Aquasimple leaking

**DocBurN** · 12-26-2010, 17:41

My aquasimple gravity filter rocked for many months this year but on the last trip.. the sea to summit bag started sweating through the seams at the bottom .. the bag still holded 5 liters for the whole day but it is now worrying me for next year expeditions..

1) Fix it some how ?
2) Buy a new one ?
3) Better suggestion ?

Any input are welcome... having water to drink is a priority in the wild in my book so this piece of equipment is important (even if i carry enough micropure as backup)

**angrysparrow** · 12-26-2010, 17:43

Turn the bag inside out and re-seal the seams.

Don't leave it hanging full of water for extended periods. Filter into another container.

**Mustardman** · 12-26-2010, 17:55

It's made with an off the shelf dry bag, which wasn't really designed to hold gallons of water - that's a lot of weight and will put stress on the seams.

As AS said, treat it like any other piece of waterproof outdoor gear (like a tarp) and seam seal periodically. Problem solved.

**DocBurN** · 12-26-2010, 17:59

is there a recommanded product to seam seal with ? maybe a do-it-all seam sealer that would be good for a gravity filter (drinking water) and for my tarp

**Mustardman** · 12-26-2010, 18:05

It's a silnylon stuff sack, so any silicone sealer will work. You can either buy a tube of silicone seam sealer, or mix some pure silicone caulk and mineral spirits to make your own. With mine, I ended up removing pieces of the seam tape and sealing underneath them. I've never liked seam tape, and vastly prefer gooping on some sealant.

Assuming you're still using the MEC Sil 9x7 tarp, the same sealer will work on that. If it's a different material, you might need to use a different sealer.

**angrysparrow** · 12-26-2010, 18:06

MM is right...Silicone sealants when dry are fine for drinking water contact.

**sclittlefield** · 12-30-2010, 19:09

Originally Posted by Mustardman

It's a silnylon stuff sack, so any silicone sealer will work. You can either buy a tube of silicone seam sealer, or mix some pure silicone caulk and mineral spirits to make your own. With mine, I ended up removing pieces of the seam tape and sealing underneath them. I've never liked seam tape, and vastly prefer gooping on some sealant.

Assuming you're still using the MEC Sil 9x7 tarp, the same sealer will work on that. If it's a different material, you might need to use a different sealer.

Sure it's true silnylon? I was under the impression Sea to Summit is using a sil-urethane hybrid. Sil coated one side, urethane coated the other side (so they can use regular seam tape). Not sure what the bag actually is, but if it's urethane coated inside, sil sealer won't work well. Just a heads up in case.

**Mustardman** · 01-03-2011, 14:11

All I know is that I used sil sealer on mine, and it doesn't leak. I can't speak to how long it will last, but it seemed to stick fine and seal up well.

**Tendertoe** · 01-03-2011, 15:03

For what it's worth, I used an "aquarium safe" silicone sealant (I think DAP made it - from the adhesive section of the hardware store) for my DIY gravity filter (Sea to Summit dry bag).

It is FDA approved as food safe. If you search food safe silicone caulk there will be a ton of home brewing forums and aquarium forums that pop up with discussions about this.

**aboyd** · 01-03-2011, 15:17

I would guess this same method would work on the Walmart dry bags used for the DIY gravity filters? Mine has a small leak, might as well fix it if it is easy.