Is it safe to change the valve placement?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Has anyone had experience with moving their valves on a neoprene suit? If you have a bicep vent valve that you want moved to shoulder or wrist, it would require the old hole to be sealed. Has anyone had any leakages? Or is it generally bullet proof?

 

[Doppler]

Depends on several factors: brand of suit, type and thickness of neoprene (lining and coating), age of suit, who's doing the work, and why the valve needs moving in the first place.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Depends on several factors: brand of suit, type and thickness of neoprene (lining and coating), age of suit, who's doing the work, and why the valve needs moving in the first place.

Its a regular neoprene suit (not compressed or crushed). Thickness is 3mm and the suit is brand new. The valve is on bicep and I would rather have it on the outside of the arm because it requires tilting to the opposite side and venting while you can look at the valve blowing bubbles. This to me seems more natural position than inner bicep. Not to mention how it always gets in the way of the BP Wing strap when you are sliding inside.

 

[Gombessa]

No experience here with neoprene suits, but FWIW I and a buddy of mine have done exactly this with our trilam suits for similar reasons. Our exhaust valves were positioned facing downward on our shoulders, requiring extensive chicken-winging and clockwise rolling in order to vent. The biggest consideration for us was having enough space to allow for the new valve placement and sealing of the old hole.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

No experience here with neoprene suits, but FWIW I and a buddy of mine have done exactly this with our trilam suits for similar reasons. Our exhaust valves were positioned facing downward on our shoulders, requiring extensive chicken-winging and clockwise rolling in order to vent. The biggest consideration for us was having enough space to allow for the new valve placement and sealing of the old hole.

Which placement did you prefer? Bicep or outer shoulder? Did you guys experience any leaks from the old hole?

 

[Gombessa]

By far, the better placement for us is high on the shoulder, so the valve is straight out and horizontal while you are in-trim. This way, you just need to roll slightly clockwise in order to tilt the valve upward and begin to vent. The way our original valves sat was that it was facing slightly downward (an upper-bicep placement) while we were horizontal, making venting very difficult without going somewhat vertical.

On our suits, we've had zero leaks or issues from the old hole. We got the work done at our local shop (which does a lot of drysuit work); they sewed a patch of trilam over old hole and aquasealed it to seal. I couldn't be happier with the result.

 

[Doppler]

Please be aware that positioning the dump valve too far to the "outside" of the bicep can cause an issue since when you are in horizontal trim the valve must be closed or it will dump whatever gas is in the suit. Even a slight roll may cause an open valve to dump, when it has been moved from the spot where the suit manufacturer designed it to sit. Also, the further back it is, the tougher it will be to reach with your right hand. Most dumps DO point slightly down and forward when the diver is in trim. raising the arm usually orients the valve in the correct position to dump.


By the way, wrist dumps are a pain in the arse, IMHO... and create more problems than they solve (I take it you are not doing commercial work).

And what brand suit? If it's a cheap suit, having it worked on by a reputable shop may not be worth the expense.

 

[Peter_C]

I have moved my inflator valve on my CF200 (Compressed neoprene), from the left leg to the chest area. It was an EOD suit so set up for a rebreather with probably an argon bottle. Very easy to move vs a trilam suit. I did it myself. All you need to do is cut out the new location, and use the material to fill in the old location. With a patch on the inside and outside it shouldn't ever leak. The parts that are around the old hole is probably made of rubber and with a heat gun can be gently removed with lots of heat and re-glued into the new position.

For scootering a cuff dump rules, but I can adjust to a cuff or shoulder dump pretty easily. My Fusion has a shoulder dump of course.

 

[elan]

I did the same with my trilam. It was like night and day. No leakage. There is no pressure differencial so you really need to screwup bad with glueing to have it leaking.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Please be aware that positioning the dump valve too far to the "outside" of the bicep can cause an issue since when you are in horizontal trim the valve must be closed or it will dump whatever gas is in the suit. Even a slight roll may cause an open valve to dump, when it has been moved from the spot where the suit manufacturer designed it to sit. Also, the further back it is, the tougher it will be to reach with your right hand. Most dumps DO point slightly down and forward when the diver is in trim. raising the arm usually orients the valve in the correct position to dump.


By the way, wrist dumps are a pain in the arse, IMHO... and create more problems than they solve (I take it you are not doing commercial work).

And what brand suit? If it's a cheap suit, having it worked on by a reputable shop may not be worth the expense.

I have never dove with a suit with an inner bicep valve. I may like it more than the outer shoulder. As of now I am thinking the most logical position for the valve would be the outer shoulder because all you need is raise your elbow to the side when you vent. With bicep valve it may be fine if you dive with your hands by your side but I dive with a DSLR camera and raising my arms in the front to look through the lens may mimic the movement that you do to vent! I think I will just try out a couple of dives in the suit and see what it feels like.