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Airstream fresh water tank drain valve replacement

Bobbo
Explorer II
Explorer II
I took possession of my brand new Airstream in May, 2017. In November, 2022, 5&1/2 years later, when I went to winterize, the plastic handle of the fresh water tank drain valve broke off. Every place that I tried to grip it to turn the valve to open it also broke off.



I didnโ€™t want to replace it with another plastic valve to repeat this in 5 more years, so I found this aluminum flange that would replace the plastic one. It takes a 1/8โ€ NPT valve.



Since it was bright RED, I wanted to paint it silver so it wouldnโ€™t stand out. I bought this 1/8โ€ NPT Plug and put it in the flange to block the opening.



And used this silver paint to paint the upper surface. I made sure not to get any paint on the barb where the hose connects, or inside the flange.



I then got this 1/8โ€ NPT brass shut-off valve and installed it in the flange.



Since I didnโ€™t want the valve shooting water in my face when I opened it, I got this 1/8โ€ NPT elbow to redirect the water flow downwards.



Here it is, ready to install.



And, the final result. (Note that I did have to cut the 3/8โ€ barb off the flange. The hose was 1/2โ€ so the 3/8โ€ was not needed, and the flange was too long to fit with it on there.)

Bobbo and Lin
2017 F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCab w/Max Tow Package 3.5l EcoBoost V6
2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB
3 REPLIES 3

AdventureAS
Explorer
Explorer

The link to the red flange is not working. Can you please let me have the link?

r.n.barrick at gmail.com

Bobbo
Explorer II
Explorer II
I built the replacement valve, then had a Mobile RV Technician come install it. He said that he HATES working on Airstreams. Airstream builds them like they will never have to be fixed. It took him 1&1/2 hours just to replace that drain valve. He said that any other brand, it would have been a 20 minute job. TOPS. He had to go inside the trailer and take a panel off so he could reach the back of the drain to loosen the hose clamp, then again to tighten the hose clamp.
Bobbo and Lin
2017 F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCab w/Max Tow Package 3.5l EcoBoost V6
2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB

QCMan
Nomad III
Nomad III
Wow! Amazing how the nine most expensive letters in RV'ing uses the same components as my camper that probably cost 1/4 of an airstream except the manufacturer of my trailer put the drain where it will not be affected by uv rays. Had that same piece in a trailer for ten years and it was still functional after ten years.

2020 Keystone Cougar 22RBS, Ram 1500, two Jacks and plenty of time to roam!
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. A.E.
Good Sam Life Member