Zen and the art of tent zipper maintenance

[Tead]

My several year old nylon tent zipper has been giving me a bucket of grief lately.
It skips teeth in several places when I try to zip it up. I can get it to work by trying it several times at slightly different angles.
Oil or WD-40 help some... but don't fully mitigate the issue.

Thoughts?

 

[ShiggityFlip]

My several year old nylon tent zipper has been giving me a bucket of grief lately.
It skips teeth in several places when I try to zip it up. I can get it to work by trying it several times at slightly different angles.
Oil or WD-40 help some... but don't fully mitigate the issue.

Thoughts?

Zippers have a limited lifespan. It's time for a replacement zipper. I would leave the current zipper in and just see a zipper onto the fabric of the existing one.

 

[swwilson20]

I've wondered how sturdy or rigid my zippers were in my tent. Aside from the obvious answer of buying a new tent, Velcro is a pretty sweet invention. You could stitch a piece of fabric (probably needs to be somewhat rigid) that runs the length of that zipper that is fucked up, and let it overlap a good bit to where it will reach the other flap. Then stitch velcro along that piece of fabric, and then stitch the corresponding velcro on your other flap that the piece of fabric you stitched on (with velcro stitched on to that) and stick em together. I'm sure there are about 1,000 ways to skin this cat. I'm sure you can get this figured out. I don't know if you can fix that zipper, sometimes you can get some needlenose and close down the actual zipper a very small bit, but that will probably only work on metal zippers, I wouln'dt try if your zippers were made of anything else but metal.

 

[G00ch]

I would imagine wax would be a good means of keeping it smooth, but what do i know

 

[Tead]

hmmmm... sewing..... hmmmmm.

I'm seeing a new tent in my near future.

Thanks tons all!

 

[Ripples]

Not sure about the set up but have you tried velcro? Straight flaps could be fixed relatively easy i think? If its a radius not so easy?

 

[Emilya Green]

powdered graphite works very well to lubricate the zippers... I was having the same catch problem on my big tent until I applied the powder about 8 months ago. My biggest problem has been stepping on the lower flap and putting too much strain on the upper flap pulling the stitching free... I have had to do 2 sewing jobs so far, but so far so good.

 

[Tead]

Not sure about the set up but have you tried velcro? Straight flaps could be fixed relatively easy i think? If its a radius not so easy?

Thought of velcro, but I'd have to sew it in to get a decent light seal. It exists in the grow room with my vegging girls, so I'm touchy about light leaks. Sewing seems beyond me.

 

[Tead]

powdered graphite works very well to lubricate the zippers.

Hmmmm... I have NOT tried graphite yet.
Will now tho!
Thanks!

 

[Richard Richardson]

If the graphite doesn't help, there are other options

HOW TO FIX A ZIPPER (NO REPLACE)

7 Ways to Fix a Broken Zipper - wikiHow

Utility Gaffer Tape : GafferTape.com

 

[Tead]

If the graphite doesn't help, there are other options

HOW TO FIX A ZIPPER (NO REPLACE)

7 Ways to Fix a Broken Zipper - wikiHow

Utility Gaffer Tape : GafferTape.com

Alas, the zipper tips seem mostly designed for metal zippers. Mine is nylon, so some of the ideas just don't apply. I DO like the idea of giving my zipper a good cleaning. I'm gonna try a good cleaning with dish soap and see what kind of results I get from that.
I'll be sure to report the results back here.

 

[Tead]

So, cleaning really helped the general flow of the zipper. I still have spots where it skips a tooth and I have to run it back and forth numerous time until I hold my left pinky finger at the appropriate angle to influence the rotation of the earth just right, thus apparently allowing the tooth to catch during that specific try alone.... you get the idea.
Still, cleaning really helped a good bit. I got thru the tooth problem much easier. Perhaps I'll see if this tent can get thru another few cycles without frustrating me too much. If push comes to shove, I do own several rolls of duct tape and lots of shiny reflector insulation sheets... I'm sure I could jury-rig something if push comes to shove while I wait for a new tent to come in the mail.

 

[Weaselcracker]

Could you not just use one or two of those stick-on zippers if this one fails, Tead? You know the sort I mean?

 

[Tead]

Well... to be honest, I didn't see such things... lemme go back and peek around sum.

 

[Weaselcracker]

They look like this.

The guy in the picture even has an uncanny resemblance to you. If you use two zippers side by side it makes a better door, though I don't know the logistics of your tent. The kind I have are light proof but results may vary.

 

[Tead]

Hmmmm... I've got a couple of continuous curves in the flap... top and bottom. Any experience taking them around a 90 degree curve?

 

[Tead]

The guy in the picture even has an uncanny resemblance to you

<looking under desk... behind door> Gettin spoooooooky up in here y'all!

 

[Weaselcracker]

No they just go straight- the kind I've used. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a curvy version out there. I don't know if you'd find an exact match to conform to your tent zipper opening. Maybe they make flexi-bendy curvy options. In worst case you can slash a slit or two on another wall of the tent and go in that way. Light proofing may need some tweaking.

 

[Tead]

In worst case you can slash a slit or two on another wall of the tent and go in that way

Dramatic... but seems functional. I could see using wide velcro strip. Perhaps an inverted "T" cut giving good access to the lower area. Perhaps with a duct tape flap to cover the seam between the velcro strips... providing better light sealing.

 

[Tead]

So... I just tried graphite today. I used a spray variety. It worked awesome so far.

Thanks for all the ideas all !!!