Tank Valves

[DKRITTER]

We are going to put the trailer (36 CKTS) in the shop shortly for some little things that need attention, one of those is all 3 tank valves are really hard to open or close.

Both of the grey tanks are hard to either open or close and the black tank is an arm wrestling match.

I'm surprised it is this difficult to open or closed and even after I close it, it still drains about 20oz of black water in the pipe. I've had to change the cover to one with a hose fitting so I can drain it before use to avoid the mess.

Does anyone have a solution to cable operated tank valves to make them easier to operate?

[Jim34RL]

Originally Posted by DKRITTER

We are going to put the trailer (36 CKTS) in the shop shortly for some little things that need attention, one of those is all 3 tank valves are really hard to open or close.

Both of the grey tanks are hard to either open or close and the black tank is an arm wrestling match.

I'm surprised it is this difficult to open or closed and even after I close it, it still drains about 20oz of black water in the pipe. I've had to change the cover to one with a hose fitting so I can drain it before use to avoid the mess.

Does anyone have a solution to cable operated tank valves to make them easier to operate?

Before retiring from Caterpillar, I was involved in a project on push-pull cables trying to make them easier to work on construction equipment. Never could get the cables to work effortlessly. They would hang up and bind mainly because of routing issues such as to many bends or too tight of a bend or too long. Another issue was lubrication we even tried Teflon line cables and these would fail due to dirt and debris building up on the cable and would enter the housing causing the binding.

So a lot depends on routing and length of cable, plus nice easy bends to make the cables operate with minimal effort. Also remember that you are pushing a gate valve closed with the cable and if this will flex this maybe an issue when closing. Another thing to remember is; if there is any debris in the path of the gate valve this too will make closing the valve harder and may not even allow the valve to close completely.

So to make your life less stressful install an additional gate valve on the end of the drain pipe and just open and close this after the sewer hose is connected. This is what I have down and I do not stress over the tank valves closing completely.

[Kaadk]

If money is no object (since these are expensive) you could replace your cable operated valves with an electric one:

http://www.amazon.com/Valterra-E1003.../dp/B004RCXC1G



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[Mr. Dan]

I had problems with hard-to-operate cables on the valves on my Wildcat when I first bought it. My dealership found that at least one of my cables was about twice as long as was required and was looped around under the trailer. They shortened the cable which helped BUT they left the inside cable drive wire about 1/2" too short such that the valve could never completely close. I had the shower water drip whenever I removed my cap. I took the advice of the experts here and extended that drive wire myself! I made tooooo many trips under the trailer for a 68 yo dude, but the valves no longer leak. While I had them apart, I put some light oil on the lower ends of the cables AND I oiled the slip rods on the top side.

[onetonford]

On my wildcat they put the cable on top of the liner at such a angle it would bind and not close unless you held it for several minutes. I ended cutting the liner and letting the valve and cable hang out and cut new hole for it to return back into underbelly. Covered with gorilla tape to keep out water and dirt has worked good since.

[DKRITTER]

Originally Posted by Kaadk

If money is no object (since these are expensive) you could replace your cable operated valves with an electric one:

Robot Check



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Tell you what if they continue to be this hard it's an acceptable alternative.

[ependydad]

My repair shop ended up putting a grease zerk fitting and pumped grease into my valve. Seems to have really helped.