Finding a leak in a selfinflating matress.

[Pantalaimon]

Hello there!

2 Months ago, I bought a Nomad SI Lite 1.2, a Self Inflating matress. I've used it for a week in the bush, under a tarp(with a thin sheet under it) and last week I was sleeping in a tent. Unfortunately, I discovered that the mat was leak. On the end of the week I was lying on the ground within 2 hours after I blow it up, in the beginning it went not so fast.
Luckely, a leak SI matress gives enough isolation but the comfort was quickly gone.

Back at home now, I'm trying to find the leak, but I haven't succeeded jet.
I've tried checking the mat systematically but didn't found anything.

Now I am on the point of throwing the mat in the bath and/or using soapy water to find the leak(bubbles) but I am not sure if that's a good idea.

Does anyone maybe have some tips?

Thanks in Advance!

Pantalaimon.

 

[lou1661]

Hi,
I slung my Thermarest in the bath when is sprung a leak. I inflated it as much as i could before and just hoped the pressure of the escaping air would keep the water out.

Louis

 

[spamel]

That's the only way to do it. In the bath and have a bit of chalk ready to mark round the area where the bubbles escape from. Hope you can get it sorted, when my Thermarest sprang a leak, I used the brand name repair kit from Thermarest. I proved that a strategically shaved chimp could use the kit succesfully, it is that easy!

 

[Pantalaimon]

I think I'm gonna take a bath this evening then, thanks!

 

[crazydave]

sometimes you wont find it and its often a valve failure which wont show up. we have a thermarest like that which is fine untill you lay on it.

 

[squantrill]

I think I'm gonna take a bath this evening then, thanks!

Think yourselves lucky I only have a shower at home!!

 

[Pantalaimon]

It seems there isn't just one leak. On 2 different spots are many (small?) leaks.
If there was just 1 leak, it was okay with me. In the two weeks I've used it I always have checked the ground for rocks, and I never used it without a sheet under it.
Nomad is a wellknown brand(I think), but is this coincidence or is it really that quick damaged? Many small leaks let me think about just a wornpatch but that isn't possible.

I've always used airbeds and had never problems with that. Hopefully it's just coincidence.

 

[gregorach]

Sounds like a manufacturing fault to me.

 

[ANN]

send it back its faulty

 

[Pantalaimon]

I was a bit curious about how it would end, because most (Dutch) big companies first think about how they could make as much money as possible, ignoring de customers who wants fair support if something goes wrong, and hiding behind weird rules.
Luckely, that was not this case.
2 days ago I brought it to the shop where I've bought it, a Frans De Witte. They should take a look at it and today I got a message that it was indeed faulty and I could pick up a new one.

Now hopefully it was just one, and not the whole batch

 

[Celt_Ginger]

All's well that ends well. It's good that they looked after you properly.

 

[historyphil]

mix up a thickish brew of washing up liquid then (after blowing some air into it ) paint the seams using a small paint brush. The leak should bubble up through the mixture, it will work on the valve as well. Saves getting a bath especially if it the wrong time of year for yours.

 

[Bimble]

My mate brought a thermarest lite, got it out of the bag, blew it up for the first time, did a test lie down, didn't see the broken glass on the ground, went back to using his battered nato kipmat.

Never did fix that leak!

Probably not what you want ti hear.......I'll shut up.