeze out on the outside edge of the valve and a minimal amount on the inside edge. It had all been set up and taped down to a flat piece of timber. After the valve had been set I held it down with a small barbell weight. I left it over night and was impressed with the result. That valve is going nowhere. I reassembled the kite and left it for 5 hours with no pressure loss at all. Thank f***!! Wish I new how to do a glueless repair!

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TurtleHunter said..

NoBS said..

Find hole in bucket of water.

my bucket has a big hole at the top

With what shall I fix it?

Best fix I have had on a kite puncture or small tear in the bladder is to patch it from the inside.

If you have a big enough dump valve like the cabrinha's, you can invert the end of the bladder on itself, push it through the valve carefully and this then leaves the inside of the bladder for you to patch it.

When it gets inflated, the pressure actually helps to keep the patch in place.

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snalberski said..

When I bought the self stick valve I was instructed (not by DM) to stick the valve over the corrugations and all. Anyway the obvious happened - the adhesive gave up and I had to start again.

Ive been handing out advice - to a few that have had problems with welded valves - that you can cut off the old valve at the base of stem leaving all of the flat flange in place. Then apply the stick on over the 5c size hole & out to the bladder beyond the original welded flange.
We have done it this way with 100% success on a few different brands - thought it would apply to all.
Obviously not But I havent seen a brand with 'corrugated' flanges either.

May be that the flange material may not be a match with the adhesive or the patterning on the flange surface; eg snalberskis' corrugations; may be too much for the thin layer of adhesive on the stick-on. Not as straight forward as perhaps assumed.

Stick-on valves cost you around $20. Leaving it with the shop to do it right maybe as little as an extra $10. Why bother with DYI.
Its a service rather than a money grab.

Hi Snalberski,

Glad it worked for you. Bladder repair is easy if you have the right tools. In the shop, as you can imagine, we see HEAPS of bladder repairs. After a few years you learn to get creative with spare parts, tear aid and old bladders.

There are no real "secrets". We have done in the past, and will continue to show people how to do your own repairs if you like, but most people have no interest in learning how to, and just want the kite fixed.

There are loads of little tricks to repair major damage and seemingly impossible leaks. Slitting open a bladder to work on it from the inside is an old trick and works well, many others too. It helps to have a roll of 6" wide x 20 foot Tear Aid. Also helps to have some old bladders lying around which can work as doublers, backing patches and more.

It's no big secret. If you want, we'll gladly organize another free "how to repair a bladder" night. Let me know if you want this and we'll run one in the new year.

There is no problem using glue as a last resort, but if you can get the bladder in to a shop, it's much easier to repair if there isn't glue on the bladder.

DM

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Rails said..

TurtleHunter said..

NoBS said..

Find hole in bucket of water.

my bucket has a big hole at the top

With what shall I fix it?

A bucket hat?

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dogfish said..

Rails said..

TurtleHunter said..

NoBS said..

Find hole in bucket of water.

my bucket has a big hole at the top

With what shall I fix it?

A bucket hat?

with some straw dear liza, dear liza, dear liza.................

It's no big secret. If you want, we'll gladly organize another free "how to repair a bladder" night. Let me know if you want this and we'll run one in the new year.

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ActionSportsWA said..

Hi Snalberski,

Glad it worked for you. Bladder repair is easy if you have the right tools. In the shop, as you can imagine, we see HEAPS of bladder repairs. After a few years you learn to get creative with spare parts, tear aid and old bladders.

There are no real "secrets". We have done in the past, and will continue to show people how to do your own repairs if you like, but most people have no interest in learning how to, and just want the kite fixed.

There are loads of little tricks to repair major damage and seemingly impossible leaks. Slitting open a bladder to work on it from the inside is an old trick and works well, many others too. It helps to have a roll of 6" wide x 20 foot Tear Aid. Also helps to have some old bladders lying around which can work as doublers, backing patches and more.

It's no big secret. If you want, we'll gladly organize another free "how to repair a bladder" night. Let me know if you want this and we'll run one in the new year.

There is no problem using glue as a last resort, but if you can get the bladder in to a shop, it's much easier to repair if there isn't glue on the bladder.

