I have acquired a dry suit that never had valves installed. My buddy picked it up a couple of years ago but some how "shrunk" and he can no longer use it. The valves came with the suit but there are no holes in it. I can see how the valves would be installed, but is there anything glue or sealant that need to be applied? Some of the neoprene suits I have seen have a circular rubber disk around the neoprene, some do not. Other than marking the locations, cutting the hole, and screwing the valve down is there anything else?
Installing inflate and deflate valves on drysuit?
- Thread starter maximak2
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Either take it to a shop or contact the manufacturer for their instructions. You definitely want them attached according to the manufacturer's specs.
Unfortunate for me there are no labels or manufacturer info on this suit. From what I hear from my buddy it was a custom suit that was never picked up. The dive shop went out of business and my buddy got it for a song.
Then I would pay to have it done by a shop.
if you are going to do it yourself
don't place the inflate of deflate valve too near a seam this could cause problems .check inside the suit too dont over lap seam tape either
its easier to make a hole bigger if you cut it too small
measure twice cut once
put the suit on and mark the position for the deflate valve ,
last time I attached a cuff dump i used some sealant under the rubber ring Black witch I think
don't place the inflate of deflate valve too near a seam this could cause problems .check inside the suit too dont over lap seam tape either
its easier to make a hole bigger if you cut it too small
measure twice cut once
put the suit on and mark the position for the deflate valve ,
last time I attached a cuff dump i used some sealant under the rubber ring Black witch I think
It really isn't that difficult to install things in a drysuit. All of my dump and intake valves have come with a sort of gasket that is compressed between the in-suit portion of the valve and the suit material. I do know that some drysuit manufacturers install valves with adhesive, but after living with four different dry suits, I wouldn't do that unless something about the suit material mandated it.
The location of an exhaust valve is rather important. If it is too far forward on the arm, it is difficult to get the suit to vent. If it is too far back, you have to close the valve to retain gas in the suit. If you have not dived a dry suit before, get advice from someone who has on exactly how to place the exhaust valve.
The location of an exhaust valve is rather important. If it is too far forward on the arm, it is difficult to get the suit to vent. If it is too far back, you have to close the valve to retain gas in the suit. If you have not dived a dry suit before, get advice from someone who has on exactly how to place the exhaust valve.
Alright, the valves seem to be easy to install. Mine do not have any rubber seal with them. I may need to track down some rubber to sandwich in there. Sealant would be OK but it sounds like it may cause issues down the road if a valve needs to be replaced.
renoun
Registered
With Neoprene drysuits generally all you need to do is tighten them down very tight by hand,and a little RTV doesn't hurt ie GE Silicone II. As the suit starts to compress,don't be surprised if you'll need to do this again. A very good source is Gamblescuba.com; all he does is drysuit repair and is more than happy to give you some suggestions,or even do it for you.
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