Q: How does the
JB-3 work? A: The
JB-3 uses a plunger to pinch a thin walled latex tube from the
leg bag against a small stainless steel bar. This
means that there is no body fluid contact with the JB-3
so there is no corrosion of valves or accidental
plugging by mucus from a developing bladder infection.
Q: The bar is stainless steel,
but what else is the JB-3 made of?
A: All of the components of the
JB-3 have been engineered to reduce weight, while
increasing reliability and longevity. The Pull
Ring, Belt Loop, and "C" Bracket are made from the same
plastic as bullet-proof windows. The cable is an
ultra-high strength polymer monofilament with low
friction properties. The clamp body and plunger
are machined from a polymer with extremely low wear
characteristics, low friction properties, and excellent
dimensional stability.
Q: Will I have to modify my
wheelchair to attach the JB-3?
A: No, the JB-3 only needs to be
attached using the provided hook and loop strap around
the arm of the chair or some other convenient place on
the chair.
Q: What if I don’t have any
place that is convenient on the chair to attach the
JB-3?
A: The JB-3 has been designed to easily
slip on to a
belt loop or the belt of trousers instead of using the Velcro®
strap.
Q: How much strength do I need
to have to activate the JB-3?
A: Less than 2 pounds of pull will
activate the JB-3 enough to drain a 750 ml leg bag in
less than 30 seconds. If you can lift a can of soda, you
can empty your leg bag in under 30 seconds.
Q: All the other valves
I’ve seen require batteries. Does yours?
A: No. The JB-3 is
completely mechanical.
Q: If it’s completely
mechanical then how can someone like me who is severely
handicapped activate it?
A: The JB-3 has been developed
from the very beginning with people that have high-level
disabilities as its primary user. Every element of
the design has been evaluated and optimized by
professional engineers to reduce friction and use the
least amount of spring pressure over the smallest
possible area to maximize the sealing effectiveness.
Q: How good is the reliability
to prevent dripping?
A: The JB-3 has a patented
design that allows the user to modify the pressure of
the plunger that pinches the exit hose from the leg bag.
The pressure can be increased to accommodate varying
thickness of latex exit tubing or reduce the amount of
pulling strength needed to activate the JB-3.
We've tested the JB-3 on a machine that pulled on the
pull ring and retracted the plunger back 3/8 of an inch
for over 25 thousand times and it still didn't fail.
If you were to use the JB-3 five times a day, that's
over 5 thousand days, or over 13 years of use!
Q: Does this mean that I can
use my existing latex hose with the JB-3?
A: Yes, the JB-3 was designed to
accommodate all commercially available drain tubing.
We provide the thin-walled, black, latex tubing which
has been optimized to reduce sealing pressure.
Therefore, the JB-3 can have the lowest possible pull
forces to activate and also provide the most reliable
seal that prevents leaks. The adjustment mechanism
of the JB-3 allows the user to increase sealing force if
other types of tubing are used. This generally
results in an increase to the pull force required to
activate the clamp by less than 1 lb.
Q: Is there any maintenance
that needs to be done?
A: No. The device may need
to be cleaned if dirt gets into it, but there is no
oiling or preventative maintenance required.
Q: I’ve tried other valves and
have been disappointed, what makes yours superior?
A: The JB-3 is the third
generation of a device that we designed over 8 years
ago. The first two models (and countless
prototypes) have been used successfully, and without
failure, for over 8 years by a number of users. By
designing a completely mechanical device, and
engineering each component to be between 8 and 50 times
as strong as it needs to be in use, we have practically
eliminated any possible failures. For instance,
the ultra-high strength polymer cable has a rated
strength of 115 lbs. We test every cable and pull
ring sub-assembly to over 75 lbs. of pull force.
But the clamp requires less than 2 lbs of pull force to
activate. Therefore the cable and pull ring are
rated at 37 times the required strength and should last
your lifetime. Every component on the JB-3 has
been engineered and tested to the same high level.
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