DM

Cheers Dm and thanks for the advice... I'd be real keen on a 'how to repair a bladder night' and I'm sure a lot of others would be interested also

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koshi said..

with some straw dear liza, dear liza, dear liza.................

Shouldn't that be " dear Henry " ?

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James said..

koshi said..

with some straw dear liza, dear liza, dear liza.................

Shouldn't that be " dear Henry " ?

yes my bad, didn't know there were people old enough on here to remember that song.

Hi guys,

No worries, lets get through the silly season, and we'll put on a night at the shop and show you some of the "tricks of the trade" to make effective repairs to almost any bladder problem without the need for fancy gadgets. Just scissors, baking paper, Tear Aid, hot water a pencil and a little skill

Oh and no glue, I promise

DM

From a friends experience using ustick type valves,the stick on one's. He had
nothing but failure with them after about a month old. Using Stormsure and Aquaseal,
they seem too be bonded and not going anywhere. Happy Dayz...

I have an old fuel that I always loved using and is in very good condition except for the bladders - every valve (including pump and dump) has come away. That's 12 valves, and I don't really want to spend >$200 on replacement valves.
I looked into tearaid , but it is either vinyl or non-vinyl so I assume will be no good for attaching the plastic valves to the vinyl bladder. And would really want double sided for this.
Any suggestions?

Glue tear aid back to back with Stormsure or Aquaseal , then you'll have double sided , J

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bmod said...
I have an old fuel that I always loved using and is in very good condition except for the bladders - every valve (including pump and dump) has come away. That's 12 valves, and I don't really want to spend >$200 on replacement valves.
I looked into tearaid , but it is either vinyl or non-vinyl so I assume will be no good for attaching the plastic valves to the vinyl bladder. And would really want double sided for this.
Any suggestions?

Buy a new bladder,, even though it's an old model, you'll find one if you look hard enough, personally I find that if you've a delaminating valve the others won't be long off going, not sure on the slingshot cost, but a le bladder for my ozone is $70 so carnt see the point of doing a repair

I had to resort to glue the other day when trying to stick a value over the edge of another patch. The small bump caused the the other patch would have resulted in the repair failing if I hadn't glued it, or so I am lead to believe. I also removed the entire bladder at the same time just so I could realign the valves. So much better now.

If that bladder repair workshop ever happens, I'll be in for sure.

So after having the bladder in and out half a dozen times and discovering and rediscovering multiple pinhole and small punctures I also discovered that bladder repair is a total pain in the arsehole. The final kick in the cods was when I did a second valve repair with an original North valve and worked out that they are not a true oneway valve and will leak slightly if the stopper is not in.... I didn't even need to do the initial valve repair!!

Thanks for the tips,
though replacing the bladders is not going to happen at >$300!
Looks like I'll be trying stormsure. (sorry op)

I've got a couple of old fuel kites, that i'm going to re-glue, with tear aid rings over the top. None of my Core kites have ever leaked (hot car or not, and they are glued), so I'm gluing them! Looks like Polyurethane glues are the go, but not many tubes will do 30 plus valve repairs (yep they all leak - old school heat fitted).

I can locally source Tarzan's grip. From what i've read this glue has mixed results. I'm guessing because some use the 'Mega bond'
http://msds.duluxgroup.com/pdf/shess-en-cds-010-000000022339.pdf that specifically lists it as a polyurethane adhesive, and others use the 'General Purpose', which is acetone based, might do the job, but will probably harden up and come adrift in a year.

So question is, has anyone used their specialised Polyurethane adhesive 'Mega Bond' ? 45g tube = $7.99

Dissent over a shop suggesting you go to a shop to repair your kite?? wtf??

this aint a problem, this should be encouraged. if local shops can continue their trade and attract customers via the internet (god forbid!) then fair play to them! if you havent got the cunning fingers to fix a bladder without a bit of squinted eyes, furrowed brow and determination then F&CK yeh go to a shop and get the d^mn thing fixed!! are they trying to rip you off?? no they are trying to provide you with a quality service at an agreeable rate!! sounds good to me i say! yay for shops!! i prefer to spend my furrowed brow moments making my money the best way i am able and handball the s**t im no good at to those who are specialists. yay for shops! yay for DIY fixers! spend less time doing s**t you dont wanna do and more time kiting however you can!!