Whites suit wont dump air

[elan]

So I have an older whites drysuit I bought (I think it's a 2002 model) and I'm having some serious problems dumping air which leads to runaway ascents. The exhaust valve for the suit when I'm wearing it is situated about on the underside of my bicep.

All the valves on other suits I've seen are straight up on the top of the arm. So basically my valve is mostly upside down when I'm horizontal. I had the valve inspected and it's funtioning properly but I can have a balloon in my arm and it's not dumping air.

Is it just my inexperience (I've got about 5 dives on a drysuit) or does that valve need to be relocated if that's even possible.

Any pointers?

In any case you should not be doing runaway ascends , you supposed to dump the air before you become too positive buoyant. I had the valve on the my biceps just like on the Gombessa picture (where he has the patch) I had to chicken wing the arm and roll to the right to be able to dump the suit. Just move the freaking thing. I moved mine last week and after the first dive I could not stop cursing Bare I have no idea why would anyone place the valve where they place it on the factory.

 

[Gombessa]

I have no idea why would anyone place the valve where they place it on the factory.

Seems it's a combination of anatomy too. As you can see in my picture, my suit is a DC. My buddy's (moved his valve last week too - you can see him testing it out at 0:50 in the video from our dive this Saturday - YouTube - Team Bunny's Easter Dive ) is a DUI TLS350, and yours is a Bare. I think standard placement just a close call in general, and on certain body types turns out wholly unacceptable. However, I have a couple of friends who are way better divers than I am, and who own exactly the same suit as I do, and don't have any problem whatsoever.

 

[elan]

Seems it's a combination of anatomy too. As you can see in my picture, my suit is a DC. My buddy's (moved his valve last week too - you can see him testing it out at 0:50 in the video from our dive this Saturday - YouTube - Team Bunny's Easter Dive ) is a DUI TLS350, and yours is a Bare. I think standard placement just a close call in general, and on certain body types turns out wholly unacceptable. However, I have a couple of friends who are way better divers than I am, and who own exactly the same suit as I do, and don't have any problem whatsoever.

With Bare at least it is sure not the anatomy our arms cannot be all that screwed

Here everyone who dives in horizontal trim move that valve eventually on Bare suits - I think the local dry suit repair shop earned a fortune doing just the valves I think there is an agreement between Bare and dry suit repair shops

I know at least 4 people who did that. You should see the envy in my buddy's eyes when he saw how much easier it became to dump when we were testing it together

Nice video and music. My valve now is sitting in the same position on the arm but 2 inches lower. I could not move it that high as there is a seam that does not let me do it. But his dumps awesome, look he does not even have to lift the arm .

 

[Gombessa]

In the end, I just wish we had this thread 2 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of angst!

 

[elan]

definitely, I wish I knew that from the beginning I would just told the Bare rep not to install the valve at all.

speaking more of the locations I have noticed that my friends DUI CF200 has the valve in the same place as Bare does and the TLS and CLX have it more to the outside. So I was still wondering what kind of application makes the position on CF200 different.

 

[Gombessa]

speaking more of the locations I have noticed that my friends DUI CF200 has the valve in the same place as Bare does and the TLS and CLX have it more to the outside. So I was still wondering what kind of application makes the position on CF200 different.

I think the placement just depends on the size and cut of the suit, whether a custom order requests a different placement, and sometimes the phases of the moon. And again, there is no single "correct" placement based on body type, many of which have no problems with the "bad" placement location. On the DC suits in particular, the placement of the valve is certainly limited by the need to have the logo clearly visible along the midline of the shoulder

I've been paying a lot of attention to exhaust valve placement since I've had mine moved, and it's really hard to come up with any consistent theory as to why it is where a lot of manufacturers put it.

Btw, my other regular buddy dives a stock Bare HD Trilam, and has never, ever had any problem whatsoever dumping gas. Go figure.

 

[elan]

On the DC suits in particular, the placement of the valve is certainly limited by the need to have the logo clearly visible along the midline of the shoulder

Btw, my other regular buddy dives a stock Bare HD Trilam, and has never, ever had any problem whatsoever dumping gas. Go figure.

He probably did not have a chance to dive the other way

But yes I think some body shapes can probably do better than the others

 

[TSandM]

It can have to do with suit cut, too. My Diving Concepts back zip suit had the dump valve too far forward, because the end of the zipper wrapped around the top of the arm where the valve ought to have been. This was not fixable.

 

[Gombessa]

It can have to do with suit cut, too. My Diving Concepts back zip suit had the dump valve too far forward, because the end of the zipper wrapped around the top of the arm where the valve ought to have been. This was not fixable.

I've heard of this infamous suit. Lynne, you don't happen to still have a picture of it do you? My impression is that placing the valve further down the arm, closer to your elbow, if at all possible, would still have been vastly superior to a chest-front placement.

 

[TSandM]

If I have any pictures of it, I don't know where they are. I didn't dive it all that long. I sent it back to DC and they put a wrist dump in it, and I tried that for a little while, decided I didn't like it, and requested they remake the suit.