Aloha,

I just moved from San Francisco to Maui for the summer and bought two brand new 6m and 10m Rise a couple of weeks ago.

After almost one week with just light wind on Maui I could finally check out my new kites today.

The 6m rocks! Super fast and pure fun.

But when I went out with the 10m in the late afternoon after about 5-10 minutes the kite just collapsed and fell from the sky. After I got to the kite I saw that the leading edge was empty. After pumping in some air again I figured out that it is leaking air at the tube connection from the front bladder to the outer strut bladder on the side where the little tube is connected to the leading edge bladder. I didn’t open it up yet, but you can hear that the air is coming out there. :evil:

Since the wind is back now and I’d like to get out there as soon as possible and hope to get a new exchange kite as fast as I can get. Should I solve this issue directly with the shop where I bought the kite or will OR do the exchange?
Unfortunately I threw away the check sheet, but as far as I can remember it was dated with 10/08.

OR: Please contact me via private message and I’ll give you my e-mail address and cell phone number.

Mahalo

-Stefan

Stefan

I had a similar problem with a brand new Diablo only last week. On pumping up the kite I could hear air escaping. It was coming from the hose that connected the centre strut to the leading edge. After a little investigation I discovered that the nipple at the leading edge had been creased/pinched when the hose and clamp had been attached during the manufacturing process. This was allowing air to escape.

I was able to cure this by carefully removing the effected hose clamp (see post on this subject) taking off the hose clamp on that side and then gently teasing the plastic of the nipple back into shape. On re-fitting the problem was sorted and there has been no leakage of air since.

Moral of this story check your nipples dude

andy

Hmm, I think I heard the air coming out from somewhere inside, maybe where the nipple is connected to the bladder. Although I couldn’t see it. I didn’t remove the bladders yet. Anyway, thanks for the hint. I’m gonna check it out tomorrow.

Stefan,

Indeed we have seen slow leaks as Andy described where the clamp was too tight and colapsed the valve, causing a gap to allow air out. If this is the case it is an easy fix.

If not, you may need to pull the bladder out to inspect for holes. Inflate the bladder with it removed and feel for air escaping. If you can patch it there are bladder patches included with your kite (small square box of patches). Be sure to clean the area of all talc powder before sticking the patch on. If you can not fix it please contact your dealer to arrange to get a new bladder.

John

Rather than taking the bladder out to look for holes…a friend taught me a trick. Pump up the kite w/ the bladder in it. Fill up a spray bottle w/ soapy water and spray down the kite. If there are any holes…it will bubble up on the outside of the kite. Then you can mark it and save yourself a bunch of time and won’t have to hassle with a sink or bathtub.

johnz - 09 July 2008 02:27 AM

Stefan,

Indeed we have seen slow leaks as Andy described where the clamp was too tight and colapsed the valve, causing a gap to allow air out. If this is the case it is an easy fix.

If not, you may need to pull the bladder out to inspect for holes. Inflate the bladder with it removed and feel for air escaping. If you can patch it there are bladder patches included with your kite (small square box of patches). Be sure to clean the area of all talc powder before sticking the patch on. If you can not fix it please contact your dealer to arrange to get a new bladder.

John

I think I may have this leak from the clamp being too tight on the center strut of my ‘10 Rise. I can clamp it off so that the leading edge stays full for the most part, however, my last two sessions it’s getting light. I tried replacing the hose and clamp, I will check it out again today. So I’m guessing I should just ease the tightness of the zip ties?