Valve question....

hobbsla · Since 28 Jan 2006 389 Posts Obsessed

One of the little trapdoor thingys in the valve on one of my struts is failing. I have to be quick to plug the valve before too much air comes out. Does anyone have experience using some kind of conditioner or lubricant on their valves to make them easier to cap? Or, should I replace the bladder? The kite is a 2004 Naish V4. Btw, anyone know how much a replacement bladder costs?

Thanks

Cool

Mike Hawk · Wed Jun 07, 06 6:42 am

I think you can buy a new 04 naish cheeper than a bladder these days? if not do the big pinch, if that don't work, aritime has all kinds of bladders.

Sol-flyer · Wed Jun 07, 06 6:52 am

trapdoor?

if its anything like my pain in the ass 03' wipika the valve stoppers work half the time....lubrication wont help.(not even ky)

i just give er one x-tra pump, then sqeeze the valve as i put the plug on....a lil spit on the plug will make it slip right in.

if your naish is anything like my bro's naish raven, the dam internal one-way valve for the struts(octopus design) wont start working until the leading edge bladder is dam near bursting at the seems...but its a nice idea in theory.

here is alink for x-tra valves i seen for sale,..http://www.ikitesurf.com/buysell/classifieds.pl?db=kiteboards&website=&language=&session_key=&search_and_display_db_button=on&results_format=long&db_id=30553&query=retrieval&photo_size=full

Wind Slither · Since 04 Mar 2005 2575 Posts The 503 METAL

Those old ball valves used to get better with age as I recall. Make sure the ball isn't stuck by giving it a couple flicks before you pull the pump hose out. I wouldn't bother replacing them...it's easy enough to pinch it off with your fingers...those ball stoppers seem to have gone away anyway.

With the Naish internal octopus valves....I don't think it's the valves so much as they get pinched off as the LE inflates. If you roll the leading edge back the struts fill right up. The only thing I've found is that the internal valves don't hold the air in the struts the way I think they're supposed to. Not a big issue unless you just really want to leave your struts inflated when you roll your kite up. Still a cleaner design than having those external tubes I think.