filling tube with foam?

sye68 · 25 April 2011, 16:59

can anyone please tell me whether its true than a tube can be filled with expanding foam.
i have a small leak of which i cannot locate...looking for other options i can use.. innertubes....foam....call the repair man (are they reasonably priced??)

Matt · 25 April 2011, 17:28

I absolutely would not use expanding foam.

jyasaki · 25 April 2011, 17:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by sye68

can anyone please tell me whether its true than a tube can be filled with expanding foam.

Well of course it's true. The question is whether it would be an improvement or not. I suspect it would not.

Best bet would be to call in a professional (if you're not up to tackling it yourself.) Plenty of inflatable boat shops there (not so much in the US); shouldn't be too hard to get at least an estimate.

jky

soley1 · 25 April 2011, 18:48

stick some sealer in through the valves,same sort of stuff you fix car tyres temporaly with,that should find and stop the leak,theres a thread running about it at the moment

thornbackflound · 25 April 2011, 19:02

Suerly once its pumped up,just spray some soapy water over it ,eliminating each section untill you find the puncture bubbling up.

Bighag7 · 25 April 2011, 19:11

Yep,
You definitely can fill them up with foam. It's a trick that works well with totally knackered tubes that are beyond viable financial repair or so badly damaged that it's not worth the time.
Whack some foam in and you have a boat with a couple more years of life left in. Don't use them in swell though they snap! I know from experience.
Get the tube filler. I think there's a thread on here somewhere about specific maritime grade stuff, not unlike innertube liquid called "Slime".
Don't do the foam thing!!!!!

cgoing · 25 April 2011, 20:21

I just bought a rib that the owner tried to fill with expending foam. Well he did not try , he did fill them and it expanded to the point it pulled the longitudinal seams apart. Not a bright idea from what I can see. Although there must be a correct amount at which it would work.

thornbackflound · 25 April 2011, 22:10

would nt do it, full stop,INFLATABLE thats what it means,if you gonna fill it up with foam,might has well buy a Hard boat?

jyasaki · 26 April 2011, 06:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by thornbackflound

would nt do it, full stop,INFLATABLE thats what it means,if you gonna fill it up with foam,might has well buy a Hard boat?

I see your point, but there are advantages to foam collars: solid fendering, no punctures on sharp stuff, and buoyancy to boot. But they're not made by filling an inflatable with foam...

jky

SeaSkills · 26 April 2011, 06:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by sye68

can anyone please tell me whether its true than a tube can be filled with expanding foam.
i have a small leak of which i cannot locate...looking for other options i can use.. innertubes....foam....call the repair man (are they reasonably priced??)

I agree with the advice you're getting above about expanding foam, and I don't think it would do any good in your circumstances either - you wouldn't have cured your leak, so you'd end up with a tube filled with waterlogged foam.

Fix the leak, that's the answer

9D280 · 26 April 2011, 12:51

Welcome to Ribnet, by the way!

As said, problem is that once the foam is in there, you may as well have bought a dory! If you have ever tried pulling a dory up a slip, you'll know why I wouldn't bother! All of the above reasons why not are valid!

I guess if it;s a Narwhal it's going to be PVC. This means its a bit more difficult to get the glue to stick, but otherwise it's a bit like fixing a puncture on a bike. You can buy the spray things empty in garden centres for a few quid, or if you are nowhere near a gardening shop, a good clean out of your favourite kitchen surface cleaner will do the same job. Then put a nice soapy mix of water in there (anyold washing up liquid will do) and spray over the toobs. Can also use a paint brush & a jar of spapy water. Doing it with a brush means it doesn't bubble on the way out the nozzle, so easier to spot the leaks. Also before you start on the ooobs wort ha good painting of the valves.....

Just be aware that unless you find it almost instantly the place will become like a skating rink, so probably a good idea if poss to get the hull drain plug over a drain so at least some of it goes direct to ground. As said, once you find the bubbles, it's "simply" a case of applying a patch, but as I've not ever owned a PVC boat, I'll hand you over to the PVC experts for the next bit's expert tips.....

AndrewH · 26 April 2011, 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

I see your point, but there are advantages to foam collars: solid fendering, no punctures on sharp stuff, and buoyancy to boot. But they're not made by filling an inflatable with foam...

jky

Solid fenderimg may have a use but its important to realise that these are filled with closed cell foam - water can't pass from one cell to the next. All that happens if you use the expanding stuff is (assuming you don't burst the toobs first) that they eventually flood with water and you have the additional weight of a water filled sponge putting a load on the tube/hull join.

