Finding leak in Thermarest

[Trailweaver]

I try, realllly try to be careful with mine. I always put them in a stuff sack, watch where I put them down, watch what is next to them in the tent, etc, to avoid punctures. Every single one I have (maybe 4?) developed a leak. I love to sleep on them, but have a bad (and expensive!) track record with them. I've finally given up and gone back to closed cell foam, which I hate, but it's cheaper.

[Trailweaver]

In the tent, not rent! And I don't know why my little frowny face didn't show up. Sorry.

[Bansko]

Puncture prevention. I carried a 1/8 inch thick Gossamer Gear closed cell pad and an Exped inflatable for the length of the AT and never had a puncture. The GG pad weighed only a few ounces and doubled as a sit pad. I never used the inflatable without it. It also added a little warmth on the cold nights. When I was just too dambed tired or lazy to inflate I would use the GG pad by itself in warmer weather. This system worked well for me.

[RockDoc]

Past a certain point you can't fix this high-tech stuff. You have to replace it. It's especially bad if the holes are near the seams or edges.

I had one that a squirrel had got into the tent and put tiny teeth holes in my neo-air, probably attracted by salt from sweat. Never could fix that one.

[Leo L.]

Trip is over, and the tiny leak seemingly had cured itself. Maybe the tiny leak got stuffed by some dirt or something else, anyway, the mat will hold the air now for the whole night (it will still lose pressure in the course of several days).
I took great care of the Thermarest this time, always kept it in the bag and used the groundsheet (housewrap) for camp chores, and only when it was time to go to sleep I shaked and spread out the groundsheet on the designated spot, and only then spread out the Thermarest. No new leaks developed so far.

[MtDoraDave]

Trip is over, and the tiny leak seemingly had cured itself. Maybe the tiny leak got stuffed by some dirt or something else, anyway, the mat will hold the air now for the whole night (it will still lose pressure in the course of several days).
I took great care of the Thermarest this time, always kept it in the bag and used the groundsheet (housewrap) for camp chores, and only when it was time to go to sleep I shaked and spread out the groundsheet on the designated spot, and only then spread out the Thermarest. No new leaks developed so far.

Some mornings I find my Prolite Plus has leaked down somewhat. Other mornings, it hasn't.
My working hypothesis is that sometimes I don't get the valve tight enough or perhaps a speck of dirt prevents an airtight seal.

[Just Bill]

The ideal method remains:
Blow the mattress up nearly full. Fart into the inflation port to top it off. Close it up. Sniff for leak.

[Venchka]

The ideal method remains:
Blow the mattress up nearly full. Fart into the inflation port to top it off. Close it up. Sniff for leak.

Some people have way, way, too much time on their hands!

Grinning.
Wayne


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Leo L.]

The ideal method remains:
Blow the mattress up nearly full. Fart into the inflation port to top it off. Close it up. Sniff for leak.

Have to train a bit, to pressurize the farts higher than the breath, then I'll give this a try.
Wasn't there some suggestion about chapstick usage, too?

[BuckeyeBill]

Have to train a bit, to pressurize the farts higher than the breath, then I'll give this a try.
Wasn't there some suggestion about chapstick usage, too?

If you pressurized too much, you may put more than gas in the valve.

[atraildreamer]

Take it to a tire repair garage and have them dunk it in the tank they use to detect the leak(s) in tires.

It takes about a minute to find the leak(s).

Have them mark the spot(s) and take it home for repair.

They will probably do it for free, but buy the tech a coffee anyway!

[Leo L.]

Take it to a tire repair garage and have them dunk it in the tank they use to detect the leak(s) in tires.
...

We don't have such repair shops any more, at least not in my area.

Anyway, the problem with the tiny leak is solved, I'm going to use the Thermarest for home use only now, and will get a new non-selfinflating mat soon.
Need to save space and weight anyway.

[carouselambra]

I was having trouble finding a small leak with a Big Agnes pad. I followed the directions on their website and the use of the "Z fold" technique provide the pressure I needed to locate the slow leak. Here is the info from their website:
How To Locate A Leak The first thing you want to do is locate the leak. Inflate the pad and submerge it in a tub of water (a bathtub or swimming pool works well). Fold your fully inflated pad in half (so a 72” pad becomes 36”). Now fold the top half back on itself creating a “z” shape on one half. Submerge the unfolded half of the pad under water. Lean on the folded half with your elbow and check for any streams of bubbles. Press down hard on the pad to force air through any leaks. You will need to unfold and refold to check the head and foot of the pad as well as the top side and bottom side.
If you find a small puncture (identified by a single steady stream of bubbles) mark it with a piece of chalk or masking tape. Let the pad dry and then deflate it.

[Leo L.]

Did the job in the baththub, but have to try the Z-shape trick, too. Thanks!