Bell Floatation Tank Relief Valve Repair/Replacement Question

[DaveO]

My Flashfire has cut-off relief plugs for the floatation tanks, evidently glued in. Maybe the previous owner thought this was an upgrade.



The plug in the picture is something I picked up at a hardware store long ago. It is solid, but perhaps I could drill or burn a hole in it.

You can sort of see what the OEM plug looks like in the background here:



I am concerned that the carbon canoe tank might bulge or implode, especially as the carbon is thin and gets hot in the sun. Weather and altitude are the enemy.

As I understand it, Bell used a hollow rubber stopper of some kind, with slit in the bottom to allow the air to burp out.

I could call Northstar, or maybe Placid, Colden, Hemlock, etc., but I would rather find a universal part that would work, from McMaster or elsewhere.

A kayak drain plug might be a good idea, but more work. I suppose all air tanks eventually get some water in. The drain plug would allow venting for drying, but would not practically address the altitude/heat issues.

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I'd call Dave at Hemlock or Paul Meyer at Colden.. Souris River for some reason does not install any holes at all in their tanks. We had to drill a small one because we were going to transport the canoe cross country and get to 12,000 feet. Having a canoe explode would mess up our trip. The hole was so small we did not put a plug in but yours is quite a bit bigger. I know Paul at Colden uses tank relief valves as well as Dave and neither is a high volume business. They have to get their plugs from someone else.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

When I got my Bell Wildfire in 2009 it had no air relief plugs in the float tanks. Charlie Wilson, then at Placid, sent me two for free. So, I assume they can still be gotten from Placid and maybe Colden -- who, of course, get them from some general supplier, but perhaps have to order them in bulk quantities.

 

[gumpus]

Please let us know if you find any good sources. I see that the Swift parts list offers 2 different float tank plugs. I'm just using a small piece of gorilla tape on my '99 Merlin II since the original plugs started to degrade. Just FYI the ones that came in my Merlin II did NOT have a valve in them, they were just like the plug in your pic. I assumed they would let any excess pressure escape since they aren't a super tight fit.

 

[Boatman53]

Here is something from McMaster Carr https://www.mcmaster.com/rubber-stop...-type~push-in/

Not it exactly what I think you are looking for but it’s something. McMaster-Carr is an incredible resource with crazy fast shipping.
ill keep looking.
Jim

also found these. I’ve seen these used before.
https://www.mcmaster.com/rubber-stoppers/plug-type~push-in/