Pee Valve Coupling Question

[Rick Inman]

You still have to put the rubber on and attach the hose to it, so unless you put all of that on before you put on your suit, you will still have your hand down your suit for the 10 minutes. And no matter what, you would still have to attach the quick disconnect together "in the dark". Did it get hooked up right?

Anyways, thats not the biggest issue in my mind ( because I haven't spent more than 1 min getting myself all hooked up), but IIRC Cali68 lost 1/2 of his pee-valve before a dive. Thats a bigger issue to me.

OK. You're right. (Sheesh! I hate saying that. )

 

[Snowbear]

OK. You're right. (Sheesh! I hate saying that. )

You've been married a while.... you should be used to saying that by now

 

[Rick Inman]

You've been married a while.... you should be used to saying that by now

Sure, but I'm not married to Jeff! :11:

 

[Snowbear]

But you've had practice saying it... the transition to saying it to Jeff should be easy

 

[BabyDuck]

rick, i know jason b just got done installing his, and it has the quick disconnect. i'm sure he'd be happy to answer the backflow question if you wanna pm him.

 

[Jason B]

Hey Rick, I use the quick disconnects. The beauty of them is that you can put your condom on at home and when you suit up..."click" and your done. No fumbling for 10 minutes, and the best reason....no pee dripping into your drysuit!

I use part#
5012K68
5012K83
5012K86

This will put a shut off valve on your condom (so it won't drip) and a shut off valve on your pee valve (so it won't drip) and gives you a straight thru piece to use if you are not suited up, have condom on, and need to pee (it opens the shut off valve basically).

I have noticed no issue of back pressure myself.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Sure, but I'm not married to Jeff! :11:

A fact for which Jeff will be forever grateful!

Yo Rick, I use the same coupling as that in the photo. But I locate it a lot more strategically! (About 3"-4" down the hose from where it connects to the catheter.) (Any longer and you risk walking into Applebees after the dive with a length of clear plastic hose hanging out of your shorts... )

This lets you 'install' the catheter in the hotel room and just pull on a pair of shorts to head to the boat. As noted, pull on the undergarment, pull on the suit, 'click' into the internal plumbing: you're golden. Pun intended

If you wanna remove the suit during a 2 hour SI as the boat is locating to another wreck, whatever, disconnect from the internal plumbing, unass the suit, no worries.

I see no merit in fumbling around down there on a mixed boat for any longer than necessary.

As Jeff noted, yeah, you have to keep track of the little 4" bit that attaches to the catheter. OTOH, if you can't manage that, perhaps you'd better not go with a pee-valve at all. You have to keep track of your mask, fins, etc. anyway...(and, uh, yeah, I keep a few spare 4" lengths of hose with the appropriate fittings attached for those times when I leave them in the hotel rooms... )

The disconnects work great. They're cheap, easy, and convenient. They make life on mixed boats much easier. They don't really have any downside. (You gotta 'pee slow' through a pee valve anyway...they don't really impact that at all - at least over the last four years that I've used them. Just remember to 'prime the plumbing' on the surface before you do the drop...)

Hope this helps,

Doc

 

[StevenMM]

When you say "Prime the Plumbing" I assume this means "Pee", and is this for all valves including balanced valves?

 

[Brand0n]

why they hell would you do this.... just take a damn pee before you dive.

 

[Rick Inman]

why they hell would you do this.... just take a damn pee before you dive.

Actually, this is a very good question. I mean, after all, can’t a guy hold it for an hour?

Three weeks ago I got bent and spent a day in the chamber. It was an “underserved” hit. I was well with in NDLs. Both the hyperbaric doctor and DAN agreed that probably the biggest contributing factor was that I was dehydrated.

I’m 47 years old, and if I drink a lot of fluids before the dive to hydrate up, I have to pee pretty good about 30-40 mins into the dive. I’m diving water in the 40 & 50 degree range, and dehydrated plus cold water plus having to pee does not make for the healthiest diving conditions.

I may not use then pee valve during the dive, but having it there promotes hydrating up before the dive without trepidation. Which makes for a more comfortable, and safer dive.

Since my day riding the chamber, I have been drinking lots of water and doing lots of relieving during the dive, and I am more relax and comfortable than before – and I’m hydrated up, too.

So, your answer is, safety & comfort. For me, it makes the dives more fun, which is the reason I dive.

There have been threads on this board about what equipment purchase you’ve enjoyed the most, and the pee valve is often mentioned for the above reason.

Except for Mo2vation, I’ve never met anyone who got one, but doesn’t enjoy using it.