Repairing seam of Zodiac fuel bladder

[dhaglund]

Unfortunately the, new to me, Zodiac fuel bladder sprung a leak the first time I left it in the sun. It wasn't even a particularly warm summer morning, only around 21 C or so. But the heat from the sun caused pressure buildup since the bladder was only 1/3 full and the top seam of the bladder separated. See the marked area in the picture. I found out when my pants got wet while filling up at the gas station.


The bladder looks like new but I suppose it is past it's expire date. There is probably a reason it says right on the bladder that it requires yearly inspections and has a 10 year lifespan.

The hole is smaller than a pencil but it is obvious that the surrounding seam is weakened.

Does anyone know how to repair this if at all possible? What glue should be used? Repair from the inside or outside? Any suggestions are appreciated.

[spartacus]

That’s unfortunate. They do get pressurised in the sun, I know as I have one too.

I’d be tempted to try a repair, and potentially re-glue the seam, then patch using 2-part glue. The Zodiac MilPro bladders are best part of £800 new, so got to be worth trying to fix. I’m not sure if it could be thermo-weld or bonded. I don’t know enough about it.

Be interested to hear other people’s views.

Similar thread here, but for hole. https://www.rib.net/forum/f36/fuel-b...s-53102-2.html

[User name]

Ouch, that's a shame.

In a similar incident last week, a friend woke up to find his boat had blown out a whole seam because he pumped it up in the cool air the night before and it sat in the morning sun for a couple of hours.

I'm not sure if these bladders are high frequency welded, or glued seams but I'd give a repair a go. You could try the 2 part adhesive as mentioned above and I'd also pull a vacuum in the bladder to help get a really strong seal, pull out any air bubbles and draw the glue into any tiny cavities.

Whatever glue you use, It might be worth emailing the glue manufacturer to confirm if it's stable in contact with fuel before you start.