I got in the wrench and a spare valve to try and fix a couple of valves on my raft. They are Summit 2 valves, which I have heard are tricky. That’s why I bought the spare valve, so I’d know what it looks like inside and out. I don’t think either of the valves are bad, but just misaligned in one case and dirty in the other case. I’ll clean them and line them up straight and hope that does it.
Anyone have advice? I’ve never done this sort of thing before. What are the tricks?
Oh, it’s a fishing raft, so that’s why it’s here. I don’t visit the Advice forum very often, so figured I’d ask here where I’m known and am unlikely to be insulted for not having been born with the innate knowledge and instinct for boat repair.
doesn’t seem to be too difficult … … though have never messed with raft valves personally .
If you unscrew the valve to take apart (seperate inside and outside halves) , the only thing I would suggest is that you deflate first so you can keep your hand on the inside part so it doesn’t go getting lost inside the chamber causing you to go on a hunt for it . You’ll need to hold the inside part both for loosening (seperating) and tightening back up .
It’s probably dirt/grit inside the valve preventing the seal ring from full contact that is causing a leak , but could also be that the inside and outside halves aren’t mating well through the valve patch hole itself .
Worse case scenario would be the valve patch itself is damaged at the center hole . That would require installing a new patch .
Mix some dishwashing liquid soap with water . Drizzle some around the perimeter of the valve where it contacts the valve patch cloth , look for bubbles . If it bubbles around valve body perimeter , take valve apart and reinstall making sure it is seated correctly to hole (look for possible splits at the hole) .
Pour some into inside of valve , if it bubbles there , try cleaning with alcohol and swab inside the valve .
Or you could just replace the outside half with the one you bought . Clean the old one after removing and save for later .
That was pretty much the plan I’m going to keep the known good valve clean and ready for action.
I know the floor valve is poorly seated. I can see it through the outside fabric. So I’m confident that’s an easy fix. If not, I hope not to have to order a new cell for the floor. My fear is that the hole in the cell is torn or worn and leaking. If that’s the case, I’m not sure how to fix it. I’m sure there’s some kind of way to make a patch and cut a new hole in the same place.
The other valve I’m almost certain is just dirty. I’m hoping that there’s not a hole in the cell. However, if there is, it’s a pinhole because the leak is very, very slow. A pinhole patch should be simple to repair, but could be difficult to find. Repair once found is just clean the surface and put on some repair tape. If it is just dirty, it will be good to be able to take it apart and give it a thorough cleaning then reinstall. I think swabbing out with a Q-Tip probably won’t do it in this case. But if I take it apart, I can depress the valve and clean the surface of the seal thoroughly, then maybe apply a little lubricant to be sure it remains soft.
It also looks like the cells may have gotten shifted a little bit in the outer skin. I’m going to see if I can do anything about that while I’ve got it all apart, and so I may as well clean and lubricate the zippers while I’m doing that. Not really sure how to do that, but I’m guessing an old toothbrush, some mild soap, and some beeswax ought to do the trick.
This is sounding like it will be an all day affair.
Easier than I expected I did it pretty much the way I thought I would and as described above. it went smoothly and I was able to wrap it up in about two and a half hours. I’ve got the raft fully inflated now. When I started two of three valves leaked. The floor valve leaked both around the valve and through the valve. The front valve leaked through the valve. Now none of the valves test as leaking. No bubbles whatever. I did have to do the floor a second time because it still leaked the first time. Now it doesn’t.
I still have a spare new valve and I put the valve wrench into the boat tool kit.
Hopefully tomorrow the boat will still be fully inflated. If so, I’ll feel pretty good.
Still holding It’s been two days and I haven’t had to top off. Seems like the repairs are good. Now I’ll put the rowing frame on and tie it to my porch waiting for Irene…
Valve repair Big_D, glad to hear your leaks have been repaired. I have a Seaeagle frameless pontoon boat and had to change a valve, pretty easy job. I don’t use it much here in FL but a fun boat on rivers.
Dave