Home
I'm a diver. I have thousands and thousands of dives in a Drysuit. So installing, wearing and using a Pee Valve is as normal as breathing to me.
When I'm wading - (streams, rivers, the occasional lake) - the shore is never far away. But now that I'm doing longer session in the tube, and more frequently they're in public and upscale saltwater locations (marinas, bays, harbors)... not only is there not a convivial Male bush or shrub nearby, but employing "the Rainbow" method of relieve over the top of the waders when tubing amongst 7 and 8 digit yachts is impolite.
I need a solution. So it hit me the other day: just install a Pee valve into my waders.
Its super easy, fast, and if you have 4 or 5 hours before your trip, you'll have enough time for the adhesive to set up proper and be able to install and go.
Step 1: Get to the place where you can punch a hole in your perfectly functional and dry waders. Once you're in a good head space, you'll be able to get this done without further issues.
Step 2: Locate the PV and mark your waders I recommend having the discharge on the inside-top of your thigh. When you're sitting in most modern tubes, it'll be out of the water (no biggie) but it will also be out of the way, sitting under your stripping apron.
Put on the waders, and sit in a chair. Decide if you hang right, left or center, and place the PV where it will land (right leg or left leg... for me, I've always had them on the left.) Grab a sharpie, make a mark on your waders.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Step 3: Take a breath, make the hole. For dry suits, I use a punch - as they generally are made from only one layer of material (neoprene, compressed neoprene, Nylon, etc.) I use Simms Gore-tex waders, and there are many layers - so I used a Soldering Iron - so it would kind of sear the edge of all the layers. It was a good call. Not a good smell... but a good call.
Once the hole is made, you need to hand-tighten the assembled valve through the hole, and align the drain tube with how you dress - so it points up towards your descending junk. This is important, as the straighter the route, the smoother the flow. I used a sharpie and put two marks on the puck of the Pee Valve and the inside of the waders.
Now, take it apart - you're almost ready.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Step 4: Prep your adhesive. Now that you know where its going to be installed, blend up your Aquaseal and Cotol. Cotol is a drying agent for Aquaseal, and will make it dry to usable in about 4 hours or so.
*** NEVER use Aquaseal on the outside part of the valve. If you have to get it off, move it, replace it - you can't... you'll have to cut it out. Use a silicone adhesive for the outside.
Roll down your waders so you have access to both sides around the hole you just punched.... you're going to be slathering up the two parts of the valve... you don't want to be fumbling around now and smearing adhesive all over the place.
Slather the inside of the puck with your mixture of Aquaseal and Cotol. For the outside piece of the valve, a nice doughnut of silicone will do - from the center to about 2/3 out towards the edge. Remember - when you wrench this thing down, you want the silicone to just kiss the edge of this outside piece, and not explode all over the place on the outside of your waders.
Carefully assemble the pieces, make sure you're alignment marks on the inside of the Waders are together (so the drain tube is facing upward towards Moby) and then wrench that thing down.
LET. IT. SIT. Overnight is preferred. 4 or 5 hours is the minimum.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Step 5: Strain Relief for the fill tube and QD. You don't want this tube flopping all over the place, pulling against the adhesive. I will generally take a spare patch of neoprene, cut a couple of holes in it, route the tube through the holes and Aquaseal the patch to the inside of the suit. In a pinch, a piece of Gorilla tape works great!
Other Info:
You need to groom the run. There is nothing quite as jarring as taking a cath off of a poorly manicured surface.
This is my source for the Caths. I dive a lot, so I go through these. You don't need to buy them by the case, but they're much cheaper if you do. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
I prefer an Unbalanced Pee Valve. I get mine rom Light Monkey (love these guys!) here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Spring the extra $ and get the QD (Quick Disconnect) - You'll thank me. I don't attach the plumbing until I'm about to settle into the tube... no need pulling and straining against the Cath while I'm loading and unloading the gear. With a QD, I can Cath up at home in the morning, and simply click in at the launch site
A wise man will have several inserts for the QD (McMaster-Carr has them) as they get lost
Until you've done this a few times, you may want to take the cath off in the shower.
Cut about 1/4" off the tip of the Cath before inserting the barbed end of the QD.... prevents kinks and by preventing kinks you prevent blowoffs.
Took it out this morning - perfecto!
Had perfect flow, it was comfortable, discreet and I can stay hydrated for my marathon SPDan sessions.
I've installed about a dozen of these over the years and have a zillion dives on them. If I can answer any questions, just let me know.
