Thermarest slow leak

[jonny the monkey]

Alright guys, looking for a little advice incase anyone else has hit the same problem.

I've got a thermarest self inflating mattress thats developed a slow leak but I'll be damned if I can find where the hole is!

I had the thing submerged in the bath earlier today, inflated as much as possible and checked it in sections whilst scrunching up the ends I wasn't looking at. Flipped it over and gave the underside the same treatment, even put some soap around the valve to see if it would produce some bubbles.

I can't find a thing wrong with it except when I wake up in the morning and I'm laying on a layer of compressed foam

My ex had a hole in hers and we submerged it in a river, it was immediately obvious where the hole was as bubbles were gushing out of it!

Today is almost over but tomorrow I'm gonna try again in the bath and hold the mat down with some weights and see if a bubble forms over time. Failing that has anybody else got any ideas?

Cheers

 

[Mesquite]

Try inflating it really firm then put a soapy solution over all of it. A bubble may well form very slowly where the puncture is

 

[Countryman]

I think you sound like you have done all the right things.

Contact Thermarest customer service. See what they say


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[jonny the monkey]

This is where I'm at this morning, doing it in sections. It took 27kg to submerge 1/3rd of it!

 

[ozzy1977]

I would guess at pin ***** hole or 2, worst case would be porous fabric in which case it is knackered, this is unlikely though. How old is it?

 

[jonny the monkey]

I reckon she's been going for about 5 years now

 

[ozzy1977]

It might be worth contacting cascade design if you find the fabric is porous, its an outside chance but they may be able to help

 

[jonny the monkey]

I've taken the mat out of the bath, no joy finding the leak. I've sent an email to their UK claims department. I'll let you know of any outcome. If I had to buy another one it wouldn't be the end of the world. I've certainly had some service out of that one

Oh and in reply to Mesquite, I'll try the soap all over tomorrow as well. Just realised its time to head out to work!

 

[ozzy1977]

When I worked with inflatables (boats, lifejackets and life rafts) we would use a plant sprayer filled with water and fairy liquid, quite strong mix and never failed to find the source of the leak, and that was on fabric similar to thermarests, pvc and hyperlon

 

[jonny the monkey]

Thats a good tip, I reckon one of those plant mister handheld spray bottles should have the same effect. Theres bound to be one round here somewhere.

In hindsight it might make it foam up too much... but its certainly worth a shot

 

[Podcast Bob]

Thermarest products have a lifetime guarantee (subject to normal use of course) so contact Cascade Designs and they will test and check it for you.

 

[jonny the monkey]

I've sent cascade designs an email, the chap there said I'd done everything he would normally advise people to do and my best bet is to send it in for them to take a look. Hopefully I'll have the time in the morning to get it down to the post office and sent off for inspection

 

[Countryman]

Go Jonny!


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[ozzy1977]

I would lay money on them replacing it.

 

[Countryman]

Any news on this yet Jonny? You only really know how good a company is when you see how they handle issues like this.


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[jonny the monkey]

I haven't heard anything yet but the guy I emailed said in his reply that it can take up to 4 weeks from the day I post it. Also the address they provide is so they can group multiple items together in the UK and then ship them all at once to Ireland where they handle the warranty or repairs.

 

[Countryman]

Stay in touch!


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[jonny the monkey]

Funnily enough I got a phone call this afternoon They said the back of the mat was littered with pin ***** holes and that it cannot be repaired but they can offer me a replacement for £25. Sounded good enough to me so I took them up on the offer. If I hadn't sent it to them, I would have ended up buying another one anyway. As a plus this replacement mat is also covered by their warranty in case anyone was thinking of sending one off to them.

It took 12 days to hear any feedback and I posted it royal mail second class, I'm happy enough with that. I'll let you guys know when it gets here

 

[Shewie]

Any idea how you picked up the holes? What have you been sleeping on?

 

[jonny the monkey]

It became noticeable in Spain where we came across a lot of things that seemed to like producing thorns of varying sizes. I thought I had always made sure of clearing the ground where we were to lay the tent though, especially if it was a drier, spikier area.

I suppose it could have been an ongoing problem with enough tiny holes building up over time to then make a noticeable decrease in performance apparent. If thats the case I've had it lain out on all kinds of surfaces over the last few years. I would guess I've clocked at least 2 years of continuous use out of it at least!