Looking in the toilet above the tanks is full. Pull the handle below and no draining...kinda of a drip then nothing. Pulled the panel and the rod handle is attached to the upper valve. Cannot tell if it is disconnected rod or clogged exit drain in tank. Any suggestions soon as we are on the road.

Often the cutout from the drilling of the tank gets left behind and causes a clog....if the handle feels the same....resistance etc...it probably a clog....if you do not have one it's time for a flush kit...get the kind that attaches to your drain, it clear, and has a hose connection that will let you shoot water up the drain.....good luck...

GENECOP wrote:Often the cutout from the drilling of the tank gets left behind and causes a clog....if the handle feels the same....resistance etc...it probably a clog....if you do not have one it's time for a flush kit...get the kind that attaches to your drain, it clear, and has a hose connection that will let you shoot water up the drain.....good luck...X2

We have the same type of problem but on the gray tank side. Sounds like it is a disk from the hole saw used when the tank and piping were installed. I would have to drop the tank to get it repaired and that's way too much money. Found a solution that works for us though. Buy a third valve that attaches to the outlet where you connect your sewer hose. Close the black, grey and third valves and fill your gray tank with water to the very top. With all three valves closed there will be a air bubble trapped in the the piping that is between the black, gray and third valves. When the gray tank is full of water, and keeping the third valve closed, open your black tank valve then open your gray tank valve fully. The weight of the water will force the air bubble back into the black tank and "blast" the black tank obstruction out of the way. Now close your gray valve and open the third valve and your troubles should flush away. Let us know how it goes.

Most often the handles screw into the slide valve. I'm not sure what you mean when you say you "pulled the panel and the rod handle was connected"...hold onto the handle and try to screw it back into the slide valve. Unless it's broken, you should be able to do so. If that doesn't work...well, it's gonna get messy so pick a suitable spot to 'fix it'....(if you've got a teenager, make sure they're around for a YouTube spot)First thing I'd do is inspect it with the stinky slinky removed. Reach into the opening and pull the handle very slowly. If you can't reach it yourself have someone (whom you trust) do it for you. You will be able to feel the knife valve move when the handle is gradually pulled. If it doesn't move, then the handle has either come off or broken off. Either way, if the valve does not move, then you'll have to 'pull the valve open' another way. My first choice would be to open up the area where the handle goes into the valve using a large drill bit. You might be able to reach in with some needle nose pliers and grasp the broken area and pull it open. As a last resort, you'll have to open it from inside the business end of the tube using a screwdriver which will be very messy....good luck....Dennis To replace the entire knife valve completely: There are four screws that hold the knife valve in place on the dump mechanism. Remove those four screws and the entire valve will come out for replacement. Make sure BOTH rubber O rings are in their grooves before reinstalling the screws or it'll leak.....D

It is so unlikely that the problem is the "disk" that I would simply discount that option. If you take something flexible and stick it up the outlet, do you run into an obstruction about as far up as the slide valve would be located? This is the most common issue (blade disconnected and not opening or opening properly). If this flexible object will go far into the black tank then you likely have a blockage (not the plug) and you need to deal with this right away. This is my favorite drain cleaning tool:http://www.homedepot.com/p/BrassCraft-Medium-Drain-Bladder-BC00332/100586170Open the drain, insert this into the opening, let it inflate and seal the opening and it will force high pressure water back into the tank. After a few minutes, turn off the water and close the valve quickly. This should get the fluids flowing whether you like it or not. (I like to tilt the coach away from the drain to minimize water flow during this operation). You may have to do this several (many) times to get a free flow but once you do you will have a good starting point to getting your tank clean and free flowing again in the future.

Blackwater valve pulss open but nothing drains out.

13 Replies

et2
Explorer
Aug 01, 2014
Executive wrote:
pappaone wrote:
Skip n' Stones wrote:
Looking in the toilet above the tanks is full. Pull the handle below and no draining...kinda of a drip then nothing. Pulled the panel and the rod handle is attached to the upper valve. Cannot tell if it is disconnected rod or clogged exit drain in tank.
Any suggestions soon as we are on the road.

Skip n' Stones we had the same problem a couple of years back, it turned out to be a T paper clog before the valve, not a fun thing to take care of. If you need futher info PM me and I will explain what we did. Good Luck

Rich

Why not 'splain it HERE...:h:h.....posting a SOLUTION in a PM helps only the OP.....:S.......just sayin.....Dennis

Just guessing, Using this and back flush through the open tank valve after connecting it to a water source. Then open the flush valve and let her go.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=king+flush&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=31656888157&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17968551678121470737&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=t&ref=pd_sl_9e4zdoj6tx_e
Executive45
Explorer III
Aug 01, 2014
pappaone wrote:
Skip n' Stones wrote:
Looking in the toilet above the tanks is full. Pull the handle below and no draining...kinda of a drip then nothing. Pulled the panel and the rod handle is attached to the upper valve. Cannot tell if it is disconnected rod or clogged exit drain in tank.
Any suggestions soon as we are on the road.

Skip n' Stones we had the same problem a couple of years back, it turned out to be a T paper clog before the valve, not a fun thing to take care of. If you need futher info PM me and I will explain what we did. Good Luck

Rich

Why not 'splain it HERE...:h:h.....posting a SOLUTION in a PM helps only the OP.....:S.......just sayin.....Dennis
pappaone
Explorer
Jul 31, 2014
Skip n' Stones wrote:
Looking in the toilet above the tanks is full. Pull the handle below and no draining...kinda of a drip then nothing. Pulled the panel and the rod handle is attached to the upper valve. Cannot tell if it is disconnected rod or clogged exit drain in tank.
Any suggestions soon as we are on the road.

