Chapstick In Water Dump Valves

On Sunday, returning from a flight, I pulled the wing dump lever in my
LAK-17a (the tail tank was already dumping) and it didn't feel like both
valves opened. I carried some extra speed through the landing and, after
stopping, the left wing went down. A friend on the ground later confirmed
that only the right wing was dumping.

The wings were full (about 24 gallons on each side) but the LAK handled it
beautifully. My point in writing is that I'd used chapstick to
seal/lubricate the dump valves and, while sealing quite well, it also glued
the valves shut. It took both hands pushing up on the valve from under the
wing to get the stuck valve to open. Today I cleaned both valves and seats
completely of chapstick and applied a very light coating of bee's wax on the
sealing surface of the valves. They work great now (for now)...

YMMV, but I'll never again use chapstick on my dump valves.

In the UK, AIUI, we are encouraged to use “Vaseline” – petroleum jelly, applied freshly for each flight. Seems to work for most people.

Chris N.

Vaseline is ok for UK type climate, however it will melt in hotter climate.
Got a Tip from an Australian Pilot to use Molykote 111 Compound which worked
really well especially on SH Gliders.

Leave the Bees alone and go to a hardware store and buy a 'Toilet ring seal'. They too are made of wax (plummers wax) and a roll of white 3m electrical tape that come in a round plastic container.
Empty the tape container and put a 1/4 of the wax ring seal in it, mail me the tape. This amount will last a life time, so give the rest to a street begger.
S-H gliders have a tool to screw into the valve to pull down as one smears the wax into the seat area thru the gap. With a little practice, minimal is use and any dribblets of water can be stopped with little effort.
Every couple of years I clean the seat with a Q-tip and find a spot of wax about the size of a pea will last a racing season. The wax stays good even in the heat.
Never had a valve stick close.
R

Great advice! The bee's wax I used was given to me by a friend who received
it when he bought his Mini Nimbus. It probably came from your grandfather's
bees...


"hretting" wrote in message
...
Leave the Bees alone and go to a hardware store and buy a 'Toilet ring
seal'. They too are made of wax (plummers wax) and a roll of white 3m
electrical tape that come in a round plastic container.
Empty the tape container and put a 1/4 of the wax ring seal in it, mail me
the tape. This amount will last a life time, so give the rest to a street
begger.
S-H gliders have a tool to screw into the valve to pull down as one smears
the wax into the seat area thru the gap. With a little practice, minimal
is use and any dribblets of water can be stopped with little effort.
Every couple of years I clean the seat with a Q-tip and find a spot of wax
about the size of a pea will last a racing season. The wax stays good even
in the heat.
Never had a valve stick close.
R