I am unsure whether this is against forum rules.. if it is apologies and a moderator will
delete, I guess.

I would like to introduce everyone to a new idea/innovation in kite valve replacement.

kite1replacement1valve1repair1no2glue.wordpress.com/

Most kiting folk, at some time have attempted and many succeeded, in kite valve repair. For
some however it is a frustrating ordeal with resultant failure anyway. These valves which
at the moment are only available for one-pump valves replacement on both the strut
and leading edge use no glues or adhesives, and instead used a unique inner and outer disc
system along with a threaded stem and nut to create a clamping seal across the bladder
material.

These valves are the resultant product of personal tribulations with leaking kite valves, glues
and contemporary adhesive backed valve options (which I have had fail on first inflation..although
promptly refunded).

I know they are not Airtime but check them out.

In the near future, development should be complete on a 'boston style' inflate/deflate variant.

Brilliant idea !!!

Perfect timing, I decided only yesterday to change all of my delaminating strut-leading edge connector valves so I'll give these a go... 6 coming my way

Let us know how you go with these valves Windreams.

They definitely look the goods - and the way the whole design clamps the strut material would provide a much stronger connection point than anything the kite manufacturers are pumping out!

Will probably be the only bits on your kite which actually are "bomb-proof"!

Clever idea, I like it. Looks like a really cool product. How long have you been developing and testing it for?

The valves look pretty solid and seems like you're using quality materials, however I wouldn't say the same about that website of yours. To be honest, it's pretty terrible... Took me quite a few minutes to get the idea on how the valves work, which really could've been explained in a matter of seconds with a better website or just a short youtube clip. Everything is so spread out and flimsy, you should really just explain everything briefly with a short summary or an infographic and then go in to details on how to install it and where to cut etc further down for the people who've actually bought it. Maybe a free service like venngage.com/ or piktochart.com/ could help. Also, I'd make sure to get someone to proof read your texts, "Fix Valve don’t REGLUE TRAP AIR in Kite this TIME", what does that even mean? No offence mate, we're not all English native speakers (me included), just trying to help you out.

Looks awesome. Australia seems to be all out of valves at the moment so this couldn't come at a better time. I just ordered one and was wondering if they are reusable ie, if a bladder fails can you take this out and put it on a new bladder?

useless if the leak isnt within that tiny circles range.

Great idea. More thinking like this needed in this sport!

Select to expand quote

curls said..
Clever idea, I like it. Looks like a really cool product. How long have you been developing and testing it for?

The valves look pretty solid and seems like you're using quality materials, however I wouldn't say the same about that website of yours. To be honest, it's pretty terrible... Took me quite a few minutes to get the idea on how the valves work, which really could've been explained in a matter of seconds with a better website or just a short youtube clip. Everything is so spread out and flimsy, you should really just explain everything briefly with a short summary or an infographic and then go in to details on how to install it and where to cut etc further down for the people who've actually bought it. Maybe a free service like venngage.com/ or piktochart.com/ could help. Also, I'd make sure to get someone to proof read your texts, "Fix Valve don’t REGLUE TRAP AIR in Kite this TIME", what does that even mean? No offence mate, we're not all English native speakers (me included), just trying to help you out.

The concept is approximately 12 months old and I have been developing and testing ideas since. Thank you for your feedback in regards to the website, it will be taken on board. The organisation of the website could certainly be improved and hopefully soon will be. 'Fix Valve don’t REGLUE TRAP AIR in Kite this TIME" isn't unintentional butchery of the English language, it is a title of a page and therefore includes a string of Google search terms. However I do agree it does look messy and unprofessional.

Select to expand quote

Aftrshox said..
Looks awesome. Australia seems to be all out of valves at the moment so this couldn't come at a better time. I just ordered one and was wondering if they are reusable ie, if a bladder fails can you take this out and put it on a new bladder?

They are indeed reusable, simply unscrew and disassemble.

Select to expand quote

Kozzie said..
useless if the leak isnt within that tiny circles range.

Fortunately valves tend to leak at the base of the valve within this region as the PVC part delaminates from the polyurethane bladder material. If you do however have a hole adjacent to where the valve attaches, you can patch with Tear-aid and install this valve over the top.

Select to expand quote

pdiibeo said..
I am unsure whether this is against forum rules..




es

Wow,

I counted 7 or more separate bits and pieces.

Nice.

Keeping it real simple.

lol.

Not another 1st post wonder...

Just wondering if these valves are able to stick to human skin?

I'd like a free sample to trial over waveslaves piehole, and only open the valve when his eyes start rolling back in his head.

