First Drysuit

[berndo]

Wouldn't the backpressure experienced when trying to pee through an unbalanced p-valve that you did not prime depend in part on the depth at which you first try to pee? By not priming, the tubing is left full of air.

There is no backpressure. From what would there be any pressure? The air in the hose is the exact same pressure as the water in the tube and the water around you. There could only be backpressure when there is a difference in pressure anywhere in the system but there isn't.

Voila--conversion to unbalanced p-valve. That did the trick in stopping the leaking. I do not have an opinion on any potential "squeeze" with the resulting unbalanced p-valve because I always primed it before descending (almost always need to, thanks to the coffee I drank that morning). I didn't do any experimentation with not priming, descending, and then trying to pee at depth.

Not really, the H has a check valve under the knob, right? Did you take out that check valve too?
The check valve is only in there because of the duckbill. Maybe you're thinking of backpressure because you only half-modified your valve. A normal unbalanced valve has no check valves. It's just a hose you can plug at the end.
When you just plug the hole were the duckbill was you have to prime and do run the risk of a squeeze. Take out the check valve too and you don't have to pee in the parking lot or on the surface.

 

[Lorenzoid]

@berndo , so you're saying that the balancing feature has no effect? Just a sales gimmick?

 

[berndo]

@berndo , so you're saying that the balancing feature has no effect? Just a sales gimmick?

I think I know now where this 'you have to prime' comes from.

It has an effect. When you have a check valve and no duckbill, you have to prime. (What you probably have)

When you take out the check valve and the duckbill you have a normal, old school p-valve and those you don't have to prime.

 

[broncobowsher]

The OP was looking for help with ordering a drysuit and it turned into a pissing contest.

OP, use any of them. They work. Just some may be better for some people than others.
FYI, if you get a Trigon and don't like it, your stuck. The Trigon uses a large hole in the drysuit like no other. It would take some patch work to fill in the hole to put a normal sized one in.

 

[Gelirfella]

The OP was looking for help with ordering a drysuit and it turned into a pissing contest.

OP, use any of them. They work. Just some may be better for some people than others.
FYI, if you get a Trigon and don't like it, your stuck. The Trigon uses a large hole in the drysuit like no other. It would take some patch work to fill in the hole to put a normal sized one in.

Given the warring claims. That is probably the most useful piece of information.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

The OP was looking for help with ordering a drysuit and it turned into a pissing contest.

OP, use any of them. They work. Just some may be better for some people than others.
FYI, if you get a Trigon and don't like it, your stuck. The Trigon uses a large hole in the drysuit like no other. It would take some patch work to fill in the hole to put a normal sized one in.

That's a really good point.. I had forgotten that. At least with LM you'd be able to switch.

The reality is regardless of what you pick they've worked out all the kinks and it will just work. I use either suit, deep clean the valve every ~ 6 months, try to flush it every dive and no errors besides user errors.

Something like 106 hours on the Trigon and 38 hours on the LM.

 

[berndo]

The reality is regardless of what you pick they've worked out all the kinks and it will just work. I use either suit, deep clean the valve every ~ 6 months, try to flush it every dive and no errors besides user errors.

Something like 106 hours on the Trigon and 38 hours on the LM.

I don't know why you say they have 'worked all the kinks out'. The one-way valves/duckbill haven't changed. They will leak into you suit sooner or later.

100 hours of use is not alot. Hours in the water is not a useful metric for p-valves either. It's how many times you used it and how many times they didn't leak.
The point that I was trying to make it that balanced p-valves (even if you take out the duckbill) have no advantage but only disadvantages compared to unbalanced ones. The issue with the trigon is not only the hole you have to cut but that you can't close it.

The only disadvantage that was brought up was the priming, which is not a thing unless you jerry-rig a balanced one into a semi unbalanced one.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

I don't know why you say they have 'worked all the kinks out'. The one-way valves/duckbill haven't changed. They will leak into you suit sooner or later.

100 hours of use is not alot. Hours in the water is not a useful metric for p-valves either. It's how many times you used it and how many times they didn't leak.
The point that I was trying to make it that balanced p-valves (even if you take out the duckbill) have no advantage but only disadvantages compared to unbalanced ones. The issue with the trigon is not only the hole you have to cut but that you can't close it.

The only disadvantage that was brought up was the priming, which is not a thing unless you jerry-rig a balanced one into a semi unbalanced one.

And what I'm saying is it's 2023. Halcyon, Dive Rite, Light Monkey all pretty much make the same design balanced p valve and there just aren't as many issues as "maybe" what you've experienced in the past? Where's all the recent threads about leaking P valves? It's just non existent at this point.

I piss more than other any human I know, my dive buddies make fun of me for it... my wife makes fun of me for it. I don't ever dive without being connected because to me it's just not worth the mental anguish. I "use" my p valve quite a lot, probably 6 or 7 times a dive. Just something about being in the water makes me have to go. If something ever happens to my $75 or whatever Trigon P valve I'll replace it.. I don't expect anything to last forever. It doesn't owe me anything at this point. Same goes for the LM. And I'm not all that careful about cleaning them either... I mean I try, but a lot of times it doesn't happen.

Really splitting hairs here. OP can get whatever valve he wants... I just hope he realizes as long as he buys reputable and learns how to use it they all work and it doesn't matter.

 

[berndo]

Where's all the recent threads about leaking P valves? It's just non existent at this point.

Right, because it's not in threads on scubaboard . People have leaks all the time without posting about it. The 2023 valves don't work any differently than the ones from ten years ago.
Most of the stuff posted in this thread is missinformation. 5 people agreeing that you need ankle weights to dive a drysuit doesn't make it true.
Believe what you want.

 

[lexvil]

And what I'm saying is it's 2023. Halcyon, Dive Rite, Light Monkey all pretty much make the same design balanced p valve and there just aren't as many issues as "maybe" what you've experienced in the past? Where's all the recent threads about leaking P valves? It's just non existent at this point.

I piss more than other any human I know, my dive buddies make fun of me for it... my wife makes fun of me for it. I don't ever dive without being connected because to me it's just not worth the mental anguish. I "use" my p valve quite a lot, probably 6 or 7 times a dive. Just something about being in the water makes me have to go. If something ever happens to my $75 or whatever Trigon P valve I'll replace it.. I don't expect anything to last forever. It doesn't owe me anything at this point. Same goes for the LM. And I'm not all that careful about cleaning them either... I mean I try, but a lot of times it doesn't happen.

Really splitting hairs here. OP can get whatever valve he wants... I just hope he realizes as long as he buys reputable and learns how to use it they all work and it doesn't matter.

Not worth the bother Rob some people get set in their beliefs and won’t change and sometime seem to relish causing confusion and discord.