When do I need a vent plug?

Archive 1999-2004
1

Is it always needed when glassing with epoxy or does it depend on the core material? Why do polyester boards have no vent? does XPS shrink and expand from heat? cheers Marcus

2

eps must be vented ,if you buy an eps unvented your going to have problems ,vents solve a variety of possible problems…yes its core related only. regards BERT

3

Hey Low volume XPS or styro doesn’t need venting. Unfortunately, that applies to kiteboards and wakeboards. Poly core never needs venting. XPS/sealed styro needs are up to the maker, as some use vents, others don’t. Regular styro core usually needs venting. Vents are problematic, at best, on surfboards.

4

Hollow boards need venting, particularly if travelling on airplanes. A friend of mine just told me this morning of a shaper he knows that built a hollow balsa board down in Ecuador and flew back to California with it. It didn’t make the trip very well…basically exploded.

5

I need a vent plug everytime I contemplate responding to one of FatPenguin Boys rambling ads.

6

you and me both! but if I had one for that purpose, I can think of several places to use it, if you get my drift…

7

WE have made a few epoxy boards without vents. basically if you keep the core moisture free and out of temperature extremes you should have no problem.

8

well id say make a few more, see how many come back after crew have dinged them and got em waterlogged ,or left them in there car on a hot day and theve blown up,or just got surfed as usual and coz of no vent have expanded and contracted everyday and fatigued to hell, or delamed under the foot area coz its been hammered and its the weakest spot when theres a little pressure build up thats the first place to go… vents keep em in pristine condition ,its only then they can outlast a conventional board 10 times at least… ps my current shortboard has outlived at least 20 conventional polyester pu boards… do the right thing and vent them… regards BERT

9

Any tips about what vent system to choose and the best place to put the vent ? Pierre

10

i get my own made coz everything commercially available doesnt stand up…i have aluminium bungs cnc machined and i mould the threaded female insert from epoxy and milled fibre…for 15.00 aud i could post you the whole assembly plus postage cost as well of coarse… regards BERT

11

Thank you for your offer, but I live in France, so I guess I’m better off trying to set up my own system. What’s the best location for the vent : nearby the nose ? Inside the fin box ? Pierre

12

mine are usually around where your face is when your paddling…a reminder if you forget to do it up… regards BERT

13

I’d say that Bert might be right with very low density cores (1# density or less). But with 1.5 lb. density and up, we have never had heat related problems and I feel there is no need for vents. We use mostly 2# density in FL and have never had problems, even as hot as it gets there. Also, there may be a need in Western AUS because of very cold water and a hot landmass. This may make your particular climate different than our experience. These climatactic problems wouldn’t apply in the US.

14

i was gonna mention temperature variation …anecdotal eveidence ive collected suggests about 30 degrees celsius variation is acceptable before you need a vent ,over here it can go from 0 to over 90 in a car on a summers day…definatly need one here… regards BERT

15

have to wake up this old thread again.

I want to build a wood covered eps longboard.
In this thread the opinion is
1 lb density → use vent!
1.5 lb density → not recommended

I have 1.25 EPS (20kg/m³). What should I do?
Especially if I do a splitable Board again. Then I would need to use 2 vents. Doesn’t like this idea…