I've got 3 '09 Naish Torches and I decided to get them out and blow them up checking for leaks on the weekend before the season starts up properly this year. So, the 8m seams ok, the 10m lost a bit of pressure and the 12m lost a bit over a couple of hours.
So after pulling out all the struts and them all being fine and it being late in the day at this point. I thought about the fact that there's one way valves in the leading edge for all the strut connections and if I pull the LE bladder out and try blowing it up it's only going to let the air out as I'm trying to inflate it.
Anybody fixed these before that could offer me some tips? All I can think of is pulling all of the bladders out of the LE & Struts and connecting them up out of the kite then inflating, or trying to somehow cover the valves over with something with less give than a kit bladder (harder to inflate).
Thanks for any suggestions in advance.
D
P.S. Actually as a second thought, anyone know what any of the shops that carry Naish would charge to check out a kite?
P.P.S anyone had an octopus system leak from the connection points between the LE and the struts?
As the owners manual says bro, grab some mates and a slab of beers and thats a good start.
serious note,
block the valves off with normal valve plugs!!! get them from the shop or just steal them off the struts.
I guess the question is, "How much is 'a bit' over a couple of hours?"
Is the kite still flyable after those couple of hours? Because, for the effort of chasing up what sounds to me like a very slow leak, wouldn't it be worth just coming back in every 2 hours and giving your kite a few more pumps? I don't know anyone whose kite stays fully inflated to the same pressure throughout a session. I have an 09 and 08 Helixes so I'm familiar with Octopus.
My opinion would be "don't pick it, you'll only make it worse"
I had a 09 Cult with a few leaks.
With all the bladders in place, hammer it with soapy water. You will get big growing bubbles from any leak.
At the very least you will get a clean kite. Baahahah
Just wanted to be in the top four posts for the first time. Hope you get it sorted man, and quickly the time is nigh.
Spray bottle with 15-20 drops of clear dishwashing liquid in it fill with water, and spray kites. Guaranteed the leeks will be from the strut to LE join, inside the top of each strut. There is a nozzle in there that relies on a taper fit and teflon tape to seal it, some will stay sealed for the life of the kite, others leak, its a crap system, bummer for you.
The kites fly ok, but the inflation system sucks. No doubt my shadow will be on next telling you its all lies and they never leak and its the best blah, bleh, blah...
Its not that hard to fix them, but it is very awkward and time consuming compared to any external one pump system.
If you get bubbles are spraying with the ater and detergent mix, remove the strut bladder, Naish website has a how to video on that, carefully retape with teflon tape as per the video, re-install the strut (not as easy as it sounds) and reinflate the kite, spray again, see if you fixed it, if not, have a swig of beer, curse a bit, deflate and repeat!
i had trouble with my 09 14m Torch, it was leaking air from the octopus connections (struts to LE)... The damn thing would deflate after about 30 minutes of flying.
Got a new set of bladders for free under warranty I think, been great ever since.