That is what's called 'keeping it simple' seabreezers

Alternatively can these be used in conjunction with a colostomy bag?

Diversify your market and you will be the next Geoffrey Eddleston mark my words.

Oh well the cat's out of the bag.

I've tried them. They are heavy as buggery. 10 of those on your kite and you've added nearly a kilo to your kite's weight! I still promote them, but only for bigger 14m + kites. Unfortunately, gluing (or heat sealing) is still the best way to repair kite valves for all kites.

Select to expand quote

waveslave said..

pdiibeo said..
I am unsure whether this is against forum rules..




es

Wow,

I counted 7 or more separate bits and pieces.

Nice.

Keeping it real simple.

lol.

yeah unlike those giant airtime ones (with the foam so if a air chanel forms you can just squash it down to create an airtight fit everytime) i can get first time kiters to do within 10 seconds. (and cheaper)

Select to expand quote

pdiibeo said..

Kozzie said..
useless if the leak isnt within that tiny circles range.

Fortunately valves tend to leak at the base of the valve within this region as the PVC part delaminates from the polyurethane bladder material. If you do however have a hole adjacent to where the valve attaches, you can patch with Tear-aid and install this valve over the top.

you can patch with tear aid then use this OR just buy half a dozen other valves that have a large enough circumference to seal the whole area.

ever had a kite come in to fix and the owner has tried a couple times to fix a valve? and your left with a cup sized hole not a 50c piece?

if you want advice realise your "solution" could be greatly improved by some fairly simple adjustments.



actually while im talking about improvements have you not noticed that for last decade people have been eliminating hard heavey or sharp kite components so that in the event of crashes the canopy doesnt get damaged?!?! from the circle reinforcements above main valves on leading edges to putting neoprene over clips and VALVES and you have busted out what i can only assume is alluminium with no protection at all. feel free to send me a carton of beer for any more bleedingly obvious rnd

Select to expand quote

Kozzie said..

pdiibeo said..

Kozzie said..
useless if the leak isnt within that tiny circles range.

Fortunately valves tend to leak at the base of the valve within this region as the PVC part delaminates from the polyurethane bladder material. If you do however have a hole adjacent to where the valve attaches, you can patch with Tear-aid and install this valve over the top.

you can patch with tear aid then use this OR just buy half a dozen other valves that have a large enough circumference to seal the whole area.

ever had a kite come in to fix and the owner has tried a couple times to fix a valve? and your left with a cup sized hole not a 50c piece?

if you want advice realise your "solution" could be greatly improved by some fairly simple adjustments.



actually while im talking about improvements have you not noticed that for last decade people have been eliminating hard heavey or sharp kite components so that in the event of crashes the canopy doesnt get damaged?!?! from the circle reinforcements above main valves on leading edges to putting neoprene over clips and VALVES and you have busted out what i can only assume is alluminium with no protection at all. feel free to send me a carton of beer for any more bleedingly obvious rnd

Agreed, if you have made a ridiculously big hole in you bladder then it sure would be better to cover it with a larger valve. Once assembled I am not sure where the sharp pieces are ? The valve stem and nut are indeed aluminium, I had some made from various thermoplastics but they didn't screw as well and I couldn't be confident that you could apply the torque required to seal effectively, plus anodized aluminium has a certain aesthetic quality.

Select to expand quote

loftywinds2 said..
Oh well the cat's out of the bag.

I've tried them. They are heavy as buggery. 10 of those on your kite and you've added nearly a kilo to your kite's weight! I still promote them, but only for bigger 14m + kites. Unfortunately, gluing (or heat sealing) is still the best way to repair kite valves for all kites.

Ok let's work this out.

Each valve has a mass of 25g *10 =250g = A

I have some installed on a 9m to install the:

- piece of valve (cut away)
- hose adapter
- Circle thing above valve
Were all removed to install (see picture)

This lot had a mass of 18g * 10 = 180g = B

So this kite is potentially 70g (A-B) heavier than factory.

In fact would be lighter than this given the weight of the replacement hose used on these valves.

So considering people attach GoPro's (150g + Bracket weight) to their kites and that weight isn't even distributed as it is with these valves, they have no issues (although granted wouldn't want to have a massive crash with a GoPro on because you would probably pop a strut bladder).

So not quite sure about your 14+ recommendation ?

Just some food for thought !!

EDIT: Just weighed old hose (12g) vs new hose (4g) so the kite is actually 10 grams lighter than the factory made it !!!!
Depending on how your valves are set up components that you remove may weigh more or less then my personal experience.

Then why aren't the kite makers using them?

Select to expand quote

pdiibeo said..

