Struggling to Find Kidney Dump Valve

[Wibble]

Knit yourself a cobra knot.

Then tie it to your dump valve (double fisherman's bend)

Example (although not my prettiest knitting -- need to use stiffer cord!)

Use: using your index finger, circle around the dump valve and you'll catch it. Then pull to dump.

 

[Khrissi]

Funny, I always use the exhaust valve on the inflator. The valve seems more precise and I can hear exactly how much air is coming out.

Yup. Only just found toggles on mine - after 26 dives k

 

[missionmtb]

This will definitely be polarizing, but put a golf ball on it! I run golf balls on all my wings with the string ultrashort so the ball nearly makes contact with the dump body (5-10mm clearance?). Just have to drill the ball with a large enough hole to pass the string thru and put a knot at the end. Thus you are wedging your fingers between the dump body and the ball instead of tugging on the wing. I think this approximates the benefit of the string pinch thing mentioned above. Easy to find in dry gloves even.

Be wary of the golf ball getting caught on things. On my nomad wing for my CCR I run the ends of the wing through my waist webbing which keeps the dump close to my body. If the dump is tacoing away from your torso this could be trouble. People will say this can cause the dump to get stuck open and they are right, but this can happen on pull toggles and knotted string too... Keeping the string really short mitigates but does not eliminate the risk.

That being said, I pretty much only use the dump when head-down and descending and only use a wing as backup buoyancy diving dry. Dumping the wing in horizontal trim is accomplished by sticking your right elbow out and holding the dump up with your left hand. Dip your elbow down and raise your left hand by twisting your torso and press the release. This may also dump your suit, so you gotta deal with that.

Happy dumping.
-missiomtb

 

[Wibble]

The reason some people have no toggles on their dumps is they can catch on things and be pulled off. The dump's on the left-hand hip which is also used for clipping off the SPG and stages in a DIR configuration. It's crowded around there and with one or more stage cylinders attached, can crush or catch things.

Pulling your dump string off is not great for your dive.

The cobra knot above doesn't get crushed nor caught. It does get a bit floaty though, hence you spin your index finger around it to catch it.


If you still want a big toggle (like on an XDeep Stealth sidemount harness butt dump), sailors have Halyard Stoppers which work well.

 

[Joris Vd]

putting a knot in the string really does help. I put it about 1,5-2cm from the dump valve. That way if I touch the plastic I'll feel the knot instantly. I've actually never used the toggle / dongle thing ever again since I converted to the knot.

I used to have issues finding the string on my wings with thick drygloves.
After tying a knot, the issue is gone completely

I do agree the kidney dump in general is preferrable to the lpi,

but I see many people struggling with them, to the point where they break trim alot more by trying to force themselves to kidney dump rather than just using the lpi.
You don't need to go vertical or anything to use the lpi, just lift up your shoulders a bit above waist level and raise your arm. I'd hope people could perform this without silting up a place.

In my opinion both should be acceptable.

 

[divezonescuba]

The size of the toggle seems to be at issue here.

No toggle with just a knot may be hard to find under certain circumstances like heavy gloves or dry gloves. Too large a toggle and it could get trapped and pulled.

Up until this discussion, I used just a knot on the end of the string. But apparently there are better ways.

How about a flexible rubber toggle like the cobra knot which compresses to reduce the possibility of getting caught, but expands to a three dimensional shape when free and easy to feel.

A hollow silicone golf ball holder, a small silicone funnel, or the top half of a silicone ice ball mold seem feasible.

I feel a video coming on.

 

[BlueTrin]

If you feel a bit adventurous, you can replace the original string but you’ll need to drill the hole bigger to use cave line.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

The shoulder dump then over the inflator deflator would be the preferred method