Help with Changing a Zodiac Inflatable Bravo Valve

[dennisp]

NEED HELP! I have a Bombard (Zodiac) 265 Rollup Dinghy with a broken Bravo Valve that needs replacement. (The inside plastic retainer that holds the (center pin) air stopper is broken off.) The Zodiac valve is actually p/n Z67151. I have the (pvc?) spanner tool that came with the dinghy - new a few years ago. This spanner tool is supposed to go over the valve and, turning it CCW, the inside of the valve is supposed to be able to be removed. Problem: No matter how hard I try to turn it it is STUCK FAST,
- After trying for most of yesterday afternoon, by myself, and with my wife holding either the dinghy's skin with the valve, or trying to turn the spanner, we were unsuccessful.
- I even took it to my local marina's repair shop, and with the (a very experienced owner/mechanic), we tried - two strong men! - and we were unsuccessful in removing the valve. He said - and I also thought - any more force and the spanner will break!
Does ANYONE have suggestions? Anyone out there with experience changing inflatable valves that were severely stuck?
I don't see anything resembling this problem on the web. I already talked to the 'inflatable shop' at the (fine) dealer in CT where I bought the dinghy in 2012, and they have no suggestions. I keep getting told 'it will just come off' with a little pressure on the handle of the spanner tool. (And I have also tried to remove the other valve - the one that is OK...just to see if that one can be removed. It is as fixed (stuck!) as the broken valve. All I can imagine is that a Frenchman the size of Lou Ferrigno assembled this Bombard (Zodiac)! Anybody have any ideas to help me get the valve apart? Thanks for the attention and any suggestions.

 

[Parsons]

I assume that you have studied this, read the manual, etc. and are certain you are disassembling this in the correct manner. It's doubtful someone over-tightened something in manufacturing plastic joints, and more likely that time seized parts together post-assembly. Since you're in a salt environment, and the parts are plastic (non-oxidizing), the most likely culprit is crystallized salt. Have you tried soaking this in fresh water? Gaps in the screwed fitting are microscopic, so it will need some time. I'd hate to put petroleum-based lubricant onto a plastic parts, but perhaps you are getting desperate.

BTW, for those with an easier time disassembling, the tips section of Sail magazine recently had a little piece on keeping stuff together so you don't loose the pieces inside the dingy - http://www.sailmagazine.com/diy/sails-tip-of-the-week/

 

[dennisp]

I assume that you have studied this, read the manual, etc. and are certain you are disassembling this in the correct manner. It's doubtful someone over-tightened something in manufacturing plastic joints, and more likely that time seized parts together post-assembly. Since you're in a salt environment, and the parts are plastic (non-oxidizing), the most likely culprit is crystallized salt. Have you tried soaking this in fresh water? Gaps in the screwed fitting are microscopic, so it will need some time. I'd hate to put petroleum-based lubricant onto a plastic parts, but perhaps you are getting desperate.

BTW, for those with an easier time disassembling, the tips section of Sail magazine recently had a little piece on keeping stuff together so you don't loose the pieces inside the dingy - http://www.sailmagazine.com/diy/sails-tip-of-the-week/

Wow. thanks for a quick reply. I certainly can try and soak in fresh water, though this dinghy, in the (less than) 4 years since I bought it, generally stays rolled up in my garage. I have always about 2-3 times a summer unrolled and inflated it. I have - for generally no more than a few days (2-3) at a time - had it inflated and in the water next to my boat in the marina slip. The few days I actually had it on the water, towed behind my sailboat, it was only 1-2 days and only a couple of times. Each time I deflated it, and before rolling it up and storing in the garage, I washed it - mostly to get the sand out...not so much thinking of salt. But also I sail in a bay that is only slightly brackish, and the marina is located at the mouth of a large bayou that is pretty much fresh water supply to the bay's NW corner.
I can feel the - well, it feels like a hex-type nut on the - back side of the valve through the side of the dinghy's tube. I am not comfortable trying to hold this with more than my hand (not a good hold) because if I try to use a large channel lock or such tool, I am afraid of tearing the skin of the dinghy. I think, though, that if I try and use a 2x4 piece about 6-7 inches long, and then make an indentation in the large flat side, about 1/2 inch deep to match (a little larger) the shape of the hex-type nut and then round the sides of the indention I make (in other words, make a hex type nut on the side of the 2x4) and then line it with soft cloth, rubber sheet, felt, whatever, to protect the dinghy's skin and then use this as a base on the ground and under the valve, and then use the valve spanner on the top of the valve pushing down very hard and THEN trying to turn the spanner CCW, I might have a chance to break the seal. (After, of course soak in fresh water to see if that helps. I doubt it will, since the seal is so tight, I doubt water will infiltrate treads. We will see.)
Thanks for the suggestions and attention. I will post results. V/r, Dennis

 

[Parsons]

Based on your description of use and exposure, you're probably right about not getting salt crusts inside the threads. Most of the suggestions we would use on metal fittings are too damaging for plastic fittings next to PVC fabric - heat, chemicals, force. This might be a situation without a good solution.

 

[twalker H260]

Just a thought but it was likely assembled in a temperate climate, perhaps your temps are causing things to expand and tighten too much? You could try soaking the valve with ice/ice water for a bit and see if that gives you any success?

 

[dennisp]

Boy, it's been hot here in the panhandle the past week or so. (No action to fix this problem for a while.) I JUST received two new valves from the Connecticut-guys though. I now know what I have in the valve, how it comes apart, and I have a plan to fix it now. More on how it works in a day or so. I have decided I just have monstrously tight and/or very sticky valve threads!!! With the reverse side (inside the dinghy tubes) that I can now observe, I will make a very good fitting "nut" out of one side of a piece of 2x4, about 5 inches long, that I can put the valve in (hopefully without damaging the tubes/side of the dinghy, put it on the floor, and (using my super-human 70 YO strength/weight (and with someone holding the block of wood for me), I will push and turn that valve spanner until either (1) it breaks free, or (2) I bust the friggin' spanner or it's handle! More later.

 

[SFS]

Just a thought, but you never know. Are you sure it goes CCW to open? (The new valves will make this obvious.) But stranger things have happened. It's why I always start with "is it plugged in".

 

[dennisp]

SFS - thanks, very good point. I now do, however, have both parts (inside and outside) to two brand-new valves. I can assure that it's CCW to remove the interior to the broken valve on the Bombard/Zodiac. Thanks for the attention.

 

[Jacktar]

Try a little diet coke (or pepsi) on the threads, let sit for hour or so and try it.

 

[Rich Stidger]

How about some soap bubble solution that kids make bubbles with wands?

 

[gettinthere]

Soap or a very light vegetable oil and perhaps a bit of heat from a hair dryer. Then slow steady pressure