Power Kite Forum

Well now I have a problem...

Jovver - 6-9-2009 at 04:31 PM

I took my Fuel out today and pumped it up to show it off to my grandparents. Wasn't planning on flying it or anything because there was no wind. Plus I just like pumping it up so I can see it, makes me feel like a kid with a new toy on Christmas. So I'm pumping it up, which I have come to realize isn't as exciting as it is the first couple of times you do it, and what do you know, I have a leak!!! :mad: It's located on the first strut off the center strut, and I have determined this by clipping off the struts and that one is the one that deflates. Now I can't figure out where it is leaking, I just know that it is. I need to know how to fix it and determine exactly what is wrong. Do I need to replace the bladder or does this sound like there is a pin hole somewhere? I have only flown it once so far, and during the flight, everyhting was fine. The only thing I have done since then is pack the kite up, and unpack and inflate it. I would greatly appreciate any help or advice, as I am new to LEI kites.

snobdr - 6-9-2009 at 04:43 PM

You will have to determin where it is leaking from. Since to fix you will have to pull it anyway..... Im not to familar with the one pumps. But tie a string to it before you pull it out that way you can pull it back in when done. Pump it up and run under water to see where it is leaking. Actually before pulling it, pump the strut up and submerge in a bathtub to make sure its the bladder and not the jumper tube. Let me know what you find and ill help ya with repair.

Jack1988 - 6-9-2009 at 07:13 PM

For real i aint got a clue about leis but out of common sense, i would say find the leak and patch it up with a bicycle puncture repair patch.

SlasherQuan - 6-9-2009 at 08:44 PM

you could also use some hand dish washing detergent in water. spread it over the inflatable sections with a sponge. Where it bubbles is where your leak is

burritobandit - 6-9-2009 at 11:20 PM

Here's a video to show you how to do it:
http://www.bestkiteboarding.com/Videos?p=4&v=9

kitejumper - 6-9-2009 at 11:40 PM

wow,thats too bad,erik.......u just bought that thing,too.......

Jovver - 7-9-2009 at 08:47 AM

Ok guys, I have determined that it is not a pinhole in the bladder itself or the jumper tube, it's the seal between the valve and the bladder itself. Any recommendations of how to reseal it?

acampbell - 7-9-2009 at 11:35 AM

KiteFix makes the Peel2Fix valve repair kit.
http://www.kitefix.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=...

Or you can send to...
http://www.fixmykite.com/

Jovver - 7-9-2009 at 11:48 AM

Wow, that's exactly what I need. Thanks guys for the help and quick responses, I knew I could count on you!

oOTomOo - 18-9-2009 at 06:34 AM

If the seal between valve and bladder failed after one flight, I'd be taking it back..

FloRider - 18-9-2009 at 08:48 AM

I had that same problem with one of my kites, I've just been letting it sit in the garage until now. Let us know how well this works for your kite.

Jovver - 14-10-2009 at 08:22 PM

Well, I finally set aside a few hours to fix my Fuel cause I'm dying to get it up in the air again... and well it was a tedious process, but I'm pretty sure I fixed it! That peel to fix stuff works wonders and is well worth the money. I bought two kits, which cost me 40 bucks, but it is enough to fix 4 leaking valves... I figured I better have some extra in case I messed up or I have more valves to fix in the future. So the entire process took me about 4 hrs to fix one leaking valve, but it wasn't as simple as I thought.

