Laid low by a pee valve...

[Mark Vlahos]

Wow! makes that diaper thing sound better and better.

Mark Vlahos

 

[WetDawg]

Ouch!

I would rather have diaper rash than a serious infection.

Glad to hear you're feeling better.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Any suggested pee valve cleaning techniques or chemicals (johnson safe)?

Vinegar takes care of most things; Clorox should take care of the rest. I'd use the Clorox first followed by a fresh water rinse and then the vinegar and another rinse. Make sure you do not leave any clorox or vinegar on your drysuit material! I also change the tubing on mine a couple times a year.
Rick

 

[Henryville]

Jim, I'm glad you're feeling better but of course I wish you'da listened when I told you about my bout. I think you had it worse than I did, but it is definitely not something to mess with. It was the highest fever I've had in my adult life and I don't think I ate anything for 5 days, slept about 20 hours a day.

These valves are very handy, but they are far from no maintenance, as we have now both learned the hard way. Feel better, buddy, we've got some diving to do!

 

[jagfish]

Hey Dev...
Silver lining of it all was I lost 10 pounds...

I'm down with the concept of cleaning now for sure, I just need to locate the proper tool out here...

 

[Henryville]

I like Rick's idea, let's get a bunch of norprene tubing and just throw the stuff away every month or so.

Looks like it's about a buck a foot from McMaster-Carr.

 

[stevenq99]

OUCH! Been there with the prostate infection. It was the sickest I have ever been. Glad you are better.

 

[Web Monkey]

Sorry you're feeling poorly, however the infection was probably from something else, otherwise wetsuit divers would be lining up in the ER all day long.

The pressure inside you is the same as the water, so I don't see how you could get a significant "backflow"

Terry

Some of you know that I am just back on my feet from an intense kidney/prostate infection. What's odd is that about a month before, I got a warning from a friend (Henryville) that he had gotten a severe infection that was due to his pee valve as well.

I seldom rinse the innards of my valve and never disinfect it.

Jim

 

[Henryville]

Sorry you're feeling poorly, however the infection was probably from something else, otherwise wetsuit divers would be lining up in the ER all day long.

The pressure inside you is the same as the water, so I don't see how you could get a significant "backflow"

Terry

Without getting into the graphic details, two ways:

- Reflux in the system itself due to an obstructed or constrained flow. If bacteria or viruses are present in the system, they can float on in.
- Negative gradient between ambient pressure and that inside of the drysuit. If it were a non-balanced model or if the check valves in a balanced were leaking, this could be an issue.

Neither of these are present in wetsuit diving.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I like Rick's idea, let's get a bunch of norprene tubing and just throw the stuff away every month or so.

Looks like it's about a buck a foot from McMaster-Carr.

I use the clear plastic tubing - get it at Home Depot - really cheap, and since it's clear you can see the instant anything starts making a home in it, and pitch it. It won't kink - I just make it long enough for there to be a loop in it between the catheter and the p-valve, which keeps things all aligned nicely and open for a back-pressure free flow.
Rick