Anyone have a good method of repairing an inflatable mattress? Have a Coleman king size with a fairly large hole in it. Don't know if it's salvageable.
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Portland
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 4:00 PM> fairly large
it may be easier if you give us the approximate size.
I think that up to 1 or 2 inch could be repaired easily. -
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 11:15 PMI would say the tear is easily 1cm x 1cm. Perhaps even 2cm x 1.5cm. I've not looked at it in a while but that's my approximate recollection. -
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Unsu...
Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Sat, July 28, 2007 - 9:43 AMyou missed my point. since they all leak even when new your chances of making an effective repair are zero. -
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Sat, July 28, 2007 - 11:01 AM> since they all leak even when new your chances of making an effective repair are zero.
On the other hand, since they all leak, it's already perfect. -
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do ALL Inflatable mattress leak?
Sat, July 28, 2007 - 9:35 PMalthough...
I have an entirely different experience.
I bought an air mattress and it *doesn't* leak.
The 3 people I consulted whilst looking for a descent air mattress to buy...
all had good experiences... with mattresses that didn't leak.
so... I am curious... and hope to continue the thread...
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Unsu...
Re: do ALL Inflatable mattress leak?
Sun, July 29, 2007 - 6:42 AMso tom... what BRAND did you buy?
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Unsu...
Re: do ALL Inflatable mattress leak?
Sun, July 29, 2007 - 12:27 PMi tried two colemans. both leaked eventually ( soon after purchase). the reason i say this is i build skoolies. inflatable mattresses are a keystone of my designs which use them to allow me to deflate them and use the area as a shop. i tried every brand i could get my hands on. none lasted very long before leaking. the reason i treid two colemens is that was the first one i tried. when it leaked i thought it a fluke and bought another. i eventually just gave up on inflatables. for the skoolie i use futons. for backpacking i use self-inflating air mattresses ( they don't leak) -
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Re: do ALL Inflatable mattress leak?
Mon, July 30, 2007 - 7:10 AMDitto on the " always leak", Iv'e been useing them as my every day, or I should say night, bed for years. I get about a year out of one but I'm not moving it around. At very least I have to add air every couple of weeks.
If I had a girl friend I'm sure I'd have to replace it weekly, so I'd go conventail ( mattress wise that is ) and forget finding a slow leak, you need to get it in water to do that ( a pool).
And no, I havn't found that brands make a differance.
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 4:35 PMI'm interested in this too - we have a queen size with a slow leak but don't know where it is. What is the easiest way to find it? -
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 4:58 PM> What is the easiest way to find it?
Inflate it at a pressure a little higher than you usually do and try to hear or feel the leak with your (wet) hand.
Use soapy water to confirm the location.
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 5:16 PM
I'm thinking...
would a bike tire repair patch work?
I guess it all depends on whether the glue and patch bond with the mattress material (rubber? vinyl? plastic? PVC? antelope skin?)
also... if it is at the seam, it may cause greater issues.
maybe check coleman dot com? see if'n they got a repair kit.
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 5:53 PMrepairing these things is a lost cause. To find a slow leak requires a swimming pool , you'll go crazy trying to find it any other way. And for a $20 air mattress ? And they're made of Vinyl. Tire patch adheasive is not compatable, it will attack/desolve the vinyl. and the patch has to be on the pressure side of the damage ( inside). -
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 6:33 PM> repairing these things is a lost cause.
Not necessarily. For a small leak get one of these kits:
www.qualityinflatables.com/59632.html
www.amazon.com/Airhead-Vi.../B0000AY7XZ
A large cut may be more of an issue.
> And for a $20 air mattress
A decent queen air mattress is about $40, an airbed is $60 and up.
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Unsu...
Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 6:34 PMwhy? ALL inflatable air mattresses leak. even new ones. i know. i tried seven different brands before i came to that conclusion. throw it away and get yourself a good futon. -
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 11:21 PMNot a slow leak. See post above.
Why repair instead of buy another? Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Already have two king size futons are really exceptionally cush. They do not however travel easily.
