Appreciation post: the old diver who showed me the duct tape trick for seal leaks

I was on a job in Port Arthur back in 2017, fighting a constant leak in my neck seal during a deep repair. An old timer named Jim told me to just slap a strip of duct tape on the inside flap before I suit up. It worked like a charm and saved me a ruined dive. Has anyone else picked up weird hacks from the older guys?

3 comments

3 Comments

zarag1717d ago

Forgot to mention, duct tape on the neck seal works way better if you warm it up against your chest for a minute first. Stickier that way. Also, that inner tube trick for fuel lines is a good one but you gotta be careful with the rubber type. Some rubbers break down real fast with modern diesel blends, saw a guy's patch turn to goo after a week. Old Jim would just shake his head at that, he swore by bicycle inner tubes only.

blair_torres7017d ago

My buddy Dave had a valve start seeping on a job in Louisiana. An old salvage guy showed him how to wedge a piece of rubber from an inner tube under the valve cover. Worked perfect until they could get it properly replaced.

brooke44817d ago

Rubber inner tubes always come in handy in a pinch. Had a guy down here in Texas use a piece to patch a leaky fuel line on an old tractor, ran for months before it gave out. That old school MacGyver stuff works pretty well for temp fixes.