dp35

I've only had a cool suit for a few months, and should've done something about this sooner, but... My cool suit quit working last time out, and upon inspection it seems to have some blockage in the lines. I blew compressed air through them, which seems to have fixed it for now.

In the future, I need to do something to prevent things from growing inside the lines. I have a swimming pool, and for now I'm using that water in the cool suit, which should help. But when I add ice, that will replace the pool water with tap water.

I suspect there's a chemical I could add from time to time to maintain the insides of the cool suit. But what would that be? Chlorine? Vinegar?

paradisenb

I run Isotropic Alcohol through mine at the end of each event. Prevents growth. I don't recommend chlorine bleach. If any leaks out it will ruin your seats, shirt, suite or whatever it touches.

DanR

a cap full of bleech in a gallon of water run through the cool suit pump works great!

krystar

water wetter...although it's supposed to smell.

antifreeze...although it's toxic...

bleach def works at killing algae...and anything it touches.

i've heard of water decontamination tablets sold at camping section. or water treatment tablets for hot tubs .

onefastviking

The easy answer ...... use what is made to do what you are asking.

http://www.coolshirt.net/maintenance-additive.html

Mark in Baltimore

+1.

Bleach works fine if your seats, suit and gloves are all-white.

onefastviking

A waterbed supply store also has what you need. As well, I have alwasy run a little alcohol (like a couple ounces with the rest water) in my systems when being used and then do the splash of beach (capful) and water to clean out before and after using. All of those ways have worked just fine for me.

Larry Herman

Whew. I thought that you were talking about algae growth inside the shirt and was looking for a better deodorant. Euwww.

ApexPerformance

Cool Shirt does not recommend using bleach to clean out the lines - the bleach can eventually deteriorate the medical tubing sewn on the shirt. Here's what they recommend:

Maintenance
1) COOL SHIRT® : Turn the shirt inside out and wash in washing machine on the gentle cycle in warm or cold water.

2) To prevent scum buildup and algae growth, once per month or just before longterm storage, add 8 ounces of rubbing alcohol to the cooling unit with 1 gallon of water and circulate through the hose and shirt (or use their Maintenance additive). Or Drain the hose and shirt with the Universal Connector & Drain kit (Part# UK1).

Paul 996

So the maintenance additive contains not only a fungicide (butyl cellosolve aka the blue stuff in windex) but also something that lubricates the pump.

magnetic1

Using RODI water or water free of phosphorus will help also. Algae is growing because it has nutrients. Those nutrients are rich in tap water....

^^^ at least with my fish tank

TheOtherEric

Bleach is really bad for plastic tubing except for very short contact. If you don't believe me, just toss some plastic tubing in a bucket of bleach water for a day and see how it looks.

Stick with what they recommend.

kristap

My shirt is 3+ years old with nothing on the inside of the hoses; I just ran alcohol through it at the end of the year for last 3 seasons. Simple, cheap, works.

tsheehan

I save my empty shock bags from the pool. Even empty they keep the water pump and shirts clear. I have been doing it for years. Since I burn leaded gas ,I feel like this is my green contribution to mother earth. I just put a empty bag in before the Ice and it keeps it fresh as a day in may for the weekend. If you blow out the shirts before long term storage that will also keep them from getting furry.

Regards
TSheehan

todinlaw

You guy got some good ideas on how to clean out your pipes.