Repairing Tears

DrWizard

DrWizard

New member
A windstorm caused a couple of rips in a couple of my inflatables. I googled how to repair them and what to repair them with and got a dozen different answers:
Gorilla tape, Flex-Seal Tape, Tear-Aid (expensive!), clear duct tape, vinyl patch kits...
So what have YOU found to work well?
 
Plugging in an anemometer into your Raspberry Pi and relay off the inflatables if the wind goes over 40kph.
 
I don't have any myself, but I did a little research and found this. It's Old but maybe you can find somethimg in there that will work.
Hopefully someone with first hand experence will chime in soon.
 
I use needle and thread for most repairs. I use duct tape only on small holes in the back or bottom that will not be viewable.

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I also had several holes to repair this year. What worked for me is I used duct tape on the inside of the inflatable to cover holes and strengthen material. Usually several layers working from the hole out. After that I used thread and needle to sew the hole close. I sew through the tape to help close the hole and not tear the material further. So far, this has held up. Also, to help keep my inflatables from running away. I take 12" galvanized garden spikes, aka really big nail, and roll them into the bottom parts of the inflatable and use a zip-tie to hold it. This then "spikes" the inflatable down for a better hold then the cheap anchor loops manufactures provide today. Example, I spike the feet and tail of the penguins I use in my display.
 
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I guess another precaution I take is, I just try not to plant inflatables right out in the open if I can help it. If a fence, a car, the house, another prop...something...is around it to help absorb the wind--even if it's behind the wind or sideways--that helps. Just to give it more of a fighting chance than from an unabated direct hit.
 
I had some damage from high wind gusts this year as well. In cases where it was a seam (tether ripped out) I stitched it together with much heavier duty nylon webbing. For other spots I used Aleene's Fabric Fusion. These were all spots with just nylon that could be layered but some were pretty ragged. The Aleene's seems to have done the trick, they have held up for testing at least. I will not know the final result on that until next year.

Prevention is good too, all mine are on my home automation and turn off if it gets too windy, but a sudden gust (or debris I imagine) can still cause trouble.
 
duct tape blocks light. stitch together with needle and cotton thread....then coat with E6800 glue - $5 home Depot for 20oz. E6800 sticks to most anything and is flexible. Good Luck
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions! Of course here is much like my google searches, and everyone seems to have a different solution. In my case, the tear is on the side of Big Nick's foot where the tie down strap is. (Big Nick is my 12' Santa I put on top of our chimney) Since the tear is not in a visible location but where strength is crucial, I think I use some flex seal tape and sew it with nylon fishing line.

I LOVE the idea of using an anemometer to turn it off in high winds! I already have a weather station which is tied into my home automation system so it will be trivial to implement that.
 
The "inflatables off if wind > x" rule was the FIRST thing I wanted to be able to do with my home automation, but could not until I got a Hubitat and could write a driver for the weather station I used...

The second thing was monitoring my aquarium system... But since then MANY things have been added in and it has become another huge hobby.
 
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