I was wondering if anyone could advise me what type of glue to use on valves that have de-laminated from the leading edge bladder.

Thanks JT

hi,
tarzan clear from bunings worked well for me on my crappy north rebel....

Vinyl repair glue (from pool supply shops)

Stormboy said...

last wk i used stormwater pipe glue (upvc glue), you have the red primer to clean it and the blue to glue worked a treat

Great idea! Just saved me $50! Had pipe cement under the sink and was about to go out and buy more stick ons unnecessarily! Next time you're in Sydney I owe you a beer mate!

This seems to be an escalating problem. My 2006 Slinghshot Fuel has now had four of the valves come off in the last couple of months. Not something you want to happen abruptly if you're 1km offshore. I think there must have been a run of dodgy bladder manufacturing that got out undetected at some stage. I keep hearing of loads of folks having the same problem with a variety of different kites and brands lately.

Might want to pull the bladder out of your older kites and check the integrity of those valve attachment points. You can spot the bad ones right away--the edge of the valve starts to peel away from the bladder. Once it starts, it's only a matter of time before it will just peel off--and the air dumps rapidly.

Stormboy, mate that sounds like a cracker of an idea, i'll head off to the plumbing suppliers now. To all that replied thanks for the information.

Cheers Jules

There is a bit of heat assoc with the reaction that i was concerned about, but it was no prob my 06 7m Fuel dump valveappears so far to be fixed. Have since had two sessions one at an class flat water spot at 25-30kn, unfortunately no one wanted to be out of the water so only pics r before n after sess.

From another thread used weights as the hole in the middle was perfect size for the valve, of course bladder must be flat. What little was left attached on mine i pulled gentyl off someone else suggested heating up i think?

Hmmm. Tried the PVC plumbers glue today to try and re-attach a one-pump strut valve that had come off. Definite no-go. Seems to soften the latex and the plastic valve and doesn't stick well. NOT recommended. Stick-on replacements definitely work better, even if they do cost more...

Howdy

Did you glue the valves back on the outside of the bladder?

Just happened to my Ion2 and the valves were originally glued from the inside (assuming they were put in place before the bladder was sealed up into the tube shape)

Weird thing is that it's only the pump valves - the valves to the struts look fine.


PS the glue from Bunnings was $5.95 so you'll be able to do your free fixes even cheaper

Cheers
Rod

Hi Guys,

We have U-Stick valves in stock now and they work brilliantly in cases where glue wont work. They also only take about 3 minutes to put on and you can go kiting immediately.

Still have the Vinyl pool glue too which also works but is a lot more hassle.

Good winds,

I'm with you tobes, the chemicals in the PVC glue will thin out the bladder and corrode it away. Try using corking gun silicon and a patch from a lilo camping mattress or blow up pool toy. Cover the patch in the silicon and stick it on (you need to make the silicon about 3mm think), use your finger to smooth it all out. Then once dry it is flexible so its perfect for bladder repairs, but its a little bit sticky, just rub some talcum powder onto it and your laughing. Worked for me very well.

Hope that helps.