pee valves

[dirtydon]

new bare trilam tech suit. pee valve yes or no? which one? shop install or owner install. thanks,don't want wet feet

[Jack Hammer]

I say Yes, install yourself (hardest part is getting yourself to make the hole in suit). Pick which brand you like. There is a lot of info on the different types available. you have to decide whether you want balanced or unbalanced.

Jack

[dirtydon]

is there any sites here on the difference on balanced un balanced?thankes

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by dirtydon

is there any sites here on the difference on balanced un balanced?thankes

Sure, this one.

It's called search.

Or, you don't even need to search. Down below there's a section called "Similar threads" (go ahead and scroll all the way down, I'll wait). Right in there is the thread you want.

OR, we copy the link from down below for you:

Pee-Valves

-CD

(feelin' grumpy)

[skdvr]

If you are fairly handy you can do the install yourself. Both p-valves that I have are balanced, and I personally would stick with those. I have a Dive Rite, which is very nice buy kind of expensive for something to pee through. I also have a Salvo Balanced P-Valve, which is also nice.

I bought the Dive Rite for my Fusion Drysuit because of the construction of it, it worked well with the 2 piece construction of the Fusion. You can see the process of the install here. The nice thing about the Dive Rite is that when you have to go you just go. With some other valves such as the Salvo you have to loosen a bolt on the outside of the suit before you go. With the Dive Rite you can also easily remove it from the suit for better/easier cleaning. The Salvo is not supposed to be removable but when I did the install of my Salvo valve on my other DS I made it so that it was easily removable for cleaning.

Overall the install is pretty easy, but it is a little nerve racking just before you are about to punch a hole in your suit....

Phil

[Roughwater]

If you do it yourself, don't do what a guy I know did and put the block of wood under the leg instead of inside the leg. He got two holes. One at the front, and one at the rear!



As for balanced vs unbalanced, I've used both. There are pro's and con's for both, and I'm no expert on Pee valves, so here's some info for what it's worth. (Criticism and comments welcomed).

Unbalanced

Unbalanced are normally cheaper. Very simple to use. Turn on / turn off, so it's easy to know if it's turned off when you're not 'plugged in'.

The problem with unbalanced is that you can get a nasty squeeze if you're plugged in, and don't have it opened before descent. However, while uncomfortable, you figure out what's going on very quickly and remedy the situation, so it's not real dangerous, just.... 'uncomfortable'.

Some concerns I've heard with unbalanced is that water is let in and flows up the pipe to your body. If the valve or tubes have not been cleaned properly they could contain bacteria that can find it's way to you and can increase the chance of a urinary infection. (This is here-say, not speaking from experience).

Balanced
Balanced use the air from inside your drysuit to equalise the plumbing, so you won't get that unpleasant squeeze on descent. Due to this, water shouldn't flow from outside to the inside at all thus you should have less chance of urinary infections too.

My balanced valve has no way of a permanent turn-off. Because water should never flow inside the suit, you can't close the outside valve completely. The valve is expected to do it's job every time. This then leads to the problem if I'm not plumbed up, and the valve fails, I'm going to get wet. However this seems to be related only to the valve I have. I have seen other balanced valves that can be completely closed from the outside.

One concern I have is if the outer valve has failed or is blocked, you will not know this until you are at depth and start to ascend. At this stage the pressure in the plumbing will increase (compared to the pressure outside) as you ascend and will have no escape route. This means you have ever increasing pressure inside the tubes which may force air up where it's not wanted. I haven't had this happen to myself, but have heard stories of others that have had complications. Unlike an unbalanced valve where you get a squeeze on descent (and can either fix the problem, or abort the dive at the beginning, so not dangerous) I'm concerned discovering the scenario above at depth could pose some danger to your anatomy. (Although this seems to be a very rare problem).

So, from my experience and those I've talked to - both have pro's and con's.

Personally, having dived with both, (and not had any problems with either) I would probably just go for an unbalanced simple valve for my next drysuit. While I'm not against balanced valves, I don't see the additional value for the extra money I've had to spend. ($40 vs $150 USD between the balanced and unbalanced valve that I purchased).

Just my 2c...

[boat]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

(feelin' grumpy)

dude, seriously - it wouldn't bother me if you kept to SB.

[cummings66]

Halcyon Streamlined P Valve, I have one and love it. Can be closed down if you want as well, so if you don't use it there's absolutely no issue with leakage. Not a bad price either.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by boat

dude, seriously - it wouldn't bother me if you kept to SB.

And that helps out one of very few actually grumpy posts like this I've made since the board started, how, exactly?

Thank you for your extraordinarily helpful contribution to the thread. At least I actually posted a link that answered the question, even if I was uncharacteristically grumpy about it. This is not SB. Don't act like it.

[boat]

That's not your first post that said "do a search". You have your pet peeves and I have mine. Guess we both better let it go or we'll both be banished to ScubaBoard.