REPAIRS
REPAIRING STRUT BLADDERS
KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
REPAIRING STRUT BLADDERS
•
Before attempting to repair one of your kite bladders, make sure your kite is clean and dry. Always keep your kite pump, valves and bladders
free of sand, water and other things that will dirty them.
•
Make sure the bladders are deflated.
•
Avoid repairing your kite on the beach or in dirty, dusty, windy, or abrasive areas. It is best to find a clean, dry spot out of the wind. A grassy
spot is ideal.
•
You will need a set of flying lines and a bladder repair kit (supplied with kite) before you begin to repair the bladder.
1. First, lay the kite out with the struts facing up.
2. Detach the Velcro closure at the base of the
damaged strut. This will open up the sleeve of the
strut and will allow you access to the internal
bladder. (Fig.1)
3. Next, separate the valve plug from the Velcro closure
so that the valve is free from the strut's sleeve. This
will essentially disconnect the bladder from the
sleeve. Keep track of the valve plug for later use.
4. Tie one flying line around the valve. Cinch it down
well on the valve. Do not tie the knot through the
hole on the valve or you may damage it.
5. Gently insert the valve down into the strut sleeve.
6. Go to the base of the sleeve and gently pull the
bladder out of the sleeve, leaving the flying line
through the sleeve. Having the flying line through
the sleeve will allow you to easily replace the
bladder once it is repaired. (Fig.2)
7. Inflate the bladder and plug the valve so that it
maintains air. Do not over inflate the bladder.
8. Submerge the bladder in water to locate the hole. A
bathtub or large sink full of water is best.
9. Look for bubbles to locate the hole.
10. Once you have located the leak, dry the area and
mark the hole with a circle. A permanent marker
works best for this. (Fig.3)
11. Dry and clean the rest of the bladder with a soft
towel.
12. Again, deflate the bladder.
13. Decide whether to use the glue or a patch supplied
in your bladder repair kit.
14. If the hole is on a seam, you will need to glue the
area.
15. If the hole is on a flat area of the bladder, remove
the backing on one of the patches and press it onto
the bladder, covering the hole.
16. Set the bladder aside for approximately 20 minutes
to dry.
17. Again, inflate the bladder and check to make sure it
is now holding air.
18. If you have repaired the holes in the bladder, coat
the entire bladder in talcum powder to assist
insertion back into the sleeve.
19. Deflate once again.
20. Tie the flying line from the end of the strut opening
onto the valve.
21. Lay the bladder flat at the end of the strut, so that
you may now feed it back into the sleeve.
22. Gently feed the valve, followed by the rest of the
bladder, into the sleeve.
23. From the valve opening of the sleeve, you will pull
the flying line out of the sleeve, while pulling the
bladder back into place.
24. Once the bladder is replaced, pull the valve back
into the hole of the sleeve and remove the flying line
from its base.
25. Re-attach the Velcro at the base end of the sleeve.
(Fig.4)
26. Re-attach the valve plug.
27. Inflate the strut partially to make sure the bladder
fits into all four corners of the sleeve.
28. Inflate the strut entirely or deflate it if you are going
to store the kite.
(Fig.1)
(Fig.2)
(Fig.3)
(Fig.4)
