Replacing a waste valve

[Geoff]

I had to replace a leaky gray water waste valve today and thought that I would post a couple of problems I came across. Firstly I was surprised that the retaining bolts were rusted on solid. I think that Forest River is being a bit cheap by not using stainless steel bolts in a wet situation. I had to cut them off eventually and I substituted the new ones that came with the kit for stainless steel that cost a few pence more.
Secondly when mounting the new valve it's just a bit awkward to align the two rubber washers and keep them in place before tightening up. My first try resulted in getting one of them trapped so that the gate would not close. On the second attempt I realized that to keep the gate closed while mounting it.

So there you have it, just a small piece of information that if I'd had in advance I could have done the jog in half the time or less.

[AVid]

I've replaced a few valves over the years. Used plumbers grease on the seals to hold them in place during installation. Plus the grease helps the valve move easily.

John

[bradybr]

Have you had problems with the value/handle line which is wound in a circle one time between the waste value and the handle getting hard to open and close when draining the plumbing? I don't really know how to explain, but it seems that when I go to drain the tanks, the values have not been closed completely as I get gray water immediately when opening sewer cap. I really push on the handle hard to try and seat the value, but to no avail. It seems like there is too much give in the line between the handle and value for it to close properly. So sorry! Does this make sense?