Dump Valve Sticking,

Just a follow up ,
Veg oil seems to work pretty well , and will be added to my maintenance schedule,

Thanks Rich

I think I will try the veg. oil first and try to shoot some wd-40 into the cable jacket. Both my grey's operate with a lot less effort. It could be the cable bundling in the under belly too .? My 5ver has removable panels to access the underbelly so worst case , that wouldn't be to bad .I have replaced a black slide valve in our old TT , so been there.
Going camping in 8 days so I'll dump the veg. oil and let it sit for a week and see what happens ,

Thanks All ,
will keep you posted on the progress.

A friend of ours was having the same problem. His DW, being funny, told him to pour a small bottle of Stool Softerners down the drain. We left that day so never did hear if it worked or not. Gotta ask him tho.

I found that using Thetford eco smart formaldehyde free holding tank deodorant helped the valves - keeping them lubricated - same with the drop ins. Valves are relatively new, but because of long cable/rod that goes to the valve looping may be an issue. Pam on the handle to the cable sounds like a great idea!

I messed with mine for a while before just replacing it too. It is absolutely too nasty of a job to not just replace it at the first sign of trouble. I think the sand in Florida wears them out. They're not that expensive. Valturra valves on Amazon.com

Mine is cable operated too. And the manufacturer just looped the extra cable in a circle instead of cutting it to length. When I replaced my valve I cut the cable to length and it works easier.

If your valve isn't working properly you risk having all the liquids leak out leaving a tank full of solids. Dropping a holding tank would be a thousand times worse than replacing a valve.

Are you sure it's the valve? It could be the cable/rod that goes to the valve. I had the same problem with mine. I took it to a RV place out west where we were at the time. They told me it was the valve but by the time the parts would get there we would be on our way home. I used an end of line valve to dump with. When we got home I took it to my RV dealer and it was the cables for both the black water & the bathroom gray water that were bad ?going bad. They replaced both and they are working good now. I did have to pay for the valves that the cables came on and have them as spares.I was told that the outside sheath of the cables cracked and the cable was stuck inside the sheath. Just another thing to think about.

I gave up and installed an electric valve. Fairly easy to do and now I am spoiled. Will do same to grey valve if need to some day.

If you are handy, drop the belly and remove it, to check it out. I recently had issue with my black valve. I cut a hole in the belly, removed the valve and found a baby wipe all jammed up in the valve seat. Good thing I didn't take to dealer under warranty, it would have been an expensive lesson.
I scored a large square of coroplast belly material from a sign shop and made my own access hatch for next time I have to service the valves.

rich and char wrote:

larry barnhart wrote:
I have done this several times and need to do it soon. I empty the tank and do the flush. After it drains I close the valve and dump one gallon of veg oil. I then wait for as long as I can and then pull and push the valve as fast as I can. you will notice the difference.
chevman

Would you recommend one over the other "peanut oil vs veg. oil" or it don't really make a difference.
I don't want to open the underbelly to access the valve if I don't have to.

Rich

I can't answer that because I just buy cheap veg oil .
chevman

Tried the ice, oil etc treatments with no improvement. Replacing the valve is the only thing that worked for me. Had it replaced after 1 year (warranty) and a year later did it again ($250). Watched how the belly was pulled back and the valve installed so I can do it next time....not that hard...just kind of icky.