- Ken
When I'm wading - (streams, rivers, the occasional lake) - the shore is never far away. But now that I'm doing longer session in the tube, and more frequently they're in public and upscale saltwater locations (marinas, bays, harbors)... not only is there not a convivial Male bush or shrub nearby, but employing "the Rainbow" method of relieve over the top of the waders when tubing amongst 7 and 8 digit yachts is impolite.
I need a solution. So it hit me the other day: just install a Pee valve into my waders.
Its super easy, fast, and if you have 4 or 5 hours before your trip, you'll have enough time for the adhesive to set up proper and be able to install and go.
Step 1: Get to the place where you can punch a hole in your perfectly functional and dry waders. Once you're in a good head space, you'll be able to get this done without further issues.
Step 2: Locate the PV and mark your waders I recommend having the discharge on the inside-top of your thigh. When you're sitting in most modern tubes, it'll be out of the water (no biggie) but it will also be out of the way, sitting under your stripping apron.
Put on the waders, and sit in a chair. Decide if you hang right, left or center, and place the PV where it will land (right leg or left leg... for me, I've always had them on the left.) Grab a sharpie, make a mark on your waders.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Step 3: Take a breath, make the hole. For dry suits, I use a punch - as they generally are made from only one layer of material (neoprene, compressed neoprene, Nylon, etc.) I use Simms Gore-tex waders, and there are many layers - so I used a Soldering Iron - so it would kind of sear the edge of all the layers. It was a good call. Not a good smell... but a good call.
Once the hole is made, you need to hand-tighten the assembled valve through the hole, and align the drain tube with how you dress - so it points up towards your descending junk. This is important, as the straighter the route, the smoother the flow. I used a sharpie and put two marks on the puck of the Pee Valve and the inside of the waders.
Now, take it apart - you're almost ready.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Step 4: Prep your adhesive. Now that you know where its going to be installed, blend up your Aquaseal and Cotol. Cotol is a drying agent for Aquaseal, and will make it dry to usable in about 4 hours or so.
*** NEVER use Aquaseal on the outside part of the valve. If you have to get it off, move it, replace it - you can't... you'll have to cut it out. Use a silicone adhesive for the outside.
Roll down your waders so you have access to both sides around the hole you just punched.... you're going to be slathering up the two parts of the valve... you don't want to be fumbling around now and smearing adhesive all over the place.
Slather the inside of the puck with your mixture of Aquaseal and Cotol. For the outside piece of the valve, a nice doughnut of silicone will do - from the center to about 2/3 out towards the edge. Remember - when you wrench this thing down, you want the silicone to just kiss the edge of this outside piece, and not explode all over the place on the outside of your waders.
Carefully assemble the pieces, make sure you're alignment marks on the inside of the Waders are together (so the drain tube is facing upward towards Moby) and then wrench that thing down.
LET. IT. SIT. Overnight is preferred. 4 or 5 hours is the minimum.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Step 5: Strain Relief for the fill tube and QD. You don't want this tube flopping all over the place, pulling against the adhesive. I will generally take a spare patch of neoprene, cut a couple of holes in it, route the tube through the holes and Aquaseal the patch to the inside of the suit. In a pinch, a piece of Gorilla tape works great!
Other Info:
You need to groom the run. There is nothing quite as jarring as taking a cath off of a poorly manicured surface.
This is my source for the Caths. I dive a lot, so I go through these. You don't need to buy them by the case, but they're much cheaper if you do. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
I prefer an Unbalanced Pee Valve. I get mine rom Light Monkey (love these guys!) here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Spring the extra $ and get the QD (Quick Disconnect) - You'll thank me. I don't attach the plumbing until I'm about to settle into the tube... no need pulling and straining against the Cath while I'm loading and unloading the gear. With a QD, I can Cath up at home in the morning, and simply click in at the launch site
A wise man will have several inserts for the QD (McMaster-Carr has them) as they get lost
Until you've done this a few times, you may want to take the cath off in the shower.
Cut about 1/4" off the tip of the Cath before inserting the barbed end of the QD.... prevents kinks and by preventing kinks you prevent blowoffs.
Took it out this morning - perfecto!
Had perfect flow, it was comfortable, discreet and I can stay hydrated for my marathon SPDan sessions.
I've installed about a dozen of these over the years and have a zillion dives on them. If I can answer any questions, just let me know.
- Ken
Last edited by Mo2vation on Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:12 pm; edited 1 time in total
