Figured out my drysuit inflation valve was freezing because of a $5 dust cap

So I was out on a job in Puget Sound back in January, water temp around 45. Every 20 minutes my drysuit inflation valve would start freezing open, constantly hissing air. I tried different regulators, different tanks, even swapped suits with a buddy. Nothing worked. Then this old diver at the shop said try a little rubber dust cap for the valve inlet when you're not using it. Turns out moisture was getting in there between dives and freezing up. Been doing it for 2 months now and zero issues. Any of you guys run into this or got other tricks for cold water valve problems?

2 comments

2 Comments

tylerlane29d ago

Last winter I was doing a bunch of ice dives up in Lake Tahoe and had my drysuit exhaust valve stick open on me... that was a fun 45 minutes trying to get out of the water with a suit slowly filling up. Ended up just taking the whole valve apart and smearing a thin layer of silicone grease on the diaphragm, which helped a ton. But now I'm wondering if the dust cap trick would've saved me that headache too... might start carrying one just in case. The moisture thing makes sense, I always just figured it was the cold air hitting the warm parts inside the valve.

willow24428d ago

@tylerlane makes a good point, dust caps are cheap insurance against a freezup nightmare.