Thats good news from north!
Can any tech. from North advise what system they are employing that makes the valve connection to the bladder more perminent. Is it a new technique?
Can any Manufacturer's tech give us a clue as to what they are doing to improve this problem and give us confidence that we won't be seeing more of the same in the 2008 models industry wide?
Do manfacturers even read these forums to hear whats being said?

The problem being discussed is diferent than this. This discussion is about valves that fall off the bladders inside the kite. The adheison is malfunctioning where the valve connects to the bladder. But this is good info.
Thanks

No valves have come loose from my kites' bladders in my three years' blimping. BUT, a few of my friends' have during that time, a couple in the past year, and in the past week a friend had two come off his 06 Slingshot Machine. One was a strut valve and, since he had the leading edge to strut clip closed, he flew the kite in. The other was a leading edge valve that fed a strut, and the leading edge deflated enough he had to swim in. That and the many valve leaks mentioned in this thread make me think: one pump kites have a lot more leading edge valves, each one increasing the likelyhood of failure in general and leading edge deflation in particular. SO NOW I CONSIDER VALVE LEAKS A SIGNIFICANT WEAKNESS IN ONE PUMP KITES ESPECIALLY. Maybe other kiters won't consider the increased risk significant, but I do, and will continue to until I hear that bladder valve failure is a thing of the past.

Seems that the Chinese valve manif company that supplies most of the valves , contrary to other Chinese polluting companies, had to change the material for all exports to EU due to new EU regulations banning the importation of this particular material on environmental grounds. The old valves had a component in them that was deemed to be bad for future recycling. The manif did not inform the kite companies of the change in material make up. The old glue and the sonic welding used on the new valves does not bond permanently to the new valve material and the bladder. When the kite manif discovered this it was too late since alot of kites had been shipped. The fault only seems to happen if the kites are left uninflated in hot environment. This is common on ALL kite brands that still use the new valve with the old bonding system. Since there have been so many complaints the kite manif companies have addressed the issue and it should no longer be happening on new kites. I would be interested to find out if anyone out there is having the problem with new kites from 07/08? Apologies if this has been commented in this thread already.

finally a good explanation, how long ago was this change in material?

aahi - this is not known since the chinese company concerned did not notify any of the manufacturers. reason -the kite market is a relatively small customer base for the company and the bladder material is failly unique to kites. these valves are used in vast other markets.

jjjlaudenslager - The one pump kites are no worse than the muli-pumpkites. but what is important is that there is a lock on the tube connecting the main tube to the individual struts as can be found on the http://www.carved.de and the http://www.core-kites.com.
This is important inorder to isolate the air in event of any type of failure be it valve or even a bird strike to the main tube...yes it has happened !
So try not to take out birds that are interested in your kite.

Feedback all your issues to your local shop and insist they pass them onto the distributor, or email them directly. This is the only way to get changes and this will help the manif companies understand more and then make improvements. Only limited information can be obtained from testing before product launch.

Never had a valve separate from the bladder because I don't leave my kites IN A HOT CAR, or on the beach in the BAG where temperatures can reach 180 degrees and melt the glue.

But then again all my kites are Best kites... maybe they don't have the problem.

Had problems in the past too,with some brands valves peeling off.
Just not to pimp,but Ozone is offering this in his spare pieces market.A complet set of bladders (struts,LE),for a reasonable price (not more than 100 euros,for most of the sizes) & a good quality PU from what i see.I get a set for each one of my sizes.Now it's time to make a trip and i will take it
with me to be sure,this problem is sorted if it happens.
So i think,more companies need to take example,and offer a set of bladders for his current kites,and and easy way to arrive to the customer that demand it.

I heard another possibilty. It seems that when the China based co. made the valves they were removed from the mold and trimmed. They then put the trimmings back into the pot for recycling. Problem was there was mold release in the batch now. This effected the adheison when they glued the valves on. Heat would cause this weak adhesion to finally break down. They did not realize it until someone looked into the problem. All kites are subject as all bladders and valves come from basically the same place.
Good news, I am told, is that the problem has been identified and future kites will not be plaged by this problem, we hope!

I have heard 3m marine adhesive sealant fast cure 4200 works great for gluing valves back on. I got a tube from west marine, cleaned the valve and bladder and glued it on. It still takes 24 hrs to fully cure. I used a thick coat then socket and some wieght to hold it. It appears to be a solid fix. Used the kite a few times and it is holding. I also had a strut bladder with a 2 inch tear in it. I cut off the end so as to turn it inside out, cut a piece of an old bladder for a patch and glued it over the rip turned it back out and patched the other side the same way and weighted it down. Just make sure to cut the patch bigger than the glue area so it won't glue the sides together. I just tied an overhand knot in the end and IT WORKS!. I am told it is a perminent repair, I will see.