dump valve venting slow?

[lakewinni]

Hey, I have a bare nex gen and I really haven't been pleased with the shoulder dump valve. I find that it doesn't vent as easily as I would like it to. I dive it all the way open and frequently I really have to struggle to get air out, espeacilly when ascending from about 20 feet. I'm only diving a fleece so I dont think its getting stuck in the valve. Furthermore the valve roles off really easily. I like to dive it pretty much all the way open and I find that if I touch it, it'll tighten down with hardly any effort. What can I do about these issues? I'm thinking of maybe taking it apart and cutting the spring but I'd like to find a manual before I do that. I'm also thinking about replacing it with another valve. Does anyone have any opinions as to which valve would be good? Maybe the apeks low or high profile? I'm looking for a valve that will vent easily most of all.

Thanks for your help.

 

[moneysavr]

Make sure material is not bunching up as this can cause air to vent slow,dose it vent at depth open all the way? if not it may need service or warranty take it to a LDS,
Good luck but get it fixed.
Brad

 

[TSandM]

The fellow from USIA recommended this for me, when I asked this question: Soak the valve overnight in fresh water (I actually used distilled water, because our tap water has so much mineral stuff dissolved in it). Then soak it again in water with a small amount of Ivory liquid soap in it. This resulted in a significant improvement in the valve in question, which was on a borrowed dry suit. I did this again with the suit I rented last week, while mine was in the shop, and it helped again, although the valve remained very slow compared with my SiTech.

Good luck -- a poorly venting valve is a PITA, a safety hazard, and worst of all, makes you look totally incompetent!

 

[lakewinni]

Good luck -- a poorly venting valve is a PITA, a safety hazard, and worst of all, makes you look totally incompetent!

Tell me about it. Its nice doing a nice long dive then coming up to safety stop depth and popping up to the surface. That looks real good. My suit does vent some, but once I start an ascent from 20 feet it becomes unmanagable (obviously because the percentage change in depth is greater here) and I usually pop up to the surface. Does anyone have any opinions on which apeks valve is better?
Thanks

 

[limeyx]

Tell me about it. Its nice doing a nice long dive then coming up to safety stop depth and popping up to the surface. That looks real good. My suit does vent some, but once I start an ascent from 20 feet it becomes unmanagable (obviously because the percentage change in depth is greater here) and I usually pop up to the surface. Does anyone have any opinions on which apeks valve is better?
Thanks

The Apeks are known to be troublesome. You might want to look into the Si-tech valve.

Also, it might be an issue of technique and practice. Possibly too much gas in the suit at depth, not getting the valve to the highest point when dumping, taking the last 20 feet too quickly.

Really try to dump the suit as soon as you feel any air expansion in it.

I think it will pretty much always be the case that the suit vents more slowly than your BC, so you need to dump the suit whenever you get a chance to get the gas out of it.

Also, if you are vertical in the water then you have less resistance to floating up. The more horizontal you are, the easier it will be to maintain the depth and give you a chance to vent the gas.

 

[TSandM]

Although being in completely correct trim makes it VERY difficult to get the air out of your feet . . . One of the things Joe Talavera taught his recent Essentials class is that one sometimes has to drop the feet and raise the shoulders a bit to encourage the air to migrate to the dump valve. He said he has has to take the feet of divers in tech classes and forcibly straighten their knees and drop the legs in order to get them to vent the air they need to, because they have so intensely learned correct trim.

 

[lakewinni]

Although being in completely correct trim makes it VERY difficult to get the air out of your feet . . . One of the things Joe Talavera taught his recent Essentials class is that one sometimes has to drop the feet and raise the shoulders a bit to encourage the air to migrate to the dump valve. He said he has has to take the feet of divers in tech classes and forcibly straighten their knees and drop the legs in order to get them to vent the air they need to, because they have so intensely learned correct trim.

Actually thats similar to what I have had to do. I normally have good horizontal trim with knees bent at 90 degrees, but when I'm fitting my dump valve I sometimes have to drop my feet and usually that still doesn't help.

Does anyone know how to disassemble the Si Tech valve that comes with the suit?

 

[Archangel]

Does anyone know how to disassemble the Si Tech valve that comes with the suit?

I fought with my SiTech trying to get it off. Then I unscrewed it from the INSIDE. It is only handtightened.

Give this a try.

Thanks all, I too have difficulty venting. I am adopting the ear squeeze thingy. "vent early, vent often."

Happy Friday,