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Orange Bladders

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:29 am
by Ivel
I'm doing a repair to an Orange bladder and was wondering if anybody knew of a glue that works on it? I am used to the regular bladders that you can put Type B repair tape over the rip/blowout then Aquaseal the perimeter. Unfortunately Aquaseal does not work on the Orange bladders.

Re: Orange Bladders

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 2:07 am
by hamajusyda
If it's the orange one's you get from "Airtime" (the saran wrap kind) try using packaging tape. Not duct tape but the clear thin packaging tape. Used that on one a year ago and it still holding strong!

Hope this helps,

JC

Re: Orange Bladders

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:48 am
by Ivel
Yup it's the Airtime one and I already used packing tape. The problem is that there are small leaks where the packing tape over laps itself

Re: Orange Bladders

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 1:20 pm
by parakitescn
Orange bladder. is the bladder color is orange? Sounds interesting. I guess the kitefix aid glue may help.

Re: Orange Bladders

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:15 pm
by kitingkt
Find some Tear-Aid. This tape is stretchy while the packing tape will not.

kt

Re: Orange Bladders

Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:28 pm
by Bigdog
From the airtime site use this.

Tape is Tear-Aid brand (Type A), a polyurethane film with super sticky adhesive.

Re: Orange Bladders

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:39 am
by Ivel
Thanks for the replies but tearaid doesn't work. I contacted Airtime and they told me to use packing tape. no mention of a glue though.

Re: Orange Bladders

Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 1:13 pm
by Bigdog
Funny on their site they only have one type of tape and described as type A. I find it hard to believe crap packing tape is a good idea. I sure would not trust that at all.

Re: Orange Bladders

Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 3:03 am
by Kupono
Sorry to say, but the orange bladders suck big time. They may be lighter, but they're garbage. AirTime says to use a good quality packaging tape (3M), and they're right to an extent. It does stick better than almost anything else, but it doesn't stick very well. Also, it's not flexible, so if the repair is too big, the flat tape around a curved bladder will buckle and you'll end up with little tape furrows that bleed air. Even if you stick the tape on a perfectly flattened bladder, once it expands the furrows can form.

I haven't found any glue that sticks to that very weird orange material. It seems to repel sticky stuff. It's also very weak. Try running your finger nail over an inflated bladder. If your nail leaves a mark, ten to one there'll be pinhole leaks in it. If you're not lucky, just the act of pulling the bladder into the LE will cause pinhole leaks. About a year ago I went through 2 orange bladders trying to fix a kite. AirTime replaced the first one for free. After the second debacle I gave up on orange and found an OEM bladder. I had no problems with it.

Re: Orange Bladders

Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 4:31 am
by Ivel
Also, it's not flexible, so if the repair is too big, the flat tape around a curved bladder will buckle and you'll end up with little tape furrows that bleed air. Even if you stick the tape on a perfectly flattened bladder, once it expands the furrows can form.
My exact problem.
Funny that you mention leaks from installing the bladder, I assisted caveman in putting a brand new OB in his 13m and it immediately leaked. Upon removal it had many random pinholes.

I suppose i will just find a new bladder for this kite.
thanks guys