Salt water damage to gear

[NOeXit 0]

Got a jump to be done out at sea, landing would be in a high reef at high tide.

No doubt the canopy would be hurt by the saltwater, container might as well be (reef isn't sooo large).

Any opinions on that jump, would salt water damage the gear so much as one wouldn't recommend doing? What would salt water exaclty do to a Zero-Po canopy and gear?

Any special treatment to be planned before/after the jump?

Thanks!

[jjiimmyyt 0]

Whatever you do dont let it dry out. The salt crystals expand and 'stretch' the the material.

As soon as you can get it in some fresh water for a rinse.

I'm sure a rigger will chime in soon on how you should rinse.

My first jumps were on to a beach so I had a unintentional water jump (up to my ankles) 1st time round.

"This isn't an iron lung, people. You can actually disconnect and not die." -Dave

[LouDiamond 1]

We jump rigs(round and square) into salt water in the military all the time. Pull the entire thing out and then wash it all in clean, fresh water. 2-3 garbage cans with fresh water in them can be used as dunk tanks to rinse the system off. Start in one can and agitate for several minutes then move it to the 2nd can and repeat, etc. It helps to disconnect the main and reserve from the rig and do each piece separately. Hang the rig and the canopies so that air can circulate to all the parts and allow to dry for a day or two until all the parts are thoroughly dry(not in direct sunlight). Inspect all parts and then reassemble.

Unless something is damaged on the reef, there is no reason why a short term dunking in salt water should do any permanent damage to any of the parts as long as they are cleaned properly after being exposed.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[kenneth21441 0]

things that I have done in the past is to run a water hose throught out the whole parachute starting from hanging them on a line then running water from top down after a few minutes I then put them in to a tub of warm (not hot water) and aggrigate themfor a few minutes then remove then repeat about two to three times. In all cases this process removes as much salt as possible with no ill effects on the equipment. Best to separate the main from the container and if the reserve/ container were hit with salt water to open them up and do the above process. Once the rig has been dumped in the tub the 2 to 3 times .. rinse them once more while you hang them up (make sure that its not in direct sun light and open them up.... shake them as you run water.. this helps in running any left over salt down towards the end and out of the rig.. Let dry two to three days ( or until dry) Inspection should follow.. salt will show up as white cristials ..... While this method may seem like alot of work it insures a good cleaning. And if the parachute is allowed to dry before it is rinsed you will really see the salt.

Hope that this helps..

Kenneth Potter
FAA Senior Parachute Rigger
Tactical Delivery Instructor (Jeddah, KSA)
FFL Gunsmith

[NOeXit 0]

Thanks all for these infos...
The jump is planned in about a month, haven't jumped for about a year, I'm kinda excited

I thought using a bit of light soap on the rinse could help?

[aresye 0]

I don't think using any kind of soap, or cleaning agent is a good idea. The material for the container, main, and basicly every part of your rig, is sensitive. If it's sensitive enough to need a rinse after salt water, then it's sensitive enough to be damaged by soap.

Soap's not even recommended for cleaning goggles. I would definitely NOT use soap on my own rig. However, maybe there's a certain type of cleaning agent that can be used on rigs. Best bet is to consult your rigger.

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

[skydiverton2 0]

Quote

Thanks all for these infos...
The jump is planned in about a month, haven't jumped for about a year, I'm kinda excited

I thought using a bit of light soap on the rinse could help?

I hope you are joking. Get current first before trying these kind of things...

About the salt water. Use a very old gear and throw it away after. Salt water has the potential to destroy almoste everythink, from fabric (also in the seams) due to the small cristals, till corroding your metal hardware/altimeter (even if made from cres of cad-plated)
I will never jump into saltwater with my own skydive gear

Using your droque to gain stability is a bad habid.
.
.
Also in case you jump a sport rig!!!

[hackish 8]

I've seen lots of 40 year old cadmium plated hardware that shows zero corrosion. I can take a piece of mild steel, dip it in salt water, then clean and dry it an hour later and it doesn't really show "rust". I think the cadmium plating is fairly thick and wouldn't be worried about it - of course you should inspect your rig after it dries. Many rigs these days come with stainless hardware and it is reasonably immune to saltwater corrosion.

As someone else mentioned rinse it with clean water to get the salt out before it dries. Saltwater itself doesn't damage the nylon. I don't think the problem is so much salt expanding as the salt crystals cutting the nylon strands in the webbing and such. There were some tests done on salt damage and letting it dry and manipulating webbing had a significant impact on the strength.

-Michael

[skydiverton2 0]

Quote

I've seen lots of 40 year old cadmium plated hardware that shows zero corrosion. I can take a piece of mild steel, dip it in salt water, then clean and dry it an hour later and it doesn't really show "rust". I think the cadmium plating is fairly thick and wouldn't be worried about it - of course you should inspect your rig after it dries. Many rigs these days come with stainless hardware and it is reasonably immune to saltwater corrosion.

And I've also seen a lot of cadmium plated H/W corroded after a couple of years due to salt-water. (both skydive hardware as airplane parts)

As someone else mentioned rinse it with clean water to get the salt out before it dries. Saltwater itself doesn't damage the nylon. I don't think the problem is so much salt expanding as the salt crystals cutting the nylon strands in the webbing and such. There were some tests done on salt damage and letting it dry and manipulating webbing had a significant impact on the strength.

-Michael

Using your droque to gain stability is a bad habid.
.
.
Also in case you jump a sport rig!!!

[NOeXit 0]

Very appreciated, when people share their knowledge around....

;)

I fly floatplanes on the coast for a living, we rinse planes every day with freshwater...

[mjosparky 3]

Try this. See attachment.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[NOeXit 0]

Hey Sparky, you're gonna come with Bert to jump from that seaplane, once and for all ??

You guys' welcome, man!

[mdrejhon 8]

Quote

Try this. See attachment.

Very interesting to know!

I can relate in a different industry: I have successfully washed an electronic device that got into saltwater contact. Basically, if you drop a cellphone or digital camera into saltwater, it's important to remove the battery immediately (like removing a non-waterproof Cypres on-sceen immediately) and then immediately rinse the cellphone or camera in tap water (like washing the rig in clean water) to get the corrosive and abrasive salt out. It does take 72+ hours under a heatlamp to dry out an electronic device, one must resist the temptation to 'test' the device with electric power until it's fully dry. Testing before dry damages the device (water+electricity = short circuit) ... It is hard to remember to remove the battery immediately and/or immediately intentionally dunk a cellphone into fresh water (within minutes or less or it's too late!), but it's what necessary to maximize the chances of saving the cellphone that got dropped into salt water. Some cellphone repair stores that uses such washing techniques, report a 50% success rate in resurrecting water-damaged cellphones, what's important is that the battery got removed immediately and avoid the temptation to 'test' the device to see if it's still working because the act of testing does more damage when water is still inside...

Note: The document you attached was made in 1998, before the era of waterproof AAD's.