When I cut into my home-depot eps board to add a fin box, I found that it had absorbed some water on its first outing. I left the hole open (size of a futures box), and left it to dry. It’s now three weeks later, and I can still hear a little water wheezing when I squeeze the tail. Is there a safe way to get the rest of the water out of there, other than just waiting for nature to take its course? Is there some cheap, common desicant that people use for this?
Most EPS guys and gals just flip the hole to face down, insert a series of dry paper towells to wick out the water.
If the water spot is say…8" in diameter, you have to open it up to about half that.
Spinning machines, balancing the board in the center, works only on new leaks, not over 2 weeks.
Heat helps, you have it, it’s 57 degrees here, won’t work here.
hi mate, oil column heater in a small closed room- takes a solid week or so ( depending on ya damage) but dries that expanded poly nicely
Best method I have tried is hook the board up to a vacuum pump in a warm room and lower the pressure enough to vaporize the water and suck it out. To avoid destroying your pump, you need to put a reservoir in between the board and the pump to catch any liquid water that might flow out of the board.
Remember the highschool science eperiment where the teacher uses a vacuum pump to boil water at room temp? It works - unlike some of the other methods which just don’t. Be sure not to use so much pressure/heat that you crush the board.
Take a look at www.boardlady.com for some pictures and more explanation - great site with lots of other info too.
sorry trent but that doesnt work …its one of those typical , seems like the most logical thing to do ideas …
both heat and vacumn lock the water in …
where is the water ???
it sits between the beads in the tiny channels between the beads …
each bead is a sealed unit like tiny baloons …
what happens when we heat a baloon ???
it expands …
what happens if we put a ballon in a vacumn ???
it expands …
what happens if we do both together ??
the beads expand , blocking the gaps and channels between them locking the water in …
the best method is to pressureise the board …
that does 2 things…
1 it allows the beads to reduce in size coz there under pressure not vacumn …
2 the air flowing through the board will carry any water away with it …
ive had guys come in saying , ive been draining it for weeks , not another drop will come out , i hook it up to the compressor , with the regulator dialed right down so it doesnt damage the board , connect the hose via the vent plug , and blow a huge puddle out right before there eyes , after a few hours you can get every drop of moisture out …
tell your bag lady friend shes giving out bad advice if thats what shes telling people via her site …
regards
BERT
Here’s another way. A guy in Hood River Or. Who built and repaired EPS sail boards. Built a spinner.He used a motor out of a washing machine.Mounted it on end.with a 2’ by2’ piece of plywood and strapes.Drilled holes in each end of the board .Straped the board to center.And spun it.Water would come out the holes in the end.
Spinners only work if the water has been in less than two weeks. Better if spun within two days.
For dings near the nose or tail, you can wait two weeks, but you still won’t get all the water out.