[pct-l] Finding leaks in air matteresses (was Big Agnes HorseThief Bag)

[m_factor at hotmail.com (Mara Factor)]

LOL.

I guess I really just viewed the soapy water technique as something to do at 
home where you don't want water to go all over the place.  In the field, 
where I guess you don't care as much about where the water goes, you would 
definitely care about where the mud goes.  Yuck!

I guess I just assumed that if the leak was so small you couldn't find it 
without the soapy water method, then the pad would still be good for at 
least a few hours of padding and could probably wait until "civilization" to 
find the actual leak.

When I first found the leak in my pad, even after I knew exactly where the 
leak was, I still couldn't feel air escaping on my cheek.  Only after the 
patch failed and the leak grew even more could I actually feel the leak on 
my cheek.  That was when it got to the point where the leak was so bad I 
needed to add more air in the middle of the night.

But, thanks for the mental image of soaping your pad in the field.  Hee hee.

Mara

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>From: "Jeffrey Zimmerman" <jeffreyn@sonic.net>
>To: PCT-L <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Finding leaks in air matteresses (was Big Agnes 
>HorseThief Bag)
>Date: Sat, 08 Jan 2005 06:14:17 -0800
>
>On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 08:47:02 -0500, Mara Factor <m_factor@hotmail.com>  
>wrote:
>
>>... Have you tried using the soapy water method to find the leak?  Stir  
>>some dish soap into water (you don't want too many suds), and then paint  
>>it onto the fully inflated pad.  The air trying to escape will cause the  
>>suds to bubble at the leak.  (It was a PITA, but I managed all this in  my 
>>tub - then used the shower to rinse it all off.) ...
>
>Lemme tell you, the soapy water technique is even more fun in the field.
>When it's freezing.  When what's frozen (and is thawed by the warm water)
>used to be mud.  When your companions are anxious to leave but you have
>to wait an hour for the cement to cure.  Oh, yeah, I know that technique.
>
>--
>Jeffrey Neil Zimmerman
>Sonoma County, The Left Coast
>
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