As far as the OP is concerned - foollow the advice already given - don't do it!!

jyasaki · 26 April 2011, 16:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndrewH

Solid fenderimg may have a use but its important to realise that these are filled with closed cell foam

Actually, they're molded out of stuff, and bolted to the hull. Some sort of closed cell polyethylene foam.

Quote:

As far as the OP is concerned - foollow the advice already given - don't do it!!

I think I made that point as well, in my first post.

jky

sye68 · 26 April 2011, 21:10

i thank you all for your trusted advice, it seems that the common advice is to find the leak with soapy water of some kind...this isnt going to be all that easy i guess...ho hum such is life, as ive already stated im a complete green horn with this here' ribbbing'. but so looking forward to getting out on the thames esturay and beyond....but not with a leak i fear....

thornbackflound · 26 April 2011, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by sye68

i thank you all for your trusted advice, it seems that the common advice is to find the leak with soapy water of some kind...this isnt going to be all that easy i guess...ho hum such is life, as ive already stated im a complete green horn with this here' ribbbing'. but so looking forward to getting out on the thames esturay and beyond....but not with a leak i fear....

Hi is it a slow leak?i went out on my 4m wk end for the first time and have a least two very small slow leaks,i know were they are and will get down to fixing them at some point but well safe and takes ages to loose air,you will find them with a good througher seacrch,i also get out on the Thames estury,had my best fishing ever out there.

AndrewH · 27 April 2011, 23:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Actually, they're molded out of stuff, and bolted to the hull. Some sort of closed cell polyethylene foam.

I think I made that point as well, in my first post.

jky

Sorry - quite so - didn't mean to imply otherwise. Just hoping to re-inforce the point for the OP

Eric · 05 August 2024, 04:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

I see your point, but there are advantages to foam collars: solid fendering, no punctures on sharp stuff, and buoyancy to boot. But they're not made by filling an inflatable with foam...

jky

Anyone know what is the EVA foam density?

User name · 05 August 2024, 09:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric

Anyone know what is the EVA foam density?

Old thread so many of these users are probably no longer around, but a friend picked up a boat for cheap that was partially filled with foam and it was an absolute nightmare of a job to get it right. I'd never recommend it.

The problem is that you don't know how much the foam is going to expand when you're jetting it in so you'll likely leave loads of empty spots. Another thing you need to factor in is that the boat fabric needs to be tight so you'll have to inflate the boat while the foam is in there and that'll cause even more air pockets. If the fabric isn't tight then it flexes, twists and it'll eventually tear.

The foam itself doesn't expand uniformly either. If you jet a whole can in there, the foam at the surface will expand most and the foam at the base where it's not exposed to the air will only partially expand and settle in an almost plastic'like state. It can actually crack in sharp shards.

If the leak can't be found then it's small enough to use something like Sealflex, otherwise do a normal repair. I'd never resort to foam.

Croolis · 08 August 2024, 06:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by User name

I'd never resort to foam.

I'm not experienced, but the very notion of doing that just says "no" to me. I'd never stick tyre slime in one either. I wouldn't even use that on my car tyres unless it was dire emrgency, it's horrible stuff and your tyre change place will hate you for it.

How on earth is the boat going to perform if its got solid matter in the tubes, no matter how less dense or aerated it might be? Sounds like a dreadful idea to me <shrug>.

Nasher · 08 August 2024, 08:37

As has been said, the main issues with expanding foam are knowing how much to put in to fill the tube to the exact shape and size required without bursting the seams, and using a closed cell version that won't absorb water.

Saying that I have seen the results of somebody doing it successfully, but they cut several holes in the tops of the tubes @2" diameter which allowed excess to 'snake' out.
Then covered the holes with wear patches.

The resultant boat, a 5.4 Searider, didn't have the cushioning advantages of a RIB in the rough and still had the disadvantage of less deck space than a comparative size hard boat.

My advise, like the others is to sort yourself out with a small spray gun full of soapy water and find the leak.
Even if you don't fix it yourself, which is easy by the way, you'll have the satisfaction of finding the leak and can point whoever does the job straight to the problem.