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I was curious how other divers have punched the hole into their drysuits to install their p-valves. I am a little shaky about cutting into such an expensive suit.
I am installing a diverite p-valve into a diverite drysuit.
So any help or suggesitons would be appreciated
thanks Jared
my best suggestion would be to send it to someone that specializes in drysuit repair. like you said, it would be a shame to do it wrong and mess up an expensive suit. I can suggest someone but I dont think "according to rule number something stupid" i cant advertise the persons services. PM me and I'll give you his name. His initials are SG though :wink:
Titen, there's a button at the bottom of his post labeled "PM." You could utilize that button to send him Steve Gamble's name directly.
;-)
I know I am just pretending to be too lazyQuote:
Originally Posted by Sludge
I used a block of wood (inside the leg) a spent .45 cal shell casing and a big hammer. Made a nice clean hole in my tri-lam. I heated a nail and then used it to heat/melt the edges. I finished everything off with RTV silicone to install. No leaks so far.
His work is top notch and very affordable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Titen
I used a soldering iron for mine. It burns the material and seals the edges as it goes. Did a small hole and checked the size before increasing it to the proper size. I knew I could have sent it to a number of people, but I am a DIY guy and enjoyed the process. With that being said, it was difficult to willingly put a hole in a perfectly good suit to start with.Quote:
Originally Posted by mrpolar
Gah... don't send your suit to someone for something as easy as a p-valve install.
I bought a punch at a hardware store for like $3. Put your suit and, and find where you want your p-valve. Mark it with a marker. Put a block of wood in the suit, and punch a hole in it.
My entire p-valve install took me about 5 minutes, 3 of which were putting on the suit and finding where I wanted it.
If you need professional assistance for making a hole, you're pretty inept.
I used a .38 casing. Put a bit of an edge on it with a round file, backed it with a wood block, and drove it thru with one precision hammer blow.
I simply screwed the p-valve thru the hole (it was quite snug) and did not use any sealer. Hasn't leaked a drop in 3 years.
I'm a .40 S&W kind of guy, but I used a pair of sharp scissors and aquaseal to keep it dry. No leaks, no issues. Did it at a picnic table at Ginnie, on a Dive Rite trilam suit. Took about 30 minutes, all done.
Mark
I use a one half inch grommet punch. It works fine.
I went the soldering iron route. Once you decide where you want to place the valve it about a 5 minute install. With the soldering iron it very easy to slowly increase the diameter of the hole until the valve fits perfect. Just make sure to protect the backside of the suit or you will get to practice patching a hole as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by diesel128
Same here too- great job on mine. Valve.pocket,and neck seal
when your back up at CE ask Rob for the tools. We did Mike’s suit at CE and he dove it the next day.