Cant turn my valves!

Nile · 08 February 2011, 00:21

for some reason i cant seem to turn my valves on my Zodiac GRIII. They are all in the up/inflate position and i cant turn them down. I have a slow, even, leak through the whole boat and i couldnt find the leak with the soapy water method and im hoping the valves are the culprit. How do i turn my valves? Ive pushed and pulled and turned like crazy and nothing happens. Help please.

theboysmiffy · 08 February 2011, 12:22

I have a similar problem, I cant turn mine to the position to isolate the chambers (mkII Zodiac) so will be interested in any responses.

Adam

martini · 08 February 2011, 13:11

They should just turn, no special trick involved. Yours must be seized I guess.

cgoing · 08 February 2011, 13:12

The I/C valves are very maintenance intensive. According to Zodiac these valves should be cleaned and lubricated every 6 months. If they are stuck the grease in the valves has probably dried out.
The valves will probalby need to be completely cleaned and regreased.

Nile · 08 February 2011, 15:06

All 4 valves feel very seized up. Is it possible they could be the reason I'm slowly losing air? I have major problems finding helpful websites to inform me. If anyone knows a really good site that would be helpful it would be appreciated.

martini · 08 February 2011, 15:19

Someone pointed this one out to me recently, might be of interest to you with regard to maintenance/repair.

http://usmc.boats.dt.navy.mil/crrc/zodiac.asp

achille2124 · 08 February 2011, 16:46

Like most of the people said is true, these valves need regular maintenance so they might be seized if not greased recently.

The leak that deflates the whole is mostly because all your valves are in "inflation" position, so all section of the tubes are communicating at this time. Usually you use the inflation position to inflate the whole boat from one valve. After that, you have to put it in "navigation' position so each sections are independant.

If you manage to turn it all in navigation position, you should get a more precise idea where the leak's at.

cgoing · 08 February 2011, 19:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nile

All 4 valves feel very seized up. Is it possible they could be the reason I'm slowly losing air? I have major problems finding helpful websites to inform me. If anyone knows a really good site that would be helpful it would be appreciated.

Not sure if it is the only reason but it certainly could be one of the reasons why the boat is losing some air. Certainly it is also going to lose some air over time as that is normal. i have no clue how much you are losing but some loss is normal.

gotchiguy · 08 February 2011, 20:54

Bill'll fix it for you

thornbackflound · 08 February 2011, 21:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

Bill'll fix it for you

Like thats really gonna help him,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,not

prairie tuber · 08 February 2011, 22:38

The first thing, before being able to turn those valves, is to be able to pull the large chrome ring away from the backing ring on the inside of the fabric. This might require an extra pair of strong hands. There is a tension spring (which is there for the overpressure blow off) which pulls these 2 surfaces toward each other and has one surface seat against the other surface to maintain an airtight seal. If the lube between these surfaces has dried out and they surfaces are adhering somewhat to each other, it will be much easier to pull the surfaces straight apart than rotate one on the other.

Nile · 09 February 2011, 02:47

i went to disassemble my valves today and this was as far as i could get. i know theres a nut down there so i loosened it and i still wasnt able to get the valve out or to be able to turn. they obviously need to be cleaned and maintained. just so everyone knows, i got this boat motor and trailer for $100! i had to buy it. i know it needs work but im more than willing to have a boat for that cheap.

prairie tuber · 09 February 2011, 06:31

$ 100 !!!

The tubes look to be sound. The transom & floorboards may need some refinishing, but still that is basically a free boat. Nothing wrong with an older Mark III GR !

thornbackflound · 09 February 2011, 22:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nile

i went to disassemble my valves today and this was as far as i could get. i know theres a nut down there so i loosened it and i still wasnt able to get the valve out or to be able to turn. they obviously need to be cleaned and maintained. just so everyone knows, i got this boat motor and trailer for $100! i had to buy it. i know it needs work but im more than willing to have a boat for that cheap.

Loverly little project that,remiinds me of the Earl when i first got her ,now im getting ideas from that steering set up,mmmmmmmmmmmm,the earl when first got she looks better now second pic,good luck with her ,hope you get the valves sorted,i have a broken self relief valve on mine,plugged it and its fine,well it stays up for a couple of wks,lol,IS THERE NOT SOME SORT OF LIQUID THAT WOULD LOOSEN THE VLVES TO TURN?,(HYPALON FRIENDLY OF COURSE )