Hi folks,

Just put my Sunova Speeed on the water for the first time today. After about 10 mins paddling on flat water I noticed the air valve start bubbling. This doesn't seem right to me as it was early morning and in Victoria so not hot. Does anyone know if this is normal, or if this is a defect and should be returned under warrantly? If it is normal, is water getting in?

Thanks in advanced.

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8Paws said..
Hi folks,

Just put my Sunova Speeed on the water for the first time today. After about 10 mins paddling on flat water I noticed the air valve start bubbling. This doesn't seem right to me as it was early morning and in Victoria so not hot. Does anyone know if this is normal, or if this is a defect and should be returned under warrantly? If it is normal, is water getting in?

Thanks in advanced.

I had the same with my Steeze the first time I got it wet, but it was quite warm and I had walked 10 minutes in the hot sun with it.
I was happy to see gas coming out, to me it means the vent is doing it's job.
The second time I took the board out I came home and was concerned to see gas bubbling out from around the threads. I removed the vent with an alan key, and the vent was blocked with dust and sh1te from production. Once I blew all this out, and reinstalled the valve, it worked again from the middle and after a while it stopped. I put the board in a warm place for about 5 minutes (not in the sun), and sprayed a bit of water on the vent and it bubbled again very slowly. It stopped once I put it away in the cool.
There was absolutely no water in the valve recess.
There may be another reason for a pressure difference in your case?
They're pretty flexible boards so could be just pushing a bit of gas out.

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8Paws said..
Hi folks,

Just put my Sunova Speeed on the water for the first time today. After about 10 mins paddling on flat water I noticed the air valve start bubbling. This doesn't seem right to me as it was early morning and in Victoria so not hot. Does anyone know if this is normal, or if this is a defect and should be returned under warrantly? If it is normal, is water getting in?

Thanks in advanced.

Water is warmer than the air so it was letting out the expanding air.

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hilly said..

8Paws said..
Hi folks,

Just put my Sunova Speeed on the water for the first time today. After about 10 mins paddling on flat water I noticed the air valve start bubbling. This doesn't seem right to me as it was early morning and in Victoria so not hot. Does anyone know if this is normal, or if this is a defect and should be returned under warrantly? If it is normal, is water getting in?

Thanks in advanced.

Water is warmer than the air so it was letting out the expanding air.

Interesting, indeed the water temp was around 19 and air temp 16. Is that enough to make it bubble though?

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8Paws said..
Interesting, indeed the water temp was around 19 and air temp 16. Is that enough to make it bubble though?

Definitely.
This shows the advantage of gore-tex vents over basic screws. With a manual vent, all this extra air would have pushed on the board skin, reducing a bit the board life... can we say a "death by a thousand puffs"? :-)

I have always wondered how these valves work. I can understand them blowing out. But how do they suck in. If they suck in, then they should suck in water which is not good. Either way. To check if water is sucked in. Put your boardin a warm place & watch for any water to be expelled. If so, it is cause for concern in my opinion.

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Seajuice said..
I have always wondered how these valves work. I can understand them blowing out. But how do they suck in.

They have micro pores big enough to let air molecules go through them, but not water molecules, which are bigger.

It is just a sieve with a very specific hole size.