Water Damaged Rig

[txhoss 0]

Walking around the house the other night I noticed that there was a puddle next to the closet that my gear back and rig are stored in. After I opened up the main and started inspecting it I noticed there was some slight mold damage. Almost all of the metal hardware in the legstraps has corroded so that tells me that it was there for a lot plenty of time to damage stitching.

I’ve got renters insurance but was just wondering if this is no longer jumpable. My inclination is to claim it and get a new system. Has anyone had experience with this sort of problem?

Have Rig will travel ...

[aresye 0]

I would definitely have a rigger take a look at it. There are ways to remove corrosion, although most likely some of those chemicals can potentially damage the rig. Let your rigger take a look, and give you advice on what to do.

Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours.

[mdrejhon 8]

Also, prolonged wetness also makes fabric weaker too -- especially if mold has had time to chew it down. Easier rips during a hard opening.

[txhoss 0]

That is what i am worried about. I told the insurance guy that came over that I did not trust the stiches, espically since there was corrosion on the hardware. I am pretty sure that they will buy a new rig. Hell, confidence in your gear is half it.

Is anyone jumping perviously water damaged gear?

Have Rig will travel ...

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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That is what i am worried about. I told the insurance guy that came over that I did not trust the stiches, espically since there was corrosion on the hardware. I am pretty sure that they will buy a new rig. Hell, confidence in your gear is half it.

Note that the insurance adjuster can depreciate your gear, and that even "replacement value" policies can have a cap on replacement costs versus the depreciated value.

[labrys 0]

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Walking around the house the other night I noticed that there was a puddle next to the closet that my gear back and rig are stored in.

Umm... you've had a puddle next to the closet you keep you gear in for long enough that your gear is degraded and you haven't noticed it?

You should have just left this private until your insurance agent wrote a check. You are soooo busted doing nothing more than ripping off your insurance for new gear here.

Owned by Remi #?

[hackish 8]

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Also, prolonged wetness also makes fabric weaker too -- especially if mold has had time to chew it down. Easier rips during a hard opening.

I do not believe this is correct. Nylon typically loses about 12% of it's strength when wet but regains it when it dries again. Mould does not eat nylon either but someone more into biology could answer whether it releases acidic byproudcts that could harm the nylon. I did some quick searches but wasn't able to come up with an answer on that point.

End of the day, as mentioned above get the rigger to check it over.

-Michael

[mdrejhon 8]

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Also, prolonged wetness also makes fabric weaker too -- especially if mold has had time to chew it down. Easier rips during a hard opening.

Nylon typically loses about 12% of it's strength when wet but regains it when it dries again.

You're right for the nylon portion of the rig, especially after jumping through the rain, but what about these considerations:

- The container itself, the stitching on the harness, etc? Although cordura is nylon, it might not be 100% nylon everywhere. Even containers/stitching do get damaged during hard opening too (seen other dropzone.com threads, including a riser partially ripping itself from container, etc)

- Potentially days or weeks of exposure to wetness, especially when there are chemicals potentially present? (Existence rust and mold indicates there was plenty of time of wetness, which changes the ballgame)

I've seen cotton clothing easily rip after they've been wet for many days with a slight mold, then dried. Is the container 100% guaranteed nylon? Were there any chemicals (even residual) that weakens nylon over time? Is it guaranteed that none of the fabric/threads anywhere in the container, isn't going to exhibit at least minorly weakened behaviour? Especially if maybe some of the dust/dirt/salt&sweat/rust residue ended up having some chemical that accelerated the weakening of at least one of the fabrics/threads typically found in a whole rig...

Also if there's repeated drying-and-wetting cycles (if the water in the closet was intermittent), that can damage faster than just staying wet. (i.e. repeated crystallization damage, i.e. salt and rust chemicals), it's the unknowns like these that start to bother me...

I'm happy jumping a washed rig, but I think one that's been wet for weeks probably needs to go straight back to the factory or factory-recommended rigger, for the most complete inspection they possibly can offer... Including strength tests.

[Broke 0]

How often do you get out to jump that your rig had weeks to get wet?

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[riggerrob 643]

Clean, fresh water does not damage nylon.
The only way water can damage nylon is if canopy fabric is repeatedly aggitated in water. That will loosen up the weave (especially reserves made of F-111 nylon) increasing porosity, increasing fill time (inflation) and making them flare like bag locks.

The heavier grades of nylon (para-pack and cordura)used to make containers are not degraded by fresh water or repeated washings. The only thing that changes is the loss of urethane coatings on the back side of pack-cloth ... more of an aesthetic and longevity issue than simple strength.

Modern cadmium-plated, nickel-plated, zinc-plated and stainless steel corrodes very slowly when exposed to fresh water. The primary risk is that rough, red rust will abbrade webbing.

[hackish 8]

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but what about these considerations:

- The container itself, the stitching on the harness, etc? Although cordura is nylon, it might not be 100% nylon everywhere. Even containers/stitching do get damaged during hard opening too (seen other dropzone.com threads, including a riser partially ripping itself from container, etc)

Just to add a few to points to what Rob already said... The MLW will be made from nylon. It should be stitched with nylon unless it came out of the local museum. Many parts of the container could fail during a hard opening but the MLW and its associated hardware is the main part responsible for taking the stress.

Back to what you originally said, prolonged wetness alone does not necessarily make the "fabric" weaker.

-Michael