Just curious if anyone knows a good way to inflate the LE of an LEI without losing pressure from the time you remove the pump to the time you insert the plastic stopper? The rhino I am using doesn't have a plastic ball in the valve to block the air from leaving the bladder when the pump is removed.

do it quick

pump 2-3 more shots so lost air will not matter

You can pump the kite up, pinch on the base of the valve with one hand, pull the pump nozzle out with the other, then put the plug in. If you can't pinch hard enuff, what I did a few times was use a pair of slim needle nose pliers to pinch the valve, then put the plug in.

Or you can buy a new valve from Airtime. They are peel-and-stick-on valves that don't even use stopper balls. They're about $15. I like 'em better than stopper ball valves because sometimes the stopper balls don't always catch.

Edit: The Airtime valve I was talking about was this one:

9mm inflation with check valve

Quote:

This 9mm inflate has the exact same outside dimensions as the normal 9mm inflate valve, however, air will not escape from this valve without squeezing the base or inserting a deflate stick. This valve is only recommended for leading edges that also have a dedicated deflate valve. If you don't want the check flap feature you may be remove it from the valve before adhering it to a bladder.

good idea.

I wonder also if you could put a Cabrinha screw valve (http://www.airtimekite.com/valve_page_1.html)

I had them on my previous Switchblade and it was magic for that. Wonder if it can fit any bladder

pump it rock hard , one more for the close.

then quick, and that's about it.

but i have to say when the balls work right they are nice, esp. on the small struts which are the hardest.

I think I'll just have to get the hang of it. If its really a total pain after a while I'll consider getting another valve.

Does your Rhino have a one pump system of some sorts?

Actually a two pump system. The struts fill up, and then the LE is a separate inflation. The strut valve has a plastic ball, the LE doesn't. I'll never understand that.

Hmm, that is quite strange. My suggestion is the same as what has been said above... Fill it up just a bit more than needed, and try to be quick. If I don't pump my Fuels up enough, the stopper ball doesn't stop the air from leaking out... kind of a fool proof design. Your situation would be a lot worse if all the struts were connected as well. At least here they are isolated and you only have to worry about the amount of air in the LE.

My Airush and the Cabrhina kite I used didn't have ball valves on the LE valve ... FWIW

Actually jovver, all of the struts are connected by tubing somewhere in the LE. Why is that bad?

Well, if they were isolated, you could get all of the separate struts to the require pressure by over inflating them a little bit, then closing them off. When the whole bladder system is connected, that air escaping while you are trying to plug up the inflation valve is more critical because you lose the air from the entire system, not just the LE or strut you are inflating.

But it requires the loss of far more air to enact the same pressure drop, due to there being more air in the system to begin with.

Actually yeah, that does make sense. SO it would be better to have them all connected, pump it up a bit more than required, and just plug it up as fast as you can. Ignore what I said in my previous post. Thanks for clearing things up Maven.