Got a used flexfire, previous owner thought it was a go pro mount & hadn't touched it.
Should I be loosening it after each use to prevent delams or something like that? Surprising little info about it online.
Thanks in advance, cheers.

Only guessing, simular to windsurf boards, you release the vent when you fly on the plane to avoid build up of pressure or in contact with sunlight or humility for prolonged period... you tighten it when you are in the water obviously to avoid water getting into the board

If its a gortex vent which assuming it is best left alone

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LastSupper said..
If its a gortex vent which assuming it is best left alone

Correct

Yeh FireWire always said don't touch it

I've got one in my old sun ova and the deal was as star boarder said. Although the one in the sun ova is a full bolt. Lot bigger than that one. If you left it in the car on a hot day you needed to loosen the bolt. I've had the board for 22 years and never touched it.

boards a gem

Old sunova different to old firewire, the sunovas you did have to adjust but not FW

Appreciate the replies, cheers. I did remove it but that was before coming back to check this thread so don't think that I was ignoring your advice, I just wanted to check the condition of it.

Guessing the white discs are the gortex mesh. Looking a little crusty inside but the rubber seals haven't perished. Bending up the edge of the seal inside I think I can see the core but it might be another layer of gortex. Didn't want to poke around too much.

I can blow through the screw but not with the mesh pressed up against it (a test one video mentions). Don't know if this means the mesh is okay or just clogged.

Been reading that vents are not necessary on small boards or boards with a heavier core (more dense, less air). Not all firewires have them. This one's a 6'4x19x2&3/8.

Should I just put some tape over it maybe then a glass patch over that? Or just screw it back in, weigh it & cross my fingers?

Go the latter option and update us if anything interesting happens re: weight.

that has 2 layer of goretex, the goretex allows air flow to stop delams. all firewires and sunovas of that construction need the vent . you never have to touch the vent .. but you did . there are no other systems like it so now you need to wait for berts final opinion. ill alert him . meantime DO NOT seal it , do not tape it, do not surf it . cheers, dean

It looks to be double sealed double Gortex..

This was one flaw with the vent FW ran when they did and the one Sunova ran from 2005 to 2015...
sometimes it is necessary to remove the vent to repair the board easier, but when you disassemble it , it is really difficult to get all the pieces lined up again, because the glue on the Gortex membrane has dried up and just flakes off, we often sent replacements.
our latest vent features the membrane built into the Aluminum plug, so it can be removed and put back in multiple times..
It may feel like the gortex is blocked when you try and breathe through it, but the air moves so slowly, you think its not moving, but it lets enough to pass to stop pressure build up..
It looks like the inner seal and Gortex are still attached, drop that second seal back in , then see if you can find some glue and carefully put that second piece of Gortex back on the Aluminum bung, if you cant, then you should still be ok with one membrane.. we only run one..
but we used to run 2 as well, coz i was paranoid sand could damage it, but after 15 years of running Gortex, I have never seen sand damage one..

FW . definitely should be running vents, I see so many blow up its crazy..
2lb or more dont need vents...
1.8lb foam or less , must run a vent...

as a side note, I had one team guy in the early years , when we did manual vents, the first thing he did was remove the vent plug and fill the housing with wax, because he was so forgetful..
the wax seals it when surfing, when you throw it in your car, if the board get hot enough to blow, the wax melts and get spat out..
but this system doesnt work on planes.. coz there is a pressure difference but not a temperature difference..
I had a few like that myself some team hand me downs and when jumping on planes I had to pierce the wax with a toothpick..

Hope that helps..
Regards
BERT

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BertBurger said..
It looks to be double sealed double Gortex..

This was one flaw with the vent FW ran when they did and the one Sunova ran from 2005 to 2015...
sometimes it is necessary to remove the vent to repair the board easier, but when you disassemble it , it is really difficult to get all the pieces lined up again, because the glue on the Gortex membrane has dried up and just flakes off, we often sent replacements.
our latest vent features the membrane built into the Aluminum plug, so it can be removed and put back in multiple times..
It may feel like the gortex is blocked when you try and breathe through it, but the air moves so slowly, you think its not moving, but it lets enough to pass to stop pressure build up..
It looks like the inner seal and Gortex are still attached, drop that second seal back in , then see if you can find some glue and carefully put that second piece of Gortex back on the Aluminum bung, if you cant, then you should still be ok with one membrane.. we only run one..
but we used to run 2 as well, coz i was paranoid sand could damage it, but after 15 years of running Gortex, I have never seen sand damage one..