Skip n' Stones we had the same problem a couple of years back, it turned out to be a T paper clog before the valve, not a fun thing to take care of. If you need futher info PM me and I will explain what we did. Good Luck

Rich
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Jul 31, 2014
You are correct. "Several accounts" would be accurate. Several coaches would be accurate. Since we are talking about 10's of thousands of coaches the likelihood that the disk is the issue is so small as to be simply discounted.
The OP does not indicate he has a new coach so it would be very surprising that this disk did not appear in the last 3 years. Additionally, he indicates that he cannot tell if the valve is open or not. Of all the things to check, the valve would be number one and a disk blockage somewhere WAY down the line.
No one burst my bubble. You can't burst right! Gene got it right. I tend to be correct and I would guess that I am correct in this case as well.
dsurette
Explorer
Jul 31, 2014
We were camping with some friends who were experiencing the same problem. This was their first time out. They actually had three valves. There was a black tank valve on the curb side just below the tank. Opened that one and everything flowed. Their rig has tank heaters so I think that is why the extra valve. No sense in heating a long run of pipe.
Executive45
Explorer III
Jul 31, 2014
Bill.Satellite wrote:
It is so unlikely that the problem is the "disk" that I would simply discount that option. If you take something flexible and stick it up the outlet, do you run into an obstruction about as far up as the slide valve would be located? This is the most common issue (blade disconnected and not opening or opening properly). If this flexible object will go far into the black tank then you likely have a blockage (not the plug) and you need to deal with this right away. This is my favorite drain cleaning tool:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/BrassCraft-Medium-Drain-Bladder-BC00332/100586170
Open the drain, insert this into the opening, let it inflate and seal the opening and it will force high pressure water back into the tank. After a few minutes, turn off the water and close the valve quickly. This should get the fluids flowing whether you like it or not. (I like to tilt the coach away from the drain to minimize water flow during this operation). You may have to do this several (many) times to get a free flow but once you do you will have a good starting point to getting your tank clean and free flowing again in the future.

Bill, that WON'T work if the knife valve is CLOSED!...i.e. handle is broken or came off....Dennis
GENECOP
Explorer II
Jul 31, 2014
lostdog wrote:
Bill.Satellite your statement "It is so unlikely that the problem is the "disk" that I would simply discount that option" is inaccurate and not helpful to the OP. Don't know your experience but I've found several accounts of such problems here in various forums and personally know of three, not including my own. Additionally, when I talked to the factory that built out coach the service representative stated that it does occasionally happen. The cutout blank simply falls off the hole saw and drops into the tank when it is removed. My method of determining if that is the case is valid and recommended by the manufacturer. Sorry to bust your bubble.

Bill obviously Knows All.....don't sweat it....LOL...
lostdog
Explorer
Jul 30, 2014
Bill.Satellite your statement "It is so unlikely that the problem is the "disk" that I would simply discount that option" is inaccurate and not helpful to the OP. Don't know your experience but I've found several accounts of such problems here in various forums and personally know of three, not including my own. Additionally, when I talked to the factory that built out coach the service representative stated that it does occasionally happen. The cutout blank simply falls off the hole saw and drops into the tank when it is removed. My method of determining if that is the case is valid and recommended by the manufacturer. Sorry to bust your bubble.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Jul 30, 2014
It is so unlikely that the problem is the "disk" that I would simply discount that option. If you take something flexible and stick it up the outlet, do you run into an obstruction about as far up as the slide valve would be located? This is the most common issue (blade disconnected and not opening or opening properly). If this flexible object will go far into the black tank then you likely have a blockage (not the plug) and you need to deal with this right away. This is my favorite drain cleaning tool:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/BrassCraft-Medium-Drain-Bladder-BC00332/100586170
Open the drain, insert this into the opening, let it inflate and seal the opening and it will force high pressure water back into the tank. After a few minutes, turn off the water and close the valve quickly. This should get the fluids flowing whether you like it or not. (I like to tilt the coach away from the drain to minimize water flow during this operation). You may have to do this several (many) times to get a free flow but once you do you will have a good starting point to getting your tank clean and free flowing again in the future.
Executive45
Explorer III
Jul 30, 2014
Most often the handles screw into the slide valve. I'm not sure what you mean when you say you "pulled the panel and the rod handle was connected"...hold onto the handle and try to screw it back into the slide valve. Unless it's broken, you should be able to do so. If that doesn't work...well, it's gonna get messy so pick a suitable spot to 'fix it'....(if you've got a teenager, make sure they're around for a YouTube spot)

First thing I'd do is inspect it with the stinky slinky removed. Reach into the opening and pull the handle very slowly. If you can't reach it yourself have someone (whom you trust) do it for you. You will be able to feel the knife valve move when the handle is gradually pulled. If it doesn't move, then the handle has either come off or broken off. Either way, if the valve does not move, then you'll have to 'pull the valve open' another way. My first choice would be to open up the area where the handle goes into the valve using a large drill bit. You might be able to reach in with some needle nose pliers and grasp the broken area and pull it open. As a last resort, you'll have to open it from inside the business end of the tube using a screwdriver which will be very messy....good luck....Dennis

To replace the entire knife valve completely:

There are four screws that hold the knife valve in place on the dump mechanism. Remove those four screws and the entire valve will come out for replacement. Make sure BOTH rubber O rings are in their grooves before reinstalling the screws or it'll leak.....D