Northwest Dive Club

Does anyone know who might have a si tech suit dump valve in stock locally? I'm pretty frustrated with the apeks one on my DC suit. Now that it's taken to leaking like crazy I have to do something. I've hear good things about the si tech ones.

When I needed one I went to A2Z and Amy took one off of a in stock suit and sold it to me.

That's what I call customer service!

Hoever I just put a tank in my neck seal and inflated my suit and found that my problem is a wear spot on my zipper about two inches from the top. Now I have to see if there's any way I can patch it. I have my doubts though :shootself:

If nothing else I wonder if I can just aquaseal my zipper shut for the first two inches. It'd be harder but I could still get in and out of my suit...

Any thoughts?

I have 2 SI tech dump Valves .... One is brand new, the other used from my old suit... 70.00 ea

Mattleycrue76 wrote:That's what I call customer service!

Hoever I just put a tank in my neck seal and inflated my suit and found that my problem is a wear spot on my zipper about two inches from the top. Now I have to see if there's any way I can patch it. I have my doubts though :shootself:

If nothing else I wonder if I can just aquaseal my zipper shut for the first two inches. It'd be harder but I could still get in and out of my suit...

Any thoughts?

Jim at KME in Auburn has them in stock he can also fix your suit for you in a few days. KME is were most all the shops send their stuff out for repairs. Why not go to the source.

http://www.kmedrysuits.com/

Is it small enough that a bike patch would cover it? http://www.rei.com/product/605460 This will only work if the wear spot doesn't meet the zipper teeth. You have to be vigilant about cleaning and prepping the area, and you have to make sure they go one perfectly smooth, but they work. You can also cover the patch with latex seal adhesive (like the stuff from OS systems, way better than aquaseal).

Contact Bob3 of comdive.com on TheDecoStop. He's a stupidly nice guy. And he has the super cool hazmat dump valve (that yellow thing on Richard's suit) for a reasonable price. I put one on my DUI to replace a crappy apeks and haven't looked back.

I think Dive Commercial in Ballard could order it but it was way more than what Bob3 offered including shipping.

-Eric

Sockmonkey wrote:Contact Bob3 of comdive.com on TheDecoStop. He's a stupidly nice guy. And he has the super cool hazmat dump valve (that yellow thing on Richard's suit) for a reasonable price. I put one on my DUI to replace a crappy apeks and haven't looked back.

I think Dive Commercial in Ballard could order it but it was way more than what Bob3 offered including shipping.

-Eric

That sounds like KME's commercial hazmat valve that they make. They are great as they will dump faster than a inflater can fill a suit with double seals and will not leak even under the heaviest suit hickey vacuum packing you have ever felt. They are also fully field serviceable. I have been bugging Jim to make another run as he been sold out for a while now.

loanwolf wrote:
Jim at KME in Auburn has them in stock he can also fix your suit for you in a few days. KME is were most all the shops send their stuff out for repairs. Why not go to the source.

sheahanmcculla wrote:

loanwolf wrote:
Jim at KME in Auburn has them in stock he can also fix your suit for you in a few days. KME is were most all the shops send their stuff out for repairs. Why not go to the source.

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I know I love it. If you go in and talk to Jim he is a old crochaty comercial diver who loves to talk. It is worth the trip just to go and talk to him and you will come away knowing more about suits than you ever thought you could.

Mattleycrue76 wrote:That's what I call customer service!

Hoever I just put a tank in my neck seal and inflated my suit and found that my problem is a wear spot on my zipper about two inches from the top. Now I have to see if there's any way I can patch it. I have my doubts though :shootself:

If nothing else I wonder if I can just aquaseal my zipper shut for the first two inches. It'd be harder but I could still get in and out of my suit...

Any thoughts?

Hey Matt,

It depends on where the leak is on the zipper. If it's around the seal on the edge you can patch it up with some seal cement. If you're doing a pressure test and the bubbles are coming from between the zipper teeth you're probably looking at replacing the zipper. For a temporary solution you can put a patch from the top of the zipper down past where the leak is. You wont be able to unzip the suit completely but it will work for awhile until you can send your suit in to get the zipper replaced.

