SiTech drysuit exhaust valve disassembly

[TSandM]

Because I got rolled in the sand in Monterey AGAIN, I recently had to learn how to disassemble SiTech drysuit inflater and exhaust valves. I couldn't find any information on the exhaust valve on line -- the few posts I found said not to try it, because the plastic was too fragile and would break. Since I couldn't fix the valve any other way, I decided to go for it, and it proved surprisingly easy to do.

Because I couldn't find anything on this on line, I made a little photo essay to help anybody else who decides to tackle this. Rather than crosspost the whole thing, HERE's the link.

Total tools: One screwdriver. Time to disassemble, clean and reassemble -- less than ten minutes.

Hope this will help anybody else who finds themselves in my position.

 

[AlaskaDiver]

Loved the photo & play by play of the exhaust valve disassembly. Andy's sent me a spare & some directions in 2001 before they eventually went out of business. Do you have a link for disassembly to facilitate the cleaning of the chest inflator valve?

 

[tstormdiver]

That would have been very helpful when the exhaust valve on my drysuit had to be removed to remove sand from it. There was some cosmetic damage done to my exhaust valve, while disassembling it, but it is still quite operable. To have instructions like that would have been evry helpful.

 

[AlaskaDiver]

Thanks Tammy. I was looking now for the chest inflator valve disassembly as it annoyingly slowly inflates. I never used the White's inflator hose that came with the drysuit as I use MiFlex hoses except on my SPG. As far as the chest inflator valve goes, I know that I can easily hand turn off the interior valve for inspection. It appeared clean. I'm thinking the issue is internal. I was thiking of buying a new one and then once cleaned, the original on could be a spare. Got any ideas where I can get a spare?

 

[laughingman]

My wife wants to switch to a Si-tech from her leaky Apeks, but how do you actually get the Apeks exhaust valve off?! I've tried a bit but can't get anything to budge and don't want to wreck the suit. I've seen the great how-to on disassembling and cleaning the Si-techs, but no real guidance on removing the leaky Apeks. Is there a special tool needed? Do you just jam something into the inside half and torque like h***? Crush it with pliers and remove pieces?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[AlaskaDiver]

I ended up calling a dive shop & had an SiTech valve sent. It should be here on Thursday. I'll probably send them the old one and see if they can service it.

 

[dave4868]

My wife wants to switch to a Si-tech from her leaky Apeks, but how do you actually get the Apeks exhaust valve off?! I've tried a bit but can't get anything to budge and don't want to wreck the suit. I've seen the great how-to on disassembling and cleaning the Si-techs, but no real guidance on removing the leaky Apeks. Is there a special tool needed? Do you just jam something into the inside half and torque like h***? Crush it with pliers and remove pieces?
Any help would be appreciated.

Here's a link to my posting that shows pics of my disassembled Apeks exhaust valve:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/3097380-post9.html

IIRC, it's just a matter of unscrewing the inside part by turning its base counterclockwise while holding in place the outer part (the adjusting cap and its threaded male flange base). My exhaust valve's inner base can be turned and removed quite easily, leaving the threaded flange still attached and extending through the suit material.

Holding the outer part in place is easier if you turn the adjustment cap counterclockwise to its fully open position against its stop. Also, the outer part is more likely to remain in place since it's in contact with the silicone seal whereas the inner part is in contact only with suit material.

Feel free to contact me by PM if this isn't clear.

By the way, my Apeks had a slight leak also, but avoiding the fully open position cured the problem. Closing it just a half turn from full open was enough to help the weak spring keep the water out.

Dave C

 

[fppf]

Here is the exploded view, just need to look in the correct places.
http://www.frogkick.dk/manuals/sitech/sitec%20valve.pdf

 

[divad]

Awesome, useful post, thank you. I just took mine apart as per instructions/pictures and think that I now (at least intuitively) understand how it works.... MMMV as it invariably does.

 

[TSandM]

fppf, I had the exploded view, but it didn't give me much of an idea of how to get the thing apart in the first place. That's why I posted the photo essay. I DID do quite a few searches before I "did it myself".