The nunber one request I get on YouTube is: How do I use the air valve on a SUP?
Well I am glad you asked! H3 Valve is one of the most common valve on SUP.
Most air valve looks like this, the left part (valve screws into the right (valve seat), and the right glues into your paddleboard. This means when your SUP is leaking air, sometimes all it takes to fix it is a gentle twist using the plastic wrench comes with the repair kit. Twist in the direction that closes the valve and you're set!
Depending on different construction, there are three different types of mechanism, but all easy to use:
1. Push
Easiest of them all, when you give the yellow part a push, the inside valve gets pushed down and air leaks out. (This may get a bit loud) If the SUP's air pressure inside is higher than outside, when you release your finger, it will automatically recoil back and block the valve due to high internal pressure. This is good because when you're pumping your board, you want all the air you pumped IN, not out.
2. Push and twist
This is where the confusion comes in, because they look exactly like the first kind of valve! In order to open the valve release the air, you have to push in the stopper and twist 90-degrees. When you are done with deflating, you have to twist it again until it pops back up. This is only for deflation. For inflation, you can't have the valve open, otherwise when you finished pumping air, it will just make its way back out again. I used to not know this and I couldn't figure out why air is constantly leaking from my board.
3. Push and stop
This is my favourite design. They are like the ball point pen. One push is in, and another push is out. But they are not common on the market.