Are your valves leaking and falling off the bladder? When you pump up do you hear leakage around the nozzle particularly if you move the nozzle? Anyway this is a MOST common problem with kites. The older the kite the more likely you are to have this problem sometime.
Plastic Valves (most look like a clear clear PVC) are generally heat formed onto the polyurethane bladders somehow when they are built. This particularly true with the older style kites ie the PVC is melted onto the bladder.
Problems arise particularly in hot Australian conditions when a kite is left in the heat in a hot bag, in a hot car or wet in the sun causing the valves to part from the bladder or partially pull away. And this is particularly prevalent if one pulls too much when pumping or removing the pump nozzle.
Heat effects the formed joint between PVC Nozzle and polyurethane bladder. The formed joint are just stuck together by heat rather than being a good welded joint with the two materials fusing together. The materials are different and not very compatible, it is more like a cold joint and are not resilient from tearing away. This type of weld is dissimilar to the bladder seam welds where the two materials are the same and fused together providing a full strength weld.
I was asked to test an number of glues to re-attach the failed nozzles.
GLUES TRIALED
1. Super Glue (Cyano Acrylate) - FAILED JUST PEELS OFF NO BOND AT ALL
2. Super Glue (Cyano Acrylate) with Kicker- FAILED JUST PEELS OFF NO BOND AT ALL
3. SHOE GOO - FAILED JUST PARTS AND PEELS OFF
4. CONTACT CEMENT SELLEYS - FAILED JUST PEELS OFF but could be used temporary patch 4/10
5. ATTEX HENKEL KRAFTKLEBER TRANSPARENT- WORKS 5/10 but tends to soften and distort plyurethane bladder material due to solvent in glue. Not bad if your desperate and require a quick fix but it wont last!
Hard to buy but this is the glue:
www.henkel-adhesives.com/de/de.html?countryCode=de&BU=cons_crafts&parentredDotUID=0000000KF6,0000000238&redDotUID=000000PLIQ
This list could go on. If anyone could add there good glue experience it would be appreciated.
Most importantly is to test gluing two pieces of bladder material together and pulling joint apart to test joint strength and seeing how glue peels. If it's a good glue joint the bladder material should rip rather than glue joint.
There a lots written on gluing nozzles on this forum but most advice is not worthy of pursuing.
I say this because by nature polyurethane bladder material is virtually impossible to glue with anything. There's a lot to be said about the new stick on type nozzles.
These are the best long term option but at $25ea can be expensive particularly if you need 6 or more.
Try U-Stick
www.u-stick.eu/
or North also have sticky self adhesive valves also.
Read Instructions, they describe how to remove old valve (by heating with hot water! what did I say about heat) cleaning and drying (most important) and laying valve into position. They take practice so don't rush. If you crease or wrinkle the stick-on bit it doesn't come off easily just squeeze out all creases and air leak paths around valve.
CONCLUSION: Use Stick on type valves and don't waste your time with gluing (unless its a temporary patch).
never had a bladder or valve problem in 4 years.
ive never packed up wet or sandy or washed my kite.
i allways rinse any neoprene (wetys harness booties) and rinse bars lines with fresh water after nearly every use.
when my kites pumped up on the beach for longer then 5 minutes i put a shade cloth over it.
when im packing up my kite i brush it with a dustpan brush. i then roll out the shadecloth and deflae the kite on that and
neither nor fold the kite but something inbetween to the same width that the kite was folded in when purchased.
ive allso never bought a 2nd hand kite.
I had reasonable success using the glue from a Coleman's inflatable mattress repair kit on an old Flexifoil Ion 2 that had multiple leaking valves.
Neoprene wetsuit repair glue, from dive shops. Expensive but brutally strong and won't come off.
Use a small dumbell weight over the valve to hold it in place while it dries. Don't get any glue on the other side of the bladder or you will be replacing the entire bladder when you can't get it unstuck!
AQUASEAL is one brand.
www.abyss.com.au/shop/dive-gear/en/product/dive-gear/others-items/gear-aid/aquaseal-21-2g-75oz-tube-road-7724?/scuba/pc/Aqua-Seal-p2841.htm
Am sure there are others.
Alternately, Selleys Urethane bond also works. Also expensive.
www.selleys.com.au/adhesives/household-adhesive/task-specific/urethane-bond/
(FYI, you may also be able to get these from KitePower, but not sure)
$25 for a valve? Airtime must be making a packet. G stick valves seem to not peel away as easily as airtime and I only charge $10 each.
As for glueing I hope you didn't waste too much time trying those types of glue, Robbo could of saved you a lot of trial and error but for $10 I would just go the instant fix of the stick on with a much better success rate
Select to expand quoteTurtleHunter said..
$25 for a valve? Airtime must be making a packet. G stick valves seem to not peel away as easily as airtime and I only charge $10 each.
As for glueing I hope you didn't waste too much time trying those types of glue, Robbo could of saved you a lot of trial and error but for $10 I would just go the instant fix of the stick on with a much better success rate
Thats right $25 for a U-Stick VALVE , cheapest I've found is $20 Each. There must be an alternative as per your $10 Valves? How does one buy them and are they any good?
