# Leafield D7 valve sticking



## curtis catman (Sep 29, 2015)

I don't think I would spray 303 in the valve. That stuff is tacky for a while and it would collect dirt. You could clean the valves and see if that fixes them. I don't know what the best way to clean the valves is but I am sure someone will post that soon.


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## KayakWV (Aug 1, 2017)

curtis catman said:


> I don't think I would spray 303 in the valve. That stuff is tacky for a while and it would collect dirt. You could clean the valves and see if that fixes them. I don't know what the best way to clean the valves is but I am sure someone will post that soon.


Thanks for the advice. Although the 303 didn't help, the manufacture recommended spraying 303 into the valves.


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## jspoon14 (Aug 5, 2012)

I would open it up and take a look, sound like you are the first owner so you should have received a wrench with the boat. To me it sounds like the spring of the shaft that is sits on is hanging up on something. It should be pretty 
obvious if you open two and look at them to see what is different. I have owned a lot of boat and have not had this issue.


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## KayakWV (Aug 1, 2017)

I will be doing that but am currently waiting on the manufacture to send me the valve kits..


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## shoenfeld13 (Aug 18, 2009)

It is particularly odd that it is happening to all of them. Did you put the 303 on them before it started happening or after as a measure to fix them? For it to happen to 1 valve is unusual, but to happen to all of them on just your boat is bizarre if you, or someone else, had not put anything in/on them. My assumption would be that there would be a serious recall. How long after owning the boat did this start? Aside from the pump and pressure gauge was there anything that might have come in contact with the valves? Quite the puzzlement!


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## Roberto (Aug 9, 2011)

*Defective D7 valves*

Kayak WV, I had 2 Leafield D7 valves completely fail on a brand new 2017 Aire raft. On it's inaugural trip last week one failed on the river. After checking tube pressure with a gauge, the valve would not close. Fortunately, the valve cap held air in the tube. The other valve failed when i got home and let some air out of a tube to prevent overheating (it was still on the trailer). Again, the valve will not close. I'm familiar with Leafield valves and how they operate so that's not the issue. 
The valves are being replaced under Aire warranty by Zach at Inflatable Technologies here in Denver metro area. Zach suspects there is a defective batch of Leafield D7 valves that went into 2017 rafts. Apparently Aire has received other calls about the valves, and I'd bet other manufacturers have as well. 
Probably a good idea to call the manufacturer of your raft and ask what they plan to do about the valves. I'll post my results when I learn more.


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## RMrafts (Feb 12, 2008)

We have been using the D7 for a couple of years now (2015 was the first year of manufacture) and are, for the most part, happy with them. Some of the valves that were manufactured in 2015 did have some problems with the valve core being hard to rotate and occasionally sticking. Leafield was made aware of the problem and they sent us some repair kits for valves that were sticking. It's an easy repair. The last 2 years seem to have been better but there are obviously still some issues.

So, sticking valve cores hasn't been a huge problem but there are some out there and Leafield is aware of it. If you have a sticking D7, the raft manufacturer should have a repair kit or a replacement valve for you. If not, Gary at Man of Rubber is the US distributor for Leafield valves and I'm guessing he could help you out also.

I'll forward this thread to the owner of Leafield so they know there are still a few issues with the D7 valve core sticking. 

We have found Leafield to be an excellent company to work with and I'm sure they will have a response for us. I'll let you know.

Cheers,
Denny


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## RMrafts (Feb 12, 2008)

FYI, here is the response from Leafield:

"Yes it does look like a quantity of the Leafield D7 valves got out with slightly oversize seals. We have now completely changed the seal to a smaller more rigid type which happened in January of this year. The problem should only affect a small number of valves. I have attached some pictures etc showing the new configuration. I am more than happy to send out quantities of these new seals to you so that if any problems arise they can be dealt with quickly, they are easy to fit if the customer has a tool which I think is normally supplied with the raft."

So, we should get the repair kits in a week or so. If anyone has an RMR with a sticking D7 valve, let us know and we will get the repair kit out to you.

Cheers,
Denny


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## KayakWV (Aug 1, 2017)

Thanks for your comments everyone. Denny, this is on an RMR raft and I have been in contact with Bobby Bower here locally and he is supposed to be getting me a kit to repair the valves. That being said, I hope the kit comes with a wrench, I did not get one with the raft.


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## PhilipJFry (Apr 1, 2013)

KayakWV said:


> Thanks for your comments everyone. Denny, this is on an RMR raft and I have been in contact with Bobby Bower here locally and he is supposed to be getting me a kit to repair the valves. That being said, I hope the kit comes with a wrench, I did not get one with the raft.


when you bought your raft was it in the box? There should have been a tube with a repair kit including a wrench in it. (rolled up in the raft in the bag)

or did you buy from a dealer who sold you something off of the floor?


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## Roberto (Aug 9, 2011)

*Leafield valves*

Denny, Thanks for the info from Leafield. My Aire 156R was repaired yesterday by Inflatable Technologies, they replaced all 5 valves under warranty. Looks like I'm good to go.
Thanks to all for the info.


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