Kozzie said..

feel free to send me a carton of beer for any more bleedingly obvious rnd

Agreed, if you have made a ridiculously big hole in you bladder then it sure would be better to cover it with a larger valve. Once assembled I am not sure where the sharp pieces are ? The valve stem and nut are indeed aluminium, I had some made from various thermoplastics but they didn't screw as well and I couldn't be confident that you could apply the torque required to seal effectively, plus anodized aluminium has a certain aesthetic quality.

no further help from me unless i get that carton :)

Select to expand quote

loftywinds2 said..
Then why aren't the kite makers using them?

It's not really in their best interests to potentially extend the lifetime of a kite is it ? Plus they probably haven't thought of it yet.

Select to expand quote

Kozzie said..

pdiibeo said..

Kozzie said..

no further help from me unless i get that carton :)

Haha, you have to earn your carton ! No beer in advance here...

Your website shows pics of the valves fitted to bladders and also fitted to kites.

The part that I do not quite get is that the black washer under the threaded aluminium cone seems to be on the outside of the kite strut or LE so not sure how the fitting process works?


A vid of you fitting a valve to a bladder and then it being fitted back into the kite strut would be great.

At the bottom of the website, i.e. the first Wordpress post is a YouTube clip showing fitment to a bladder. I don't yet have one showing re-installation into the kite however the process is explained in the aforementioned video.

Here's the link:



Once you have fitted the valve to the bladder and completed a test of the seal, you re-install by removing the blue nut and black outer disc, which as you identified are outside of the kite's outer material.

Last question.

Can your new valve be fitted to the bladder without the original inflate valve? (given that the original inflate valve has separated from the bladder entirely)

way to overcomplicate the situation, then again some suckers will buy anything

Hey @pdiibeo, how about you put some dosh into Laurie's bank account and advertise your robot valves, like ever other business here, and not flog the forums as to why they are the ants pants of kiting? Seriously, this is a biased one-sided thread. Yeah I know I am a naysayer apart from a lot of things (place them here __________), but really posting and arguing to promote your own product/brand sucks. Others do it too, and it should be stopped.

Select to expand quote

austin said..
way to overcomplicate the situation, then again some suckers will buy anything

Overcomplicated 1 bolt, 4 washers and a nut sounds pretty simple to me. Their cheaper than the stick on valves, you can have several goes at positioning the valve, you can reuse the valve, I will never have another delaminating valve issue and hey I'm open minded enough to trying something different. You just never know it might be a good thing and worst case scenario I'm a few bucks out of pocket and I can revert back to a stick on valve with very little effort. So does this make us purchasers suckers

I can totally hear you, I can just imagine pulling them out before selling.....
and open minded, seriously, seriously

Select to expand quote

max_ob said..


Last question.

Can your new valve be fitted to the bladder without the original inflate valve? (given that the original inflate valve has separated from the bladder entirely)

Yes, with or without as long as the hole is 16-25mm in size, the total diameter of the valve is 38mm however you would want to leave a certain tolerance of bladder.

Select to expand quote

loftywinds2 said..
Hey @pdiibeo, how about you put some dosh into Laurie's bank account and advertise your robot valves, like ever other business here, and not flog the forums as to why they are the ants pants of kiting? Seriously, this is a biased one-sided thread. Yeah I know I am a naysayer apart from a lot of things (place them here __________), but really posting and arguing to promote your own product/brand sucks. Others do it too, and it should be stopped.

Firstly I didn't post on here to rile people up but from my years of just being one who would peruse these threads I envisioned a minority may have a problem with the post. I am not flogging the forums claiming 'they are the ants pants'. I simply answered questions directed at me or rebutting any erroneous information. If the forum moderator/s had a problem I am sure they would delete the thread. Many small scale startups would fail instantly if say they went straight into bulk advertising schemes and the market for kitesurf valves isn't one of the world's largest you know!! To keep certain users happy I will not be posting in this thread again.

Thank you

Thanks for your replies to my questions. Understand your valve system now.

Great to see someone tackle the delaminating valve issue from a new perspective.

Will definitely try one out and then make a final judgement.

Go figure

[B

)]

Hi pdiibeo,

Have you thought about the future resale value of a kite with your nuts & bolts valves.

A potential buyer might wonder about these valves ... and ask why the original valves aren't in place.

You would then have to explain to the buyer that all the factory valves peeled off.

Can you see the problem ?

lol.

Now if the failed valves had been covertly replaced with stick-on valves,,,

the question would never be raised.

Looks good to me.

Select to expand quote

Absolutbeginer said..
Looks good to me.

Yeah, it 'looks' good.

But it's not factory standard.

It's been butchered.