Select to expand quotejetstream said..TurtleHunter said..
$25 for a valve? Airtime must be making a packet. G stick valves seem to not peel away as easily as airtime and I only charge $10 each.
As for glueing I hope you didn't waste too much time trying those types of glue, Robbo could of saved you a lot of trial and error but for $10 I would just go the instant fix of the stick on with a much better success rate
Thats right $25 for a U-Stick VALVE , cheapest I've found is $20 Each. There must be an alternative as per your $10 Valves? How does one buy them and are they any good?
The Cheapest G Stick I could find was $35...... Someones killing the pig!
Select to expand quoteTurtleHunter said..
I might have to put my prices up
Well you do have the extra mouth to feed now?
Select to expand quoteKozzie said..
never had a bladder or valve problem in 4 years.
ive never packed up wet or sandy or washed my kite.
i allways rinse any neoprene (wetys harness booties) and rinse bars lines with fresh water after nearly every use.
when my kites pumped up on the beach for longer then 5 minutes i put a shade cloth over it.
when im packing up my kite i brush it with a dustpan brush. i then roll out the shadecloth and deflae the kite on that and
neither nor fold the kite but something inbetween to the same width that the kite was folded in when purchased.
ive allso never bought a 2nd hand kite.
Faaarrrk! I'm almost led to believe that you're joking. How do you get in and out for a quick session?
On topic- Selleys Urethane Bond is the go. Never had a reoccurrence.
Select to expand quoteLostDog said..Kozzie said..
never had a bladder or valve problem in 4 years.
ive never packed up wet or sandy or washed my kite.
i allways rinse any neoprene (wetys harness booties) and rinse bars lines with fresh water after nearly every use.
when my kites pumped up on the beach for longer then 5 minutes i put a shade cloth over it.
when im packing up my kite i brush it with a dustpan brush. i then roll out the shadecloth and deflae the kite on that and
neither nor fold the kite but something inbetween to the same width that the kite was folded in when purchased.
ive allso never bought a 2nd hand kite.
Faaarrrk! I'm almost led to believe that you're joking. How do you get in and out for a quick session?
On topic- Selleys Urethane Bond is the go. Never had a reoccurrence.
life is a quick session. so i take months off at a time to do nothing but kite.
From my personal experience having had kites that do this until the manufacturer sorted their build quality out valve attachment process with valves that are compatible with their bladders, best glue is Stormsure or aquaseal. Can be sourced from marine and dive shops. Easy peasy with the right gear. Kitepower have stormsure. 
And google it. You'll want to get a plastic tube to fit over the valve to apply pressure with weight on it while it goes off. Try YouTube! 
And google it. You'll want to get a plastic tube to fit over the valve to apply pressure with weight on it while it goes off. Try YouTube!
Kitepower has a large range of stick on valves, we have tried G-stick, but they have quality control issues, some work well, and others crack around the base and you have to do the job again within weeks.
We've been fixing bladders and valves since the beginning, before all these easy fix stick on valves became available. I've been telling everyone for years that the only glue that sticks well to polyurethane bladders, is - you guessed it polyurethane glue, like Aquaseal, Stormsure (comes in small tubes, very handy) and another readily available brand now is Sikaflex, as well as Selleys. Only issue with polyurethane glue is it takes several hours to go off/dry, best done in the evening and leave overnight.
Use baking paper inside the bladder to stop one side sticking to the other (or an old piece of bladder) and use a glazed floor tile/shiny non poly plastic sheet, or the backing from vinyl stickers/silicone baking sheets to get a good flat no stick finish on the outside, with weights on a flat surface.
another glue that works really well is 3M 5200 quick dry. this stuff will glue almost anything and never let go. do not get it on anything else when you work with it. make sure you get the quick dry, it still takes 24 hours and the regular takes about a week but either will hold the vales on for longer than the kite will last no matter the heat outside. like magic...
Hi Peeps,
In my experience, even using the correct glue only results in an airtight seal some to most of the time. They can still leak. Problem is, then you have horrid glue all over your bladder/valve which makes a more permanent Tear aid repair VERY difficult.
Just get some Tear aid and maybe a couple of stick on valves and keep them in your emergency kit. Simple, quick, no mess, instant and permanent.
We get customers come into the shop with failed glue fix attempts and spend the next 30 minutes trying to pick off the failed glue to enable a clean and successful Tear aid repair.
Just don't do it people unless it is an absolute emergency.
DM
Replaced a complete set of valves on an old kite that I couldn't part with and couldn't get replacement bladder for.
Ended up having 100% success with Stormsure glue (already mentioned) but had to get a little bit cunning with the process of glueing and clamping.
Went and bought a foam pool noodle from Target toy section, cut it into 2 inch long lengths and used these with a couple of boards and a clamp to squash all voids out of the bonding area. Worked a treat but is time consuming if you've only got one or two clamps with 8 or 9 valves and the glue takes 12 hours to set if I remember correctly.
Select to expand quoteTurtleHunter said..
$25 for a valve? Airtime must be making a packet. G stick <span class="spnSearchHighlight" id="hilite">valves</span> seem to not peel away as easily as airtime and I only charge $10 each.
