Dry Suit Valves

[Tiro_Afila]

I have just received my dry suit from a seller on ebay. The suit itself is in great condition, but has not been used for several years, and the valve seals need a little help. This is my first dry suit, and I am not sure what kinds of repair I need. I have attached some pictures of the valves, and I am wondering if anyone can tell me what I need. Can I have the valves re-sealed, or do they need to be replaced. The inflation valve does not stick at all, but both the inflation valve and the exaust valve look as thought the seal may need some care.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

Can't tell from the pictures, but it looks like someone's put glue in there between the valve and the suit. Can you verify that or say what else it is? Those Si-Tech valves are the best kind I know anyways, and I'd say they can be serviced to top condition with not much trouble.

 

[Tiro_Afila]

Yes it looks like someone tried to glue the valves to the suit but it didnt stick. How are the valves normally sealed to the suit? Like I said, first dry suit, and my understanding is lacking.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

They are ususally not glued. I've never seen it, but maybe they do it other places in this strange world. On all suits I've had my hands on (100's) they've all had rubber patches on one side (outer), and the valve is tightened against it. No glue, just pressure.

Those rubber patches are available, but I've no idea wether it's a good idea for you.

 

[mtbrider]

Those rubber patch things are called valve ports. They are pretty uncommon here. When I replace valves on my suit I put a bit of aquarium sealant between the valve and the suit and nothing on the inside of the suit. No leaks.

I suspect your suit will be fine and will not leak even though the edges have become unglued. If it bothers you, you could unscrew the valves from inside the suit, put a bit of aquarium sealant on the outside of the suit, and screw the valves back down.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

Those rubber patch things are called valve ports. They are pretty uncommon here. When I replace valves on my suit I put a bit of aquarium sealant between the valve and the suit and nothing on the inside of the suit. No leaks.

I suspect your suit will be fine and will not leak even though the edges have become unglued. If it bothers you, you could unscrew the valves from inside the suit, put a bit of aquarium sealant on the outside of the suit, and screw the valves back down.

Pretty strange, as I would expect we're getting the same suits over here as you do. What brands of dry suits are sold without these patches?

 

[mtbrider]

Pretty strange, as I would expect we're getting the same suits over here as you do. What brands of dry suits are sold without these patches?

The DUI ones don't have those ports, probably 80% of the drysuits here are DUI. The Diving Concepts ones don't either I believe. There are some others like Whites which I think might use them.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

The DUI ones don't have those ports, probably 80% of the drysuits here are DUI. The Diving Concepts ones don't either I believe. There are some others like Whites which I think might use them.

I think this is from a The Diving Concepts suit.

Anyways, most dry suits sold here are neoprene, and so is the thread starter's suit as well it seems from the pictures. On really old neoprene dry suits I've seen something like "home made" solutions, but we're back in the 70's-80's models for sure.

I haven't really thought about trilam's, but I've seen ports on those as well. I'd expect it's easy to manage with out ports on them though.

 

[dave4868]

Anyways, most dry suits sold here are neoprene, and so is the thread starter's suit as well it seems from the pictures. On really old neoprene dry suits I've seen something like "home made" solutions, but we're back in the 70's-80's models for sure.

I haven't really thought about trilam's, but I've seen ports on those as well. I'd expect it's easy to manage with out ports on them though.

I'm not familar with the rubber flanges, but my trilaminate drysuit simply had silicone caulk applied to the fabric prior to screwing the DUI (Apeks) exhaust valve halves together. That valve has built-in flanges.

See pics below.

I repeated the procedure myself when reattaching and it sealed fine.

If the OP's valve design is similar, he can probably do the same.

Dave C

 

[np251]

I'm not familar with the rubber flanges, but my trilaminate drysuit simply had silicone caulk applied to the fabric prior to screwing the DUI (Apeks) exhaust valve halves together. That valve has built-in flanges.

See pics below.

I repeated the procedure myself when reattaching and it sealed fine.

If the OP's valve design is similar, he can probably do the same.

Dave C

Im pretty sure most drysuits are going to have the rubber valve ports- in both examples above, the valve port is obvious. Its the big rubber ring attached to the trilam around the hole.

The silicon sealant doesnt seal thevalve to the suit- my self installed si-tech was fine after screwing it into the rubber valve port- but i did caulk it anyway so that the suit didnt pull away from the valve around the edges. i wanted to do this to avoid stressing the valve port.