Valterra Bladex 3" waste valve

They taper in towards the blade- they fit over a lip on the valve adapter.

Surprised there's no diagram on the back of the package it came in.

Those seals are a b-itch and may take time to get them seated. If they aren't seated properly, it will leak.

Rubber Ducky1: Back on June 15 of last year (2015) I posted a question re. replacing the black tank valve. Several members offered some worthwhile advice that would have made the job easier if I would have asked before I tried doing it myself.:S It may be worth your time to look at that thread unless you're an old hand at this. Good luck.

If it needs replacing the seals will probably not fall out. Mine were stuck pretty good.
The new one had the seals in place.

"Rubber Ducky1"....The raised edges go outward, away from the blade.

Remember, the drain valve is designed to rotate freely, so you can angle the drain to any point you like. Keep this in mind when trying to access the four bolts, I think they're 7/16'. A small quarter inch drive socket set works well with a combination box/open end wrench.

The most difficult part of the installation is keeping the rubber seals in place when installing the valve. First, take a small amount of Vaseline or grease and place it on the raised edge side of the seal and install it in the valve. Take a plastic milk carton or similar thin plastic and cut out the side of the carton so the cut out is larger than the side of the valve. You need two pieces.

When you're ready, take the plastic pieces you cutout and place one on each side of the valve, making a valve sandwich. Slide the valve into place and visually align the pipes to the sides of the valve. Once aligned, slide out the plastic pieces. This will keep the rubber seals from moving during installation. Reinstall the bolts and tighten. Don't go crazy tightening them, but they should be tight. Once done, make sure the blade opens and closes smoothly.

DSDP Don wrote:
"Rubber Ducky1"....The raised edges go outward, away from the blade.

Remember, the drain valve is designed to rotate freely, so you can angle the drain to any point you like. Keep this in mind when trying to access the four bolts, I think they're 7/16'. A small quarter inch drive socket set works well with a combination box/open end wrench.

The most difficult part of the installation is keeping the rubber seals in place when installing the valve. First, take a small amount of Vaseline or grease and place it on the raised edge side of the seal and install it in the valve. Take a plastic milk carton or similar thin plastic and cut out the side of the carton so the cut out is larger than the side of the valve. You need two pieces.

When you're ready, take the plastic pieces you cutout and place one on each side of the valve, making a valve sandwich. Slide the valve into place and visually align the pipes to the sides of the valve. Once aligned, slide out the plastic pieces. This will keep the rubber seals from moving during installation. Reinstall the bolts and tighten. Don't go crazy tightening them, but they should be tight. Once done, make sure the blade opens and closes smoothly.

This is very good advice. Just note the way the seals are positioned on the new valve in the package and keep them that way.
The one change I'd recommend is to use plumbers valve grease, silicone based, water and detergent proof.

I got that Bladex waste valve replaced Thursday evening. It took my wife and I about 30 minutes from start to finish. The only problem we had was that one of the seals got out of position as we were putting the new valve in. I got that seal where it belonged, bolted the valve in place and then put 5 gallons of water in the tank. No leaks, so I added another 5 gallons of water in the tank, still no leaks. We're good to go. That job was not as hard as I thought it would be. I might mention that my wife and I prayed before starting that task that GOD would guide us. HE sure did!! Prayer works!!!

Rubber Ducky1 wrote:
I got that Bladex waste valve replaced Thursday evening. It took my wife and I about 30 minutes from start to finish. The only problem we had was that one of the seals got out of position as we were putting the new valve in. I got that seal where it belonged, bolted the valve in place and then put 5 gallons of water in the tank. No leaks, so I added another 5 gallons of water in the tank, still no leaks. We're good to go. That job was not as hard as I thought it would be. I might mention that my wife and I prayed before starting that task that GOD would guide us. HE sure did!! Prayer works!!!

So does asking how to do it on rv.net. :)

SDcampowneroperator wrote:

DSDP Don wrote:
"Rubber Ducky1"....The raised edges go outward, away from the blade.

Remember, the drain valve is designed to rotate freely, so you can angle the drain to any point you like. Keep this in mind when trying to access the four bolts, I think they're 7/16'. A small quarter inch drive socket set works well with a combination box/open end wrench.

The most difficult part of the installation is keeping the rubber seals in place when installing the valve. First, take a small amount of Vaseline or grease and place it on the raised edge side of the seal and install it in the valve. Take a plastic milk carton or similar thin plastic and cut out the side of the carton so the cut out is larger than the side of the valve. You need two pieces.

When you're ready, take the plastic pieces you cutout and place one on each side of the valve, making a valve sandwich. Slide the valve into place and visually align the pipes to the sides of the valve. Once aligned, slide out the plastic pieces. This will keep the rubber seals from moving during installation. Reinstall the bolts and tighten. Don't go crazy tightening them, but they should be tight. Once done, make sure the blade opens and closes smoothly.

This is very good advice. Just note the way the seals are positioned on the new valve in the package and keep them that way.
The one change I'd recommend is to use plumbers valve grease, silicone based, water and detergent proof.

Great advice on the plastic pieces to keep those seals in place. I'm having a challenge on this for my grey tank valve replacement given the plastic pieces on each side are very close to each other and it has proven to be quite tough on putting the new valve in WITHOUT having the seals move.

So here's my question:
All of the Valterra and YouTube videos online show the seals as being mounted on the outside pipes on each side and THEN sliding the valve into place, not having the seals inside of the valve itself. That seems to ensure the valve is fully around the new pipes on each side and there's nothing that isn't fully around them and being crimped or not fully circular. The problem is this is nearly impossible in having the seals move once I put the valve in. I'm at the point I'm considering putting some minor non-permanent glue on the seals to the outside pipes (Elmers to keep it in place?) that will allow them to stay in place.

Any thoughts to this?

I don't see any directives on sealants, and I don't want to use something too adhesive this would be a pain to remove in the future, just something strong enough to hold the seals in place while I put the valve into place.

Thanks for any advice to this.

"Caryite...So here's my question:
All of the Valterra and YouTube videos online show the seals as being mounted on the outside pipes on each side and THEN sliding the valve into place, not having the seals inside of the valve itself. That seems to ensure the valve is fully around the new pipes on each side and there's nothing that isn't fully around them and being crimped or not fully circular. The problem is this is nearly impossible in having the seals move once I put the valve in. I'm at the point I'm considering putting some minor non-permanent glue on the seals to the outside pipes (Elmers to keep it in place?) that will allow them to stay in place."

You will be mounting the seals onto the valve assemble then sliding that into place and fitting the bolts/nuts. I would NOT suggest adding any glue. If you are worried about slippage, perhaps a dab of Vaseline. But that seal just sits right in the valve assembly.

Gary Haupt