Taking the bladder out was easy, and with that string trick to feed it back in it was simple. The real problem was in my leak. I did actually have a small pin hole, but it was under/ right next to the valve. (couldn't really tell which) This leads me to believe that the hole pushed the air through enough that it made the valve sealant come loose, which caused the whole valve to need to be replaced. The serious amount of time it took was mostly spent waiting. It takes about 40 mins for the sealant to dry before you can inflate and test it. The most difficult part of the repair I found was the double sided tape that attaches the valve to the bladder... it was hard to get a clean mate between the two. After that, I just gobbed on that sealant around the valve and waited. I then slipped it back into the kite, hoping I had fixed it in one go. Unfortunately I didn't, there was still a leak in the sealant so out came the bladder again. This time I loaded another coat of sealant around the valve and let it sit another 40 mins. After this round, I layered some kite patch tape around the valve and onto the bladder and put yet another round of sealant on the edge of the tape. Hopefully this fixes it for good because it will be a pain in the a$$ to get that valve off. I slipped the bladder in for the second time, and inflated it again... and this time, no leak! But hold on, I'm not done yet... the bladder somehow got twisted while I was slipping it back into the kite. :dunno: Ugh, so the bladder came out for the third time in the process. This time I asked my brother for some assistance and he guided the bladder in and kept it nice and straight as I pulled it to the connection point. *On a side note- The rest of the kite was inflated, so it may have been easier to pull the bladder through while it was on the floor like in the video above.* I didn't find it too bad as it was inflated, and it was easy to inflate the bladder while it was in this position. So finally, after 4 hrs, I fully inflated my Fuel, and so far so good. I left it inflated for about 15 mins, and there was no noticeable drop in pressure. If there is a leak, it is so small that I'm not going to bother with it until it gets to the point I was at before.

Overall, it wasn't a bad experience, I enjoyed working on my kite, and now I believe I can say that I am fully capable of making this repair in the future, and I will definitely improve on the repair time on the next go. (Hopefully there will not be a next go at a valve repair... knock on wood) It was definitely a learning experience. If I would have set some time aside earlier, I could have had it up in the air a few weeks ago. So if anyone else has a leaky valve like mine, I highly recommend the product above, it really does work. Thanks for all the support and assistance guys!

Kamikuza - 14-10-2009 at 08:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Jovver
... I just like pumping it ...

Boy-oh-boy and you inflato-nuts have the nerve to call us arc-lovers freaks :lol:
... I reckon it's psychological ... "I gotta do all this work pumping my kite up - it HAS to be a better kite!"


Seriously though, sorry to hear that ...

Jovver - 15-10-2009 at 05:31 AM

Yeah pumping it up isn't so bad all the time, yes it is a little tiring, but I find deflating and folding it up to fit in the bag much more difficult. It's a real pain to get most of the air out of the struts and then the leading edge. My strategy is to start at the trailing edge, fold and press all the air out in the struts, then move from the wingtips to the center. Even so, I can't seem to fit it in the original bag, but I did buy a nice DC duffel bag to hold some other gear, so that is what the kite is in. Theoretically, that duffel bag is big enough to hold 2 LEI's, but I have yet to get to the point where I can store more than one.

Kamikuza - 15-10-2009 at 06:12 AM

My theory is if I can't fit it into the bag, I'm doing something wrong ... I'm getting so good with my FB's that I'm even thinking about packing 2 in one bag :ticking:
So far my best method for the C-kite I have and the arcs is - roll it up loosely then when it's about wide enough to fit the pack, fold into thirds and pack it. Can be a bit messy but beats the anal-retentive folding and sectioning and then having the wind blow it all out of shape again :lol:

Jovver - 15-10-2009 at 06:57 AM

Quote:

I'm getting so good with my FB's that I'm even thinking about packing 2 in one bag


I am in the same boat with fixed bridles, and even some arcs too, Don (kitesjumper) can attest to that. Last week we flew his Bomba 17m for the first time, and when we packed it up, I had it half the size of the bag that came with it. Same thing with my 10m Blaze II, I can get it half the size of that stuff sack without any problems. I guess I just need to practice more with the LEI packing process. Lol, this thread kinda veered off its course, but it's all in good nature. At least it's good discussion.

soccerflyer - 15-10-2009 at 07:07 AM

Speaking of veering . . . . How you like the LEI? Is it hard to fly? Learning? What is it good for?