As for <span class="spnSearchHighlight" id="hilite">glue</span>ing I hope you didn't waste too much time trying those types of <span class="spnSearchHighlight" id="hilite">glue</span>, Robbo could of saved you a lot of trial and error but for $10 I would just go the instant fix of the stick on with a much better success rate
Robbo THIS WAS THE BEST ADVICE yet.
I did a test and bought:
Aqua seal from the local Dive Shop (most have this stuff for $16-$18 for a small tube)
Storm Sure from Whitworths boating hardware shop $16
Both glue is a McNett product and probably the same just rebadged.
After cleaning with alcohol and gluing a piece of bladder together and waiting 12hrs I couldn't pull it apart.
The bladder will more than likely rip before glue departs. This stuff IS GOOD.
Tried it on a valve made up a little clamp device out of old bread board drilled to fit the valve and used a couple clamps
and presto great fix. The time to cure is long, so don't let it move. Cure can be increase by spraying with a little water or using cure agent Cortol.
One small tube should be able to stick on 7 or so valves which make it the most cost effective but time consuming fix.
In comparison the AIRTIME Stick-on valves are really very good, instant but the product is very expensive and up to $30 EACH.
Select to expand quoteKitepower Australia said..
We've been fixing bladders and valves since the beginning, before all these easy fix stick on valves became available. I've been telling everyone for years that the only glue that sticks well to polyurethane bladders, is - you guessed it polyurethane glue, like Aquaseal, Stormsure (comes in small tubes, very handy) and another readily available brand now is Sikaflex, ...
I can vouch for Sikaflex. I've used it and sticks on well and with lots of flex. Apply liberally and allow 2 days (yes TWO DAYS) to dry completely. I only used it on a valve repair (ie: heat separated the valve from the bladder). You can get it from Bunnings.
I just spent 3 weeks repairing 25 valve leaks on my two 5 year old kites, so I have a bit of experience here. (It took 3 weeks because every friggin day another valve started leaking that wasn't leaking the day before.)
Note: I am extremely cost sensitive. I also meticulously sanded and cleaned, with isopropyl alcohol, all valves and bladder sections to be joined.
I bought cheap polyurethane glue from Bunnings and at first I thought it was brilliant. That stuff sticks, and there is no way I could pull a glued valve off. Unfortunately, some of them started leaking after one session. The problem seems to be that the glue foams when curing and probably creates tiny channels for the air (even though I very carefully weighted each valve rim while it was drying). I fixed them by sticking a big square of tear aid (with a small hole cut out) over the top of each valve. Seems to be working, but I won't be using polyurethane glue again.
My kites came with a couple of small tubes of glue that looks like stormsure or aquaseal. I used that glue on 4 or 5 of the valves and they have not leaked, yet.
But the problem with stormsure (and probably aquaseal) is that once you open the tube you've only got a couple of weeks before it goes hard (or a couple of months in the freezer). If I have more than one valve to repair next time I will spend the money on stormsure or aquaseal, or buy a stick on valve if it's only one.
Kazan: Sikaflex make SO many glues. Which one did you use?
Select to expand quotegoog64 said..
Kazan: Sikaflex make SO many glues. Which one did you use?
This one ...
We have seen nothing but problems with the G Stick valves here so I would suggest avoiding them.
The North Stick on valves work well but we mostly supply the Fixmykite valves. Now they are also available as a Mega valve option with a much larger stick on area if you happened to make a mistake peeling your old valve off or cant clean all the glue off.
We are now supplying specialty valves to suit different systems like the Cabrinha screw valve or the Liquid Force system.
If you still have the patience to glue your valves we find this works - https://www.plastidip.net.au/vyna-bond-vinyl-repair
geez I must have been lucky with the G stick valves as I haven't had a problem.
Starting to wonder if I should try my luck with another order though
Ps I had a few of the u-stick valves delaminate and I just can't see how they can be so expensive like cauncy said at that price you might as well get a whole new bladder.
Select to expand quoteTurtleHunter said..
geez I must have been lucky with the G stick valves as I haven't had a problem. Starting to wonder if I should try my luck with another order though
They actually use the same adhesive as our other brands to stick to the kite so that part should work fine. The valves themselves are less flexible though and the main problem seemed to be the way the adhesive layer is stuck to the valve. So rather than the valve coming off the bladder the adhesive would stay on the bladder and the valve would come off the adhesive sheet.
Select to expand quoteBrisKites said..TurtleHunter said..
geez I must have been lucky with the G stick valves as I haven't had a problem. Starting to wonder if I should try my luck with another order though
They actually use the same adhesive as our other brands to stick to the kite so that part should work fine. The valves themselves are less flexible though and the main problem seemed to be the way the adhesive layer is stuck to the valve. So rather than the valve coming off the bladder the adhesive would stay on the bladder and the valve would come off the adhesive sheet.
thats exactly what the u-stick valves did while in the shop yet all my G stick valves seem fine. I think kite power had problems with the g stick cracking but I haven't seen that either.
Nothing worse than selling a valve that comes off, I don't know how North put up with it for so long
