Bad seam sealing job?

[oldgrowth]

Well, I had my SO 6 man tipi out this weekend and we had some heavy rainfall one night. About an hour in, we started to get water dripping off the strings that I presume are for tying the doors open. I seam sealed the tipi when I first got it, but I forgot to pitch it inside out when I did it and ended up sealing the inside seam ( I didn't realize it until I finished sealing). I have never had a leak before in the rain, but this was a real gully washer! It seemed like the water was wicking through the string into the inside, and was not a seam leaking. But maybe I just need to reseal the seams on the outside. Has anyone ever had this happen before?

I plan on seam sealing again (on the proper side this time), but I'm not sure this will prevent this from happening again because it seemed like the string was wicking the water through acting like a conduit for the water. If the string is wicking the water through then the only solution I can think of would be to cut the outer portion of string off and then seal over the top to prevent it from wicking through.

 

[ellsworb]

To address your wicking issue. . I both sealed (heavily) around the base of the tie-back strings AND rubbed the lowest 1" of the exterior tie-back string thoroughly with silicone sealant. My goal was to impregnate the base of the string so as to not allow water access to the base of the string.

Seems to have worked well for me in the rainy PacNW.

 

[colonel00]

I had the same issue with my Cimarron. First, check the strings. They should be seperate strings sewn near each other and not one continuous string. Second, hit it again pretty heavily with some sealer on both sides.

Also, how much condensation did you have in the tent? I'm wondering if the condensation was running down the inside seam and collecting on the string instead of continuing down to the ground. If it was collecting, obviously it would eventually start dripping.

 

[duchntr]

I've had the same thing happen in sustained rain with an 8man SO tipi. I haven't addressed the issue yet on the tent. I am going to thin some sealant so it soaks into the base of the string, think that'll work.

 

[jmez]

Not sure what the strings are made of, but a boot treatment like Sno Seal or Obenhaufs would likely fix them.

 

[oldgrowth]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I will definitely try thinning out some silicone with mineral spirits and "impregnating the string at the base to try to cut off the route. Brad, I will check the strings tonight. I assumed they were a single string sewn in, but I didn't really look close. I think it would be easier to stop it from wicking if it is indeed two separate strings. We had some condensation inside, but mostly down near the ground level up to about two feet up. I had the stove cranked up because it was cold and that seemed to keep the tent dry above two feet up (except for the strings leaking).

 

[oldgrowth]

Come to think about it, I think I will also try waterproofing the string with some Obenhaufs after the silicone dries, good idea Jmez! It certainly can't hurt to be on the safe side. All I could think of when the rain got real heavy was Forrest Gump " little bitty stinging rain.... Big ole fat rain...rain that blew in sideways... sometimes rain that seemed to come straight up from underneath... Shoot, it even rained at night"

 

[mfllood3800]

I seamed my Redcliffe fully on the outside 100 % and the inside as well.
I specifically seamed a ton of home made diluted silicon around every guy out loop and string connection, inside and out. So far so good.

I get on taller set ups pitching it inside out allows you to get all the way to the top, but even my redcliffe is like 6'-10" when pitched. I could get to all of it but also did the inside to make sure it was enough. They tell in the instructions to put extra on and attachment points inside and out as these can be an area of leaking, as you described.

 

[dplantz]

FYI, sealing the inside of the seams was correct. That's why you pitch it inside out, to get the inside of the seams properly stretched and so you can really rub that seam sealer in good. The seam sealer is to keep water from traveling through the stitch holes. There shouldn't be any possibility for leakage between the two faces of fabric coming together.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[oldgrowth]

Well..... I mixed up some silicone and mineral spirits until I had a runny mix. Painted the seams on the outside and let dry. Tested for leaks and found no leaking at the strings, but it still leaked on darn near every seam. Dried the tent and reapplied straight silicone with my finger to both the inside and outside seams. Tested for leaks after it dried....... it still leaks! Looks like the water is penetrating between the folds where it is sewn. It doesn't leak as bad, more like seepage but still enough to cause a drip every 10-15 seconds.

I plan on trying to seal under the tiny flap that exists on the side of where it is stitched together, but what a PIA.

 

[dplantz]

Well..... I mixed up some silicone and mineral spirits until I had a runny mix. Painted the seams on the outside and let dry. Tested for leaks and found no leaking at the strings, but it still leaked on darn near every seam. Dried the tent and reapplied straight silicone with my finger to both the inside and outside seams. Tested for leaks after it dried....... it still leaks! Looks like the water is penetrating between the folds where it is sewn. It doesn't leak as bad, more like seepage but still enough to cause a drip every 10-15 seconds.

I plan on trying to seal under the tiny flap that exists on the side of where it is stitched together, but what a PIA.

Exactly. You need to apply the sealer to the STITCHES. That's what it is for.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[oldgrowth]

Fair enough. Just thought the runny mix would penetrate and make a seal. Had I known it wouldn't, I would have just applied straight silicone to the underside of the flaps with my finger to start with. I had another shelter that I did this way and it sealed up nicely. It was a smaller shelter though, not sure if that is why it worked on that one and not this one.

 

[RockChucker30]

In my testing I've learned that seam sealing the actual seams really isn't that important. Our seams are flat felled, folding one layer of fabric over another and then topstitching. Water tends to run down this seam instead of go through it because water takes the path of least resistance.

What matters is doing a good job of sealing anything that goes through the seam or anything horizontal that can stop water.

Seal the exterior door tiebacks at the base on all sides, then rub some sealant in the first inch. On the newer style tents the interior door tieback is sewn in near the outer, but it's not the same piece of material. Seal the end of this tieback from the outside, under the flat fell flap.

Do the same for the upper liner hang loops...seal under the flat fell flap where they are sewn in. For good measure seal the base of these loops on the inside as well.

Seal the zipper stitching on both sides of the zipper, then hit the guyout triangles. Make sure you siliconize the edge binding around the stovejack and get all seams in the cone and it's good to go....even if you don't do a great job on every seam. Getting the hot spots is 99% of the battle.

 

[mcseal2]

We seam sealed both sides of ours and put it on probably thicker than necessary. We made sure to get the seams, stitches, and went a bit outside the seam to be safe. It worked great for us in a light to moderate rain and with the stove going in a heavy snow, haven't had a big rain yet.

 

[GotDraw?]

FWIW- I would not recommend using wax/petroleum based boot sealer to try to seal any portion of a synthetic tent

Keep working with your silicone seam sealer applications until you get it resolved

 

[oldgrowth]

Okay, thanks for all the good suggestions. I went over all the seams again real good with silicone and sealed the first inch or so of all the tie back strings. I haven't had a chance to water test it yet, but we are supposed to get some rain this weekend so I plan on setting it up in the yard and testing it for leaks. I'll report back on the results. I will hold off on the boot sealer. Just curious, are you thinking that the boot sealer may contain some chemicals that would possibly harm the tent fabric?