Jovver - 15-10-2009 at 07:53 AM

Well, I have only flown it once and I felt kinda overpowered. Winds were 15 mph gusting to about 20-25 mph. Because it is the first LEI that I have flown, I don't really know how to describe it. From the 20 mins that I flew it, I can say that turning is pretty quick, and it has a ton of lift... the Fuel easily picked me up (only to about a foot or 2 off the ground) while it was sitting at zenith. (I did have the bar pulled in a bit) Mine has the 5th line safety and it works so well. In comparison to foils, the Fuel feels like its lighter, not so heavy in the wind, and these things can move. Maybe it's due to the fact that there's only one layer of material, idk. It feels different, especially when its moving fast and delivering as much power as my Blaze II. It is going to be great when I can learn to ski with it, and then on the water next season. This kite will definitely provide the power I need to get going.

soccerflyer - 15-10-2009 at 08:15 AM

Sweet thanks for the mini review. I like to hear first time impressions from folks who haven't used them before, but have flown foils.

kitejumper - 15-10-2009 at 12:34 PM

sorry to hijack,but Jovver is the best ive ever seen at untangling bridles and knots--he could make a good living moving to cali ,hanging out on the beach and charging people to untangle their kites:P

Jovver - 15-10-2009 at 01:05 PM

Lol Don, good thing I have your tangled messes to hone my skills!

kitejumper - 15-10-2009 at 05:41 PM

too much wind!

Jovver - 18-10-2009 at 05:06 PM

Well, I took the Fuel out for second flight this past weekend (just static flying) and... I still have a leak. It's not as bad as it was before, but still noticeable. For flying, I simply isolated the other struts from the system via the clip off points on the connection lines for the one-pump system. Every half an hour or so I would have to pump it up again to get back to good pressure. I did get a solid amount of time on the kite though, and I do notice how much of a difference a fully inflated vs not fully inflated LEI handles. I really love this kite though. It's really quick to turn, that's actually a bit of an understatement. With the bar fully powered, the kite turns on a dime. It also develops a ton of power. I was easily able to get a few nice hops in 10 mph winds, and we didn't get anything above 15 mph. I'm really looking forward to getting more time on this awesome kite, and hopefully soon progressing to bigger hops/ small jumps with it. Maybe I will take it out the next time we have winds in the 15- 18mph range and see what it can really do. As for my leak, I've contacted fixmykite.com about a quote for a new bladder with valve installed so I can just put it in and go, or I may just buy a new set of bladders for the whole kite, which I can get fairly cheap on Ebay.

Jovver - 29-10-2009 at 06:54 PM

So... an update to my situation. My new bladder set that I bought with valves already installed finally came! Replacing my leaking strut was no problem at all, and now it is holding air. But now I have a bigger problem... My leading edge bladder is now leaking as well. The seal between the deflate valve and the LE bladder is completely broken. The valve is just hanging there and the bladder floats around underneath. I did notice it was a little loose when the kite first arrived, but I didn't know any better. It is a fairly decent leak as well. You can't hear any air coming out, but after one hour, the LE is halfway deflated. So now I have to replace my LE bladder, luckily I have it ready to go, just need to set some time aside to do it. I have seen this video of replacing the bladders on a Slingshot Rev, but I've heard the Fuel is much more difficult because of the 90 degree bend in the wing tips.




Any tips or tricks to make my life easy on this one?

flyjump - 29-10-2009 at 08:09 PM

Make sure that the long bladder isn't twisted when you put it inside your kite because it will cause a bubble weak spot or pop. Inflate it partially and examine it and look for twists. I popped a new bladder like that with my first depower kite. That's why I moved to arcs :) no bladders to mess with

snobdr - 29-10-2009 at 08:35 PM

Much easier with two people.
Put talk or baby powder on the bladder helps it slide around.
Ill fold the bladder up like an acordian, back and forth about 3 inches wide.
Let someone pull the string while you feed it into the kite.
The 90 isnt to bad you can scrunch up the kite sum and get a straighter shot.
Pump a little air into the bladder just enuff for it to start to take fill. Feel along and see if there are any twists. Then ill pump it say halfway then let the air out. Then 3/4 and let the air out. Then pump all the way up. Lets the bladder find where it wants to sit and keeps from stretching/popping if its caught anywhere.

snobdr - 30-10-2009 at 08:08 AM

on your old bladders, airtime has stick on valves. The old ones usually can be removed by running under hot water and carefully peeling off. One word of advice though, when you put the airtime ones on you only have one chance to get it right. Make sure the bladder is flat and take your time sticking it on.

Jovver - 30-10-2009 at 08:16 AM

Alright, thanks for the suggestions guys!