Waste valve handle pulled out when dumping!

[dl777]

Here is a video that shows how to drill to allow lubricant to be inserted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GDErKY05-8

[Davydd]

Prior to dumping I fill both grey and black tanks with water as much as I can because I fill my fresh tank after anyway. I have a macerator and a detachable canvas collapsible fire hose for dumping with closers at both ends. So, black tank first pretty much diluted with the fresh water followed by the grey tank to flush the macerator and the hose with mostly soapy water. Pretty much clean as a whistle and no brown klingons. The hose stores in a nerf bar compartment outside the van.

I do use an organic powder that breaks down solids in the black tank. I have electronic dump valves I had to have replaced once because of wire corrosion and the black tank valve wouldn't close. I will get manual pull valves on my next van. I do have a detachable macerator but can tell you, if the black tank valve is open and the macerator fails you have a mess on your hands.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by dl777

Here is a video that shows how to drill to allow lubricant to be inserted.

Are there valves that have this self-lubricating feature/fix already designed in it?

[avanti]

N.B. that the lubricant that that guy is using in the video says "WD-40" on the can, but it IS NOT what we commonly think of as WD-40. Rather, it is WD-40 brand silicone lubricant. This is an important distinction. Although real WD-40 has modest lubricating properties, it is much better as a degreaser than it is as a lubricant. It is wonderful stuff, but you DO NOT want to use it for this purpose. It will strip all the existing lubricant and not put much back in exchange. Stick with a silicone or lithium spray.

[Bjones7788]

As I recall. Our 2004 Roadtrek 190 Popular, dump valve opening handle had a rod crossing under the truck where there was a depression for an "O" ring around the rod. That "O" rung held the rod in the valve - I forced the rod back into the valve and it worked for a while but ended up replacing the valve.

[Paul the Gardens]

Originally Posted by avanti

I have a vague memory of a procedure in which people drill a little hole in the housing somewhere that lets them spray in silicone lubricant.
Anybody know the details?

https://youtu.be/TGv9THpOdmw
This guy show how to lubricate the dump valve. I did the procedure and I cannot say I am 100 % happy. I noticed that the valve is hard (er) to open when the tank is full. I use the sewer solution macerator to dump at home about 40 feet from the RV and I back flush each time I dump; seem that if I open /close the valve while back flushing it helps to make the valve easier to open/close.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Roadie

.... I had it replaced in Nova Scotia in one hour of time after finding a great place. Turned into not such a big deal, no problems since.

Let me roll the dice and predict you were near Halifax.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Paul the Gardens

https://youtu.be/TGv9THpOdmw
This guy show how to lubricate the dump valve. I did the procedure and I cannot say I am 100 % happy. I noticed that the valve is hard (er) to open when the tank is full.

Interesting you should mention that.

As I said before, my black valve was somewhat tight so I figured that this would be a great time to try this out. The results were disconcerting:

I drilled the hole and sprayed in a good amount of silicone spray lubricant into it. The tightness of the slider immediately got MUCH WORSE. I mean a LOT. I sprayed in some more. No difference. Ignoring my above advice, I sprayed in some WD-40. No difference. I injected some very soapy water using a syringe. Nope. I can can no longer completely close the valve, although it doesn't matter much because I have a closed macerator system.

I did notice that the valve in question is branded "Bristol", not Valterra.

I have no idea what is going on, but I don't like it. I have to assume that the lube or its propellant interacted poorly with the rubber seals or something like that.

To add insult to injury, I just got an email informing me that the Valterra assembly I ordered (which showed 11 units in stock), in fact has an 4-6 week delivery time.

Sigh...

[GeorgeRa]

If I had a black tank, I would seriously investigate better valve than Valterra. I replaced 2 Valterras, cheap. This could be an option, PVC body, stainless steel blade and rod and 50 PSI (0.35 MPA) rating.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018H64HMK...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

gate valve,gate valves manufacturer and gate valve,gate valves supplier--China Ningbo Omen Industrial Co., Ltd.

This is Amazon review:
"Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
top of the line valve, see many years of use on my RV, you can buy cheaper but you get what you pay for.
3 people found this helpful"

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by avanti

Interesting you should mention that.

As I said before, my black valve was somewhat tight so I figured that this would be a great time to try this out. The results were disconcerting:

I drilled the hole and sprayed in a good amount of silicone spray lubricant into it. The tightness of the slider immediately got MUCH WORSE. I mean a LOT. I sprayed in some more. No difference. Ignoring my above advice, I sprayed in some WD-40. No difference. I injected some very soapy water using a syringe. Nope. I can can no longer completely close the valve, although it doesn't matter much because I have a closed macerator system.

I did notice that the valve in question is branded "Bristol", not Valterra.

I have no idea what is going on, but I don't like it. I have to assume that the lube or its propellant interacted poorly with the rubber seals or something like that.

To add insult to injury, I just got an email informing me that the Valterra assembly I ordered (which showed 11 units in stock), in fact has an 4-6 week delivery time.

Sigh...

Most likely seals swelled.

[avanti]

Several dealers on eBay have Valterra valves at decent prices, allegedly in stock. I just ordered a pair. We'll see...

[2002Roadtrek190]

Originally Posted by RT-NY

I was in the process of winterizing my Roadtrek 170 (frost expected this weekend upstate NY), and the handle of my "Valterra Bladex 3-Inch" waste valve pulled out when I was dumping the black water tank. Fortunately, there was only water in the tank because I dumped and flushed after my last outing so no big deal. But from what I read on Amazon several other people have had this happen with this brand. Any recommendations for a very (very!) reliable replacement? I can't imagine what a mess this would be were this to happen with a full black tank!!

