Broken Black tank handle

[dalford]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Judy, if you can figure out how to drain it, replacing the valve is simple, and you can get the valve shipped directly to you from Amazon.

See what you think of this approach:
1) get a bucket, 5 gallons if you can lift 40 lbs. Else 2 or 3 gallons.
2) The valve is held in by four nuts and bolts. Loosen the valve so the leak is into the bucket. When it gets near full, tighten the screws.
3) Empty the bucket into your tote-cart or the dump station, or bathhouse toilet.
4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 until no more fluid comes out.
5) Unscrew the four bolts completely.
6) Slide the old valve out.
7) Slide the new valve in, taking care to keep the two flanged rings in place.
8) Put in the four bolts, add the nuts, and tighten.
9) Wash hands real good.

Did you even read her whole post???

[Skip12]

Originally Posted by judyoshi

The manager of the Maintenance Department here used some sort of lug screw and was able to open the valve.

Who exactly came to the rescue? The Maintenace Department at the campground? If so, please let us know where you're staying. That's great that you got it drained!

FWIW, one of my best memories of all time is a midnight run from the Badlands to Rapid City and back again so I could pick something up and not miss a day with my family in the Badlands so your story hit home for me.

[judyoshi]

Thank you. The black tank is now empty. Someone from the maintenance department was able to pull the valve open by inserting some tool or long screw in. Tank emptied through sewer hose and I used my internal tank washer to rinse it. Camping World said they can't ship parts. Dealt with Forest River directly as I wanted to be sure to get the right thing.

[judyoshi]

I'm working here in the Badlands for the season. It was a coworker. I feel very blessed that my first job in a national park put me in a place with such great people. Fourth of July rodeo my car got stuck in the mud for two days. An employee and her S/O went and pulled it out and delivered it to me at work. Like I said great be people here.

[dalford]

So glad you got the tank drained. Until you can get a replacment valve you might be able to use one of these, it connects to where your hose connects. It will give you one more shut off point and you can use it to drain your tank until you get that new valve..

Even when you get that new valve this is a good safety valve in case something like this happens again..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by judyoshi

Someone from the maintenance department was able to pull the valve open by inserting some tool or long screw in.

This is great! The hard and seemingly impossible part is done. In the meantime, you might want to get one of the valves dalford suggested. This will work for you until you get the broken valve replaced.

People are probably wondering what type of tool was used to open the broken valve. It would be great if you could find out and let us know. I imagine, though, it is the same tool we plumbers use for extracting detached plungers from commercial frost-free wall hydrants (hosebibs) and yard hydrants, or a homemade iteration of the same thing. There are a few different sizes and different thread coarseness heads to pick from, and some with extension pieces, similar to those for cleaning a gun barrel, that can be made as long as needed. I have always used the coarsest thread which resembles a corkscrew and is good for digging into the hard rubber plungers to extract them, and there is one head that I have never used that has a coarse thread similar to that of a decking wood screw. I have always wondered why somebody would choose to use this head, but I never thought about using the extractor for anything other than extracting hydrant plungers, but now I know what I might possibly be able to use it for one day.

Bruce

[judyoshi]

Thank you so much. Will look into that for sure.

Judyoshi

[judyoshi]

I'll find out as soon as I see him again and will post the answer.

[emm-dee]

I’ve replaced two of the valves. It’s a very simple job...maybe 20 minutes or less.


https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T100...gateway&sr=8-2

[runner2002]

When you work on it, wear disposable medical gloves.

[Campah]

Originally Posted by judyoshi

Went out to dump my black tank and the handle came off in my hand. I know this is a big problem. Am living in the RV for summer job in the Badlands. Am about seventy miles from Rapid City. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good place to take it for repair or for that matter who to avoid. It's a Coachman Leprechaun 220QB.

Thanks,

Judyoshi

Looks like your up the proverbial creek. Do you have a paddle?

[McKannick]

Well, seems the best policy for this problem is that one should replace any waste tank valve BEFORE the thing breaks. In most of these cases I've read, no one has mentioned if the broken valve became hard or stiff to open, and was on a unit with several years use, right? Other pictures folks have linked to this thread show valves with lots of crap lodged inside the works, rust, grime, etc. So, from this information, I'm going to replace any stiff valve (unless it's remedied by a shot of lube into the valve body) before I'm up @#$% creek.

[Desertsquid]

Our valve is stiff, so where exactly do we lube?

[CincyGus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GDErKY05-8

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Desertsquid

Our valve is stiff, so where exactly do we lube?

And, perhaps, more importantly, which lubricant should you use that will not attack the plastic and rubber inside of the valve? It would be a shame to think you are doing a good thing by lubricating your valves, only to discover that you have destroyed them by using a lubricant that makes the plastic soft or brittle, and causes the rubber seals to get hard or to deform.

Stay away from anything containing hydrocarbons...if you can.

ABS plastic and rubber/neoprene seals do not play well with many hydrocarbon-based lubricants — standard WD-40 is one of them, which really isn’t a lubricant, anyways, and is probably one of the worst choices you could make. Do your research and pick out which one is best for your application. If I was to choose a lubricant for this particular application, and for use with the method shown in the above video, my first choice would be a pure silicone lubricant that doesn’t use a hydrocarbon-based propellant. My next choice would be a PTFE (Teflon) spray that doesn’t use a hydrocarbon-based propellant. I think the guy in the above video is using WD-40 Specialist Silicone, but it uses propane and butane as the propellant — not ideal — but much better than standard WD-40.

It’s not easy finding any aerosol-type lubricant that doesn’t use a hydrocarbon-based propellant, but the time you spend looking for one may be worth it.

Bruce

[judyoshi]

For Nomad297 Bruce and anyone else who would like to know what was used to open the valve. It was a long lug screw diameter small enough to fit through the channel. He said he just worked it until he felt it catch then pulled to open the valve. I found the parts I need for the repair add a small RV dealership in Rapid City. I should have a working bathroom soon. Thank you everyone for all of your tips and suggestions.

Judy

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by judyoshi

For Nomad297 Bruce and anyone else who would like to know what was used to open the valve. It was a long lug screw diameter small enough to fit through the channel. He said he just worked it until he felt it catch then pulled to open the valve. I found the parts I need for the repair add a small RV dealership in Rapid City. I should have a working bathroom soon. Thank you everyone for all of your tips and suggestions.

Judy

Thank you for getting back to us with this. So many “RV people” seem to have a special portion of their brain reserved for getting those seemingly impossible things done.

Bruce

[Wentpostal2014]

There are usually many mobile repair companies that will come to you. This is a standard repair. Ask at the office or ask at nearby campgrounds.

[McKannick]

Originally Posted by Desertsquid

Our valve is stiff, so where exactly do we lube?

As the above vid shows (beat me to it for posting ) the guy drilled a hole and used a specific SILICONE lube for the situation.
The thing is to choose the lube that does NOT eat rubber seals.
You can also do like this guy and just dump cheap vegetable oil into an EMPTY tank and let that do the job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFS0ry19tTU

[BobnVic]

Grab a hold of it with a vise grips