sticky black tank release valve

I put a grease fitting on mine and just pump a few shots of grease when ever it get hard to pull. It is always the black valve that sticks. I put one on both but the grey never really needs it.

If it's accessible you can lubricate it. Whether cable or rod. Off to a hardware place and buy a pray can of something slippery. Not WD40...that dries up/evaporates.
Liberal application will take care of it. There is no need to take it apart and install new...otherwise we'd be doing that for everything stiff or squeaky gizmo we all own.


Gary Haupt

This won't free a stuck valve, but it may ease things over time: Add some Soap. Gray tank valves rarely stick. Of course part of that is, there's less blade area to get stuck. But also, they benefit from soap and grease as part of dish- and hand-washing. Black tanks don't get that, just sticky, well, you know what. We tend to fill gray faster than black. So, I do a little "tank blending" by putting some soapy dishwater in it once in awhile.

A tank flushing system probably helps keep the blade seal area a little cleaner, too. We don't have one, so I've installed a valve to shut water to the toilet off, and a block to hold the toilet's flush blade handle in the open (flush) position. Then I dump a couple large buckets of water (say 03 gallons each) down the toilet as smoothly as I can. That breaks down the "pyramid" that can form right below the toilet, and it seems to help, along with soap, keep the valve moving and even reduces seeping.

Remember this little goodie from Valterra



It lets you add a new valve to where your dump hose connects. If your built-in valve(s) become leaky or won't operate, (as long as they're OPEN or you can get them open), you can control leakage with that new valve.

Just put a new valve on. Any chemical fix will be temporary at best A new valve will give you another 7-10 years without having to deal with it.

Is it a direct pull or cable pull?
Either way probably the best solution is take it apart using a generous amount of plumbers grease grease the blade and seals and reinstall it. If it is cable operated, while apart wipe down the cable and generously lube it with silicone spray lube.