Patching Air Bags

[fleckbass]

What is the best way to patch small holes on an air bag? I'm thinking Vinabond. What about patch material?

[clarion]

I've fixed lots of holes with Aquaseal. Never had an issue. After putting some over the hole make sure you position the bag so it won't run. I like to leave a couple days dry time between repair and use.

[coloradopaddler]

i had a repair kit with one set of air bags. the kit contained some air bag scraps for patches and aquaseal. the patches worked fine but the auaseal alone is what i use now. just mound up a little drop over the hole and let it dry. a big tear might need some patch material now that i think about it.

[jroneil]

I used plumbers goop and a piece of vinyl from a pool float bag. The goop will probably last longer than the bag!

[TheKrikkitWars]

Bostik 2042 two part adhesive... that stuff is made by some kind of magician.

Depends how big a hole, as to whether that would be overkill, but it's used to assemble rafts, so it's definately up to the job.

[2opnboat1]

I like shoe goo used on the inside

[Shep]

For bigger holes, I have used pieces of old non-breathable rain-gear. I glued it with Shoe-Goo. The success rate of those repairs seems to be ~75%.

Shep

[Marc Evans]

I've used aquaseal for small holes in bags and even on rafts. I've even sealed a 6 inch seam rip on a vynel bag. Lasted a couple of years.

Marc

[bushpaddler]

I used Spinnaker Tape or Gore repair Kits, both self adhesive, for field repair several times and never removed them afterwards because they stick like anything. The oldest one surely has up to 100 days on the river and still looks like there's no action necessary...

Flo

[ohioboater]

I just fixed a 1cm x 1cm L-shaped tear in a Mohwak bag using some of that sticky-backed tent repair fabric and AquaSeal. First I stuck the patch on, then I put a layer of AquaSeal on top of it and maybe a cm or so beyond its edges. Figured the tear was too big for just AquaSeal - would end up splooging into the inside of the bag.

[jroneil]

Goop is also great for cracked valves

[Cumnock]

Here you go and you can do it right : )


http://waldensridgewhitewater.com/store ... ucts_id=50

[Lappie]

Pin holes, Seam Grip... longer rips, sew it shut and Seam Grip. It works great and last for ever!!

[mahyongg]

So far, on-the-fly duct tape and in-shop aquaseal or heat-seal glue. Tricky b/c you'll have to make sure not to heat-seal the insides of bags together.. but it works and is fast! If you can get the bag dry, and have some sort of surface you can heat up to about 90°C, that would also be a great on-the-fly, but permanent solution. More likely for remote multiday tripping, where you have time to do it at the campfire with a heated pot, and don't need the hassle to re-do a makeshift duct tape patch all the time for the rest of the trip.

cheers,

j.

[ice-breaker]

On the September long weekend my LEdge was tied up overnight on the shore of the river just below a 15' high rocky cliff, just next to where we were camped. When I went to gear up the next morning, the rear Mohawk float bag was deflated with about a childs fist sized hole in the top of it and much of the bag cage cords broken. There were no obvious indications of what happened, but I figured a rock probably fell from the cliff (either by accident, or possibly with some human assistance) and landed on top of the cage. I couldn't repair the hole in the field as it was just too large. Instead I blew a couple of large dry bags full of air and tied them into the back of the boat. Worked ok for the day. When I got home, I repaired the cage and used the largest inner tube repair patches I could find to repair the hole in the float bag. The float bag has been pumped up with air and sitting in my garage for the last 2 days and seems to be holding pressure. Don't know how well it is going to hold, but it seems that it should be ok to head back to the river.

regards
dave