I had 2 issues with the black water gate valve on my 2002 RT 190 Popular. First the valve control rod fell out as I discovered when car drivers pointed it out. The rod pulled out of the valve so I to reintall it a lock nut on the rod to secure it after cleaning up the threads. Second, the valve was leaking as the pipes were to short for a good connection so the flange tabs were breaking off and separating from the pipes...never good. My local RV store had a new valve recommendation (I don't recall the brand but these are not costly so I went with what was a quality valve) which I installed using some flexible ABS plumbing pipe to bring the plumbing components together snugly.

[Paul the Gardens]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

If I had a black tank, I would seriously investigate better valve than Valterra. I replaced 2 Valterras, cheap. This could be an option, PVC body, stainless steel blade and rod and 50 PSI (0.35 MPA) rating.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018H64HMK...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

gate valve,gate valves manufacturer and gate valve,gate valves supplier--China Ningbo Omen Industrial Co., Ltd.

This is Amazon review:
"Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
top of the line valve, see many years of use on my RV, you can buy cheaper but you get what you pay for.
3 people found this helpful"

Here is another source for that SCH 80 PVC 3 Inch Valve
https://shop.prmfiltration.com/produ...lip-connection

[booster]

Avanti's sticking is interesting. Sometimes silicone can do some funny stuff as they use various aerosols that may be hydrocarbon. Spraying lube can also push dirt into the sealing area and make them bind sometimes.



I start to wonder if the seals in the valves has changed in recent years, as we have seen that in some other products like the rubber bushings in brake calipers which used to all be nitrile and no most are EPDM which is horrible if it contacts any oil or grease that is petroleum based, making it swell quickly. My past work experience had some issues with products being make in Asia as they tended to not do nitrile very well but really liked to use EPDM so they constantly wanted material changes for products if they could get them.


I have heard somewhere lately that coconut lube caused sticking sometimes, which I had never heard in the past so was surprised.


Sounds like we will be sticking with letting the soap do the lubing unless the valves begin to stick.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by booster

Avanti's sticking is interesting. Sometimes silicone can do some funny stuff as they use various aerosols that may be hydrocarbon. Spraying lube can also push dirt into the sealing area and make them bind sometimes.



I start to wonder if the seals in the valves has changed in recent years, as we have seen that in some other products like the rubber bushings in brake calipers which used to all be nitrile and no most are EPDM which is horrible if it contacts any oil or grease that is petroleum based, making it swell quickly. My past work experience had some issues with products being make in Asia as they tended to not do nitrile very well but really liked to use EPDM so they constantly wanted material changes for products if they could get them.


I have heard somewhere lately that coconut lube caused sticking sometimes, which I had never heard in the past so was surprised.


Sounds like we will be sticking with letting the soap do the lubing unless the valves begin to stick.

Manufacturer should choose a correct material set so lubrication wouldn’t be needed. This valve is using EPDM and SS, should work.

https://www.trp.org.in/wp-content/up...14pp.19-25.pdf

[booster]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

Manufacturer should choose a correct material set so lubrication wouldn’t be needed. This valve is using EPDM and SS, should work.

https://www.trp.org.in/wp-content/up...14pp.19-25.pdf

EPDM is shown as a 3 (incompatible) in the compatibility chart I just looked at for vegetable oils, lard and fat, coconut oils so could be a problem on valves, especially if using coconut oil lube.


A teflon or MDS filled nitrile would be much better, I think.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by booster

EPDM is shown as a 3 (incompatible) in the compatibility chart I just looked at for vegetable oils, lard and fat, coconut oils so could be a problem on valves, especially if using coconut oil lube.


A teflon or MDS filled nitrile would be much better, I think.

EPDM is FDA rated, so it should be good for the "processed" food. There should be no need for coconut oil if there is sufficient good material set. Nitrile should be better indeed, this valve is available with NBR as well.

Primary use for this valve is in aquaculture and irrigation so it should operate well without any lubrication, just water. A phone call or a question on Amazon could add some information about sewage valve application.

https://www.applerubber.com/blog/5-o...ber-materials/

[booster]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

EPDM is FDA rated, so it should be good for the "processed" food. There should be no need for coconut oil if there is sufficient good material set. Nitrile should be better indeed, this valve is available with NBR as well.

Primary use for this valve is in aquaculture and irrigation so it should operate well without any lubrication, just water. A phone call or a question on Amazon could add some information about sewage valve application.

https://www.applerubber.com/blog/5-o...ber-materials/

I don't know for sure, but the FDA for EPDM could be because EPDM is considered very good for water contact so it used in a lot of food processing water supply stuff. Usually, anything that comes in contact with food like water has to be handled as if it were food safe to eat or drink. I don't think FDA gets into compatibility to all foodstuffs in their approvals, just job specific.

[SteveJ]

Originally Posted by booster

EPDM is shown as a 3 (incompatible) in the compatibility chart I just looked at for vegetable oils, lard and fat, coconut oils so could be a problem on valves, especially if using coconut oil lube.


A teflon or MDS filled nitrile would be much better, I think.

Well that probably explains why my black tank valve started leaking. I had taken to throwing some veggie oil at it to lube it. It now is leaking a bit through. Wonderful.

New seal kit ordered, "Prime" delivery is out a week for them.

[GeorgeRa]

On one site I found that Valterra is using Santoprene, a derivative of EPDM, not good for many organic oils and many solvents. I doubt very much any WD40 is good for it.

https://roboworld.com/wp-content/upl...patibility.pdf

https://www.partswarehouse.com/Repla...m?Click=365719

It would be best not to use any lubricants with a valve which doesn’t need lubrication.