I just had my zipper replaced on my DC suit and have to give a shout out to the folks at Superior Diving. I needed my drysuit turned around in a week and they did a great job and didnt charge me for the express service. They even fixed a few little things on my suit that I didnt ask for.

Hm the bubbles are coming from where the zipper material wore through just to the side of the zipper. I'll see if I can get a picture of it.

Here's a pic

Hate to say it but that looks like a gonner for sure. If its close enough to the end you can zip it past the leak and then seal it inside and out with E6000 adhesive or sports goo and it should get you by for awhile but ultimately it's replace the the zip or the suite.

what kind of suit is it?

Loanwolf it's a DC Z-flex.

So the hole is just below the teeth of the zipper? Try filling it with a little E-6000. Worst case it doesn't work and you need a zipper anyway right?

Yep, looks like you will need to replace that zipper. You can do as Jake suggested and glue it up but thats only a temporary fix. You can also can close the zipper and put a patch up to where the leak is. You wont be able to open the last two inches of the zipper but it'll last a little bit longer than just glueing it.

I have the same Z-flex suit. When I had my zipper replaced the guy at Superior suggested that I get rid if the over zipper and put a neoprine zipper cover there instead. He said that the over zipper can grind into your main zipper and cause it to fail prematurely. I had the work done and it looks pretty good.

BillZ wrote:Yep, looks like you will need to replace that zipper. You can do as Jake suggested and glue it up but thats only a temporary fix. You can also can close the zipper and put a patch up to where the leak is. You wont be able to open the last two inches of the zipper but it'll last a little bit longer than just glueing it.

I have the same Z-flex suit. When I had my zipper replaced the guy at Superior suggested that I get rid if the over zipper and put a neoprine zipper cover there instead. He said that the over zipper can grind into your main zipper and cause it to fail prematurely. I had the work done and it looks pretty good.

That sounds like a good idea. What was the cost of having the over zipper replaced with the neo- flap?

Nwbrewer wrote:

BillZ wrote:Yep, looks like you will need to replace that zipper. You can do as Jake suggested and glue it up but thats only a temporary fix. You can also can close the zipper and put a patch up to where the leak is. You wont be able to open the last two inches of the zipper but it'll last a little bit longer than just glueing it.

I have the same Z-flex suit. When I had my zipper replaced the guy at Superior suggested that I get rid if the over zipper and put a neoprine zipper cover there instead. He said that the over zipper can grind into your main zipper and cause it to fail prematurely. I had the work done and it looks pretty good.

That sounds like a good idea. What was the cost of having the over zipper replaced with the neo- flap?

It was $40

I had the same thing happen to my zipper on my Neo-Z. I thinned some aquaseal with cotol (a little thicker than water) and put on several shallow layers. This is a temporary fix at best.

+1 for Superior Drysuit repair they do an excellent job.

Good Luck!'

Mike

Well I fixed the hole with Superglue. Worked for two dives today, I'll report back later with longer term results.

Tacoma SCUBA stocks Si Tech Valves

I have there new little tiny one in stock

loanwolf wrote:That sounds like KME's commercial hazmat valve that they make. They are great as they will dump faster than a inflater can fill a suit with double seals and will not leak even under the heaviest suit hickey vacuum packing you have ever felt. They are also fully field serviceable. I have been bugging Jim to make another run as he been sold out for a while now.

That sounds awesome! How much are they? Yellow would be a bonus.

Matt S. wrote:

loanwolf wrote:That sounds like KME's commercial hazmat valve that they make. They are great as they will dump faster than a inflater can fill a suit with double seals and will not leak even under the heaviest suit hickey vacuum packing you have ever felt. They are also fully field serviceable. I have been bugging Jim to make another run as he been sold out for a while now.

That sounds awesome! How much are they? Yellow would be a bonus.

From comdive.com (Bob3 on TDS) the SI hazmat exhaust valve is around $80. It's a bit more than the SI low profile which I think is something like $65.

For the sake of underwater narcissism... the thing is wicked yellow:


(good lord you can clearly see the little ball on my wing dump)

wallyc72 wrote:Tacoma SCUBA stocks Si Tech Valves

I have there new little tiny one in stock

I was wondering when you were going to come around and mention those little ones!