Leading edge bladder repair
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2004 5:04 pm
Hi,
leading edge bladder of my kite has a leak. Not a big one, but just enough to make kite unusable. I found two holes pushing bladder under the water (at the Shore Line). But it still loses pressure.
Does anybody have bright ideas how to find the hole? Additional bonus if it is possible to do in a one bedroom apartment :-) (Though invitations to a big private pool can be accepted, too :-) )
Pushing bladder under the water doesn't always work (for LE) - at the ends of the bladder pressure is not enough - if I would pump it more - it can blow in the middle.
What methods did I use (except pushing bludder under the water):
1. Pump bladder inside the LE strut and listen. Sometimes you can hear the leak and it will give you an exact place. Now bladder can be removed and water or soap can be used.
2. Now I'm thinking about putting some (a few galons of) water inside the bladder at home. In such way I wouldn't need a lot of space and will be able to create enough pressure to find a hole. Removing the water doesn't look like a big problem.
Any other bright ideas?
Have a nice day,
Serge.
leading edge bladder of my kite has a leak. Not a big one, but just enough to make kite unusable. I found two holes pushing bladder under the water (at the Shore Line). But it still loses pressure.
Does anybody have bright ideas how to find the hole? Additional bonus if it is possible to do in a one bedroom apartment :-) (Though invitations to a big private pool can be accepted, too :-) )
Pushing bladder under the water doesn't always work (for LE) - at the ends of the bladder pressure is not enough - if I would pump it more - it can blow in the middle.
What methods did I use (except pushing bludder under the water):
1. Pump bladder inside the LE strut and listen. Sometimes you can hear the leak and it will give you an exact place. Now bladder can be removed and water or soap can be used.
2. Now I'm thinking about putting some (a few galons of) water inside the bladder at home. In such way I wouldn't need a lot of space and will be able to create enough pressure to find a hole. Removing the water doesn't look like a big problem.
Any other bright ideas?
Have a nice day,
Serge.