Black Tank Valve issues

[scbrown063]

Hey all. Ok I'm a little cranky. I've had my Solaire 247rkes for about a year and a half now and it was purchased brand new. Ever since picking it up, the black tank valve has become nearly impossible to close after draining. I had to sit on the ground today and use my foot to close it. I know this can't be good. Any ideas?

[Iggy]

Dump a good amount of Dawn down into an empty tank with a little water to let it soak for awhile. Then open and close to see if that helps.

If that doesn't work start looking for a new valve install.

[scbrown063]

Ok I will try it. What does that do?

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by scbrown063

Ok I will try it. What does that do?

I swear by Dawn as the magic elixir for almost everything.
The truth is Dawn is a great degreaser and won't hurt rubber seals or birds.
Anyway it's worth a try.

You just may have toilet paper stuck in the valve that has dried and isn't coming out.

If you don't mind getting a little dirty....
You can remove the valve yourself after you do a few good water flushes and see if you can manually clean the valve seat. It's only 4 bolts and nuts.

[scbrown063]

Thanks a ton Iggy! Gonna give it a shot.

[Davidjeff]

You could try a little silicone spray on the shaft when it's pulled out in case it's dry and dragging. Somewhere here I have seen a post on installing a plug to get it into the bore better. Now if it's jamming from blockage the other posters have good suggestions

[scbrown063]

Originally Posted by Davidjeff

You could try a little silicone spray on the shaft when it's pulled out in case it's dry and dragging. Somewhere here I have seen a post on installing a plug to get it into the bore better. Now if it's jamming from blockage the other posters have good suggestions

Thanks David.

[SeaDog]

It sounds to me like you have something built up on the valve seats, I think dawn is a good solution and the easiest fix. If that doesn't do it you may try dumping the tank leave the valve open and take a toilet brush or something similar and manually clean the seating area of the valve. let us know what you find and what fix worked so we can learn from your experience.

[scbrown063]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

It sounds to me like you have something built up on the valve seats, I think dawn is a good solution and the easiest fix. If that doesn't do it you may try dumping the tank leave the valve open and take a toilet brush or something similar and manually clean the seating area of the valve. let us know what you find and what fix worked so we can learn from your experience.

Will do SeaDog. Thanks for the advice.

[Iggy]

Here is a short video.
https://youtu.be/u-AFa9hyrpI

[scbrown063]

Originally Posted by Iggy

Here is a short video.
https://youtu.be/u-AFa9hyrpI

Thanks Iggy. Looks like I have a little project for next weekend.[emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1]

[Havasu Bill]

My Cardinal was only 6 months old when I had to replace the black water valve. FR puts in cheap valves/cables (twisted wire). I replaced it with an of the shelf good quality valve (can't recall the name) with solid wire. I also cut a 3 sided hatch in the underbelly to get access to it now and in the future.

It works so much better and smoother now! Amazing what quality gets you

[Goferbroke]

We have a Chaparral 360IBL and the black tank handle was hard to from day 1 just like yours. After about a year of fighting with it, it finally won. It broke off in my hand one day. I pulled the underbelly skin off to get to it and discovered a major design flaw. The black tank is mounted about 10" in front of a cross brace. To route the cable to the blade valve, it had to make a 90* bend at the valve connection causing a huge amount of friction at the bend. My solution was to drill a 1/4" hole in the brace and run the cable from behind the brace straight into the valve connection. Smooth as silk now.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by scbrown063

Thanks David.

Is it a direct pull handle or does it have that darn cable?
In our old rig, at about 7 years I changed the whole valve and NEW was so nice.

[Harkerr]

I went through two cable operated black valves with poor results. I gave up and replaced with an electric valve. It has worked well and solved the problem.