FW . definitely should be running vents, I see so many blow up its crazy..
2lb or more dont need vents...
1.8lb foam or less , must run a vent...

as a side note, I had one team guy in the early years , when we did manual vents, the first thing he did was remove the vent plug and fill the housing with wax, because he was so forgetful..
the wax seals it when surfing, when you throw it in your car, if the board get hot enough to blow, the wax melts and get spat out..
but this system doesnt work on planes.. coz there is a pressure difference but not a temperature difference..
I had a few like that myself some team hand me downs and when jumping on planes I had to pierce the wax with a toothpick..

Hope that helps..
Regards
BERT

Hey Bert, your response makes me nervous for I have a non-vented FW that I have to take OS for a mate soon. Is it an issue?

I'm gonna start another thread and explain this one time clearly...

Sorry, paste and copy issues on my phone. Will do from com tomorrow...

Far out, G'day Bert. Watched your delam repair video just the other day after getting the board, super helpful. No syringe though so I'll have to use a sauce bottle dodgy brothers style. Thanks Dean for alerting Bert.

Yeah the inner gortex stayed in place but as you said the one on the base of the bung fell off after removing it. There's a little pimple in the gortex from the opening in the bung I can use to line it up how it was. Dab of epoxy at the edges be ok to hold in place?

Would a tiny bit of silicone paste around the perimeter of the rubber help the seal or likely just clog the gortex?

Any way to tell if the vent is leaking beside weighing it? Are older type replacements still available? Could only find the socket ones online. Guess I could always go the wax route haha, that is pretty clever though.

Sorry bout the rambling questions. Can I just say it's pretty bloody cool you took the time to reply to some nobody fixing up an old board. Really appreciate that Bert, cheers.

The condition of that piece of Gortex worries me, plus I only see a very small hole at the base of the Aluminum bung...
I think I know why FW decided to cancel vents looking at that...
We run a completely different design now, but when we ran one similar to that , the hole on the bottom of the Aluminum was way larger. in early trials with a similar design . if the hole was too small , it created a larger contact area , that squashed the Gortex between the Rubber and Aluminum , if you installed all the components at once and then tightened everything, the glue would get pressed out of the Gortex and migrate over the hole and stop it from breathing, I can see its happened to that one... so our hole in the Aluminum was like 0.5mm bigger than the breathable hole in the Gortex Membrane, so glue would migrate onto glue and create a rim , plus we would stick the Membrane on the Aluminum, allow it to dry for a week, then assemble everything, which was the ultimate solution anyway...

I would be more inclined to see if you can just find the Gortex stickers and replace them...
other option is find an old tire inner tube . cut a circle and just create a permanent seal, and have a manual vent. either get it hot and seal it once , or keep an allen key handy and undo with each use..

shapers.com.au/gore-air-vent-base/
Could you just fit one of these.

shapers.com.au/gore-air-vent-base/
Could you just fit one of these.

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LucienSanchez said..
Far out, G'day Bert. Watched your delam repair video just the other day after getting the board, super helpful. No syringe though so I'll have to use a sauce bottle dodgy brothers style. Thanks Dean for alerting Bert.

Yeah the inner gortex stayed in place but as you said the one on the base of the bung fell off after removing it. There's a little pimple in the gortex from the opening in the bung I can use to line it up how it was. Dab of epoxy at the edges be ok to hold in place?

Would a tiny bit of silicone paste around the perimeter of the rubber help the seal or likely just clog the gortex?

Any way to tell if the vent is leaking beside weighing it? Are older type replacements still available? Could only find the socket ones online. Guess I could always go the wax route haha, that is pretty clever though.

Sorry bout the rambling questions. Can I just say it's pretty bloody cool you took the time to reply to some nobody fixing up an old board. Really appreciate that Bert, cheers.

too easy lucien :)
i reckon buy a new one from sunova thailand (bert) ,pay the horrendous dhl cost and think no more..