Kite Valve Repair by Dave Dorn.

Kite Leaks can be annoying, but fixing them doesn't have to be.

You can have a professional repair person fix your leaks. But that takes time and money. So it is better to learn how to fix them by yourself. There are the slow leaks that are sometimes harder to find, and there are fast obvious leaks that are easy to find. If your kite gets a little soft after two hours of flying, I wouldn't bother fixing it. But if the kite gets a little soggy after 30minutes, then you have to find the leak and fix it.

What Will You Need?:

Peel and Stick Patches, tear-aid tape, Scissors, Dish Soap, a peel-n-stick replacement valve, kite bladder glue, spare kite bladder material, a large bucket full of water, a kite pump, some extra kite lines, a buddy, and about half an hour.

Kite Damage: If your kite exploded from being in the sun, or getting bent backwards, chances are that the strut seam or fabric has ruptured, letting the bladder over-expand and break. If there is any structural kite damage on the fabric of the struts, or loose stitching on any seam, it must be fixed before attempting to replace the bladders.

FINDING LEAKS:

If you just crashed your kite in a tree, and your kite starts to leak, look for it where the obvious damage is.

If you kite just sprung a mystery leak, you should carefully check it over.

1. Pump the kite quite hard, and then inspect the entire strut. 
2. Listen for leaks by putting your ear on the strut.
3. If you cannot find it this way, spray the kite with water and look for bubbles, you can use soapy water too for better bubbles.
4. If you cannot detect the leaks with the bladder in the kite, check the obvious parts of the bladder first.
5. Deflate the LE, then check the bladder ends, and check the valves near the zipper.
6. You can do this without removing the entire bladder, just open the Velcro ends, or open the zipper.
7. If you still cannot find the leak you will have to remove the bladder from the kite.
8. carefully remove the bladder through the open zipper, being careful not to snag or tear the bladder.
9. Then you can inspect the bladder closely paying particular attention to the seams, and any lumps or bumps.
10. Partially inflate the bladder, and check for leaks, use soapy water or a bucket or bathtub full of water.
11. Submerge the inflated bladder one section at a time, and wait to see if air bubbles are coming up.
12. Mark any holes you find with a waterproof marker so you can find them later.

FIXING SMALL KITE LEAKS:

Small Slow leaks on the bladder are easily fixed with a peel-and-stick patch. Make sure the hole is marked, and the bladder is fully dry before putting on the patch. The bladder should be free of dirt, salt, and sand. Put the deflated bladder on a flat surface and flatten out the kite so there are no creases in the bladder when you apply the patch. peel and stick patches are instant, so you do not have to wait to use the kite. Make sure you check for and fix for all leaks before reinstalling the bladder in the kite. Leaks on the seams are harder to fix than on the flat part of the bladder. Try to avoid using glue products on the bladder. peel-n-stick patches and glue do not usually mix together.

FIXING LARGER KITE LEAKS:

Big (fast) leaks on kites can often be attributed to the kite's valves. The valves are easy to see and get to. The kite valves should be inspected and repaired as necessary. Kite Bladders valves can get loose, fall off, or delaminate. Most valves were attached with a process called "ultrasonoic welding". This method sometimes tended to fail after a year or so. The worst thing is leaving your kites in a hot car day after day, the heat will cause the valves to detach from the bladders.

To Inspect the Kite  (L.E.) Valves:

1. With the kite deflated, open the zipper on the kite's leading edge.
2. Then open the Velcro on the two valves "inflate and deflate" and then push them into the sleeve.
3. Pull the kite bladder partially out of the zipper until you can clearly see the valves.
4. Inspect the valve bases to see if there are leaks or separation.
5. Often these will become loose if the kite has been stored for a long time or has been in a hot car etc.
6. If you find a loose valve, do not try to glue it back on.
7. It is better to replace it with a new peel-and-stick valve from Airtime.

To remove a loose Valve:

Carefully peel it away from the bladder, being careful not to tear the or stretch the bladder. If it is too stuck, try soaking it in a cup of hot water for a few minutes, and it should come off easily.

Buy the peel-n-stick replacement valve:

There are now aftermarket valves and patches that are peel-and-stick, available from kite stores. We use the U-Stick brand, from Airtime. (www.airtime.com), but there are other brands now available, like "kitefix". These replacement valves at a store can cost about $15-$20 each. Get some peel-and-stick patches too for small bladder leaks. Get the large tear-aid patches or tape for larger repairs. Be sure to specify the size and type of valve: "inflate" or  "deflate" etc.

Make sure that you purchase the correct valve for the job. Some inflate valves have a one-way valve inside.

Method:

1. Remove the old valve carefully, (dip in hot water if necessary).
2. Clean the surfaces with isopropyl alcohol, Allow them to dry.
3. Attach the valve to the old hole on a flat or slightly convex surface.
4. Press down the valve firmly, push out any bubbles or creases.
5. Replace the bladder into the kite, locate the valve stems into their respective holes, and secure the zipper.
6. Inflate the kite and check for leaks.

To Replace the LE. Bladder in the Kite:

1. Attach long strings through the wingtips up to the zipper, one from each side.
2. Figure out which way to reinsert the bladder in the kite. Let the valves be your guide.
3. The inflate valve goes in the smaller hole, and the deflate valve goes into the larger hole.
4. Do not reinsert the bladder backwards!
5. Make sure the Bladder stays flat as you feed the tips into the zipper hole.
6. Attach the zipper ends of the strings onto the two bladder ends.
7. Have your buddy pull slowly on one of the strings at a time as you feed the bladder carefully back into the zipper hole.
8. Do this for both sides of the kite.
9. When the bladder is all the way in, reinsert the valves back into the strut sleeve's valve holes.
10. Close the zipper!!
11. Carefully close the LE strut ends.
12. Slowly inflate the kite, watching for twists, or kinks.
13. If the bladder is twisted it will deform the LE shape,
14. Do not inflate any further if twisted.
15. Deflate the LE and reinsert paying more attention to keeping it straight.
16. When the bladder is finally fully inflated, leave it for 10-30 minutes to check for leaks.

Caution: Never inflate the bladder with the strut ends, or the zipper open. This will allow the bladder to over-expand and rupture.