I'm really interested in technical solutions to the problem at hand rather than wholly different work-arounds. -
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Fri, July 27, 2007 - 11:36 PM> They do not however travel easily.
And they won't float :-)
Try with one of the kits I have linked in a previous post and then cover with a large piece of duct tape for extra protection.
Otherwise ask the people at TAP plastics and see if this is OK to use:
www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php -
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Sun, July 29, 2007 - 8:36 AMThank you Giovanni and Babesodelici.
TAP rocks, I've been there many times. I have this product www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php and contemplated using it but was holding off pending further information. I've never seen the VLP at the store but then again I was only looking at acrylic supplies previously. Thank you for reminding me to check there, I think the VLP product might be just what I'm needing... that decent patch material.
I'll check out the REI store near me as well. Wish I had read this thread yesterday as I was just there.
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Sat, July 28, 2007 - 10:35 AMOurs never leaked until the kid jumped on it (father thought it was okay and didn't understand why I freaked out when she did it). We paid $60 for it and it never leaked until this happened. Would love to repair rather than replace if at all possible - and we travel with it too.
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Sat, July 28, 2007 - 12:54 AMREI and marine stores/chandleries sell repair kits for inflatable dinghies. Same application: PVC glue and patch material.
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Sat, July 28, 2007 - 10:59 PMI am on my 3rd Walmart $20 air mattress in two years. First one tore...on? Nothing. Just seemed to snag on some nonexistent "sharp object" while loading it in/out of the car on its second use. Returned it for replacement. Slow leak. Returned that one (why? Because for travel, something you can fold up *small*, it still seemed like the best option. I was hoping my bad ones were flukes). My 3rd one has a slowww leak that I can't see, feel, or hear. Have done the soapy water thing--- no bubbles, nothing. It takes jussst about 5 hours for the damn thing to go from perfectly comfortable to....oww, why is my back hurting? Oh, because I'm on the hard ground.
Patch kits specifically for vinyl are available at Walmart, but I can't patch what I can't find. Ergh. -
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Mon, July 30, 2007 - 12:18 PMSomeone already mentioned this and I'll second it, get a patch kit for inflatable rafts. They can be found in most sporting goods and camping supply stores on the racks wear they have inflatable cushions, aluminum oars and other accessories for rubber rafts. Get the kind that includes glue and a piece of material to put over the entire hole, not the self-stick kind. I've patched a number of holes in rubber rafts over the years with great success. Oh, and avoid Coleman inflatable mattresses, they tend to leak more and don't have as good of air valves (you pretty much have to lose air trying to seal them because their self-seal mechanism sucks). -
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Unsu...
Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Mon, July 30, 2007 - 5:49 PMTry a pool liner repair kit. They work great on inflatable rafts.
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Mon, July 30, 2007 - 7:42 PMTHE THING TO REMEMBER IS VINYL HAS AN OIL BASE OF SOME SORT. I TRIED SILICONE ON WATERBEDS AND IT FAILED. WHAT I DID FIND THAT WORKED WELL WAS GO TO AN AUTO PARTS STORE AND GET BLACK SILICONE THAT THEY USE ON WINDSHIELDS. IT BONDS WELL WITH VINYL. ALSO AS SOMEONE MENTIONED PATCH KITS FOR INFLATABLE RAFTS WORK WELL. ALSO YOU CAN BUY THE FABRIC GLUE THAT THEY USE TO BOND TWO PIECES TOGETHER BUT IT COMES IN QUARTS AND GALLONS AND IT IS EXPENSIVE.ALSO SIGN COMPANY SUPPLY COMPANIES SELL ADHESIVE TO BOND PANAFLEX VINYL FACES TOGETHER LIKE IN YOUR BIG GOODYEAR SIGNS. TRY THEM. -
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Re: Inflatable mattress repair?
Mon, July 30, 2007 - 11:13 PMAnd be careful to clean up your hands after using all that glue because some may get stuck under your caps lock ;-)
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