Had a total comms failure on a job in the Gulf last month

My old Kirby Morgan helmet's umbilical got a bad kink about 90 feet down, cutting the hardwire link. Had to switch to hand signals with my tender for the whole weld inspection, which took an extra hour. Anyone have a good fix for a worn spot on the cable sheath near the helmet connection?

4 comments

4 Comments

kim.jake2mo agoMost Upvoted

Tried a layer of heat shrink over the worn spot.

paigep852mo ago

My last heat shrink attempt looked like a melted candy bar.

sage3081mo ago

Honestly, that heat shrink alone might not hold up if the wire is flexing there a lot. I mean, it's just a thin plastic sleeve, right? The weak spot is still weak underneath. You might need to add something solid like Keith said, or even slide a bit of cut plastic straw under the shrink before you heat it. Gives it a splint. Idk, maybe it's just me but I've had the shrink crack again if there's no support.

keith9002mo ago

Man, that's rough. I had the same worn spot issue and what finally worked was a two-part epoxy putty (the kind that's like modeling clay) molded right over the spot, then a layer of heat shrink over that. It gave it some real structure, unlike poor @paigep85's candy bar situation. Let it cure fully before you put any bend on it.