RV Dump Valve Troubleshooting
RV Lifestyle & Repair EditorsThe drain valve, or your RV’s dump valve, is the spot where all your plumbing pipes for the holding tanks come together in your RV. Sewage from the black and gray water tanks are plumbed to this valve to allow you to dump the waste at an approved dumping station. Ideally, the material from your holding tank moves through the pipes and into an external tank on site without any leaks or slowdowns. Any problems with the flow of the sewage materials can signal an internal problem with your RV’s dump valve.
The first place to check is the fittings themselves. You may have a cracked pipe or a loose connector that's allowing material to leak out underneath the valve. If the fittings are tight and the pipes are undamaged, you'll need to inspect your RV’s dump valve.
This plastic valve is designed to close off the individual tanks from emptying using a sliding spade valve. When you're ready to empty your tanks, pulling the lever or handle of your RV’s dump valve slides the spade valve out, opening the pipe and allowing sewage to flow through. When it's closed, it's supposed to hold back everything in the tank as it seals to the oval rubber gasket inside the valve.
Any foreign objects such as pieces of plastic, garbage, or anything else that won't dissolve (like the wrong type of toilet paper) can get wedged into a sewer valve, preventing it from closing completely and allowing liquid to leak out. Alternatively, storing your RV for long periods of time can cause the material in your RV’s dump valve to dry out and become stiff and difficult to open, or cracked and unable to seal properly. Always add drain valve conditioner to the system when storing your RV for any extended period of time. If you continue to have leaks in the sewer system, you may be able to check your valves if you have an external access port. Otherwise, taking the system apart to look for valves that are stuck or clogged may be the only answer.
{music} If you're having problems with your drain valves or dump valves, gate valves here. There's a few things you can do. First of all, if I see any leaking around here I want to find out, do I have any of these cracked, I'm going to have to replace any of the boots you can since you can't get in and see that sometimes what happens with these valves. If I have a continual leak, that's coming in here even though I know these are closed every time I open this up, I'm getting drips in here, or even even more fluid coming through. This valve is supposed to shut all the way closed and their seals on the outside.
The first thing I would do is I would try a little bit of drain valve lubricant. This should be put in every time you store it you want to put it in, so you've got those pliable onto this on around the sides here. But then I also want to, if, if I've got a little bit of a, of a gap in here, what happens is when the manufacturers are building these they're they're routing, spin welding, they're working on the tanks I could get a bunch of plastic fittings so it doesn't take much of a fitting to lodge in between that, so if I've got something in there and I go to close it it's not going to close all the way. So I can possibly take a coat hanger or a brush, if I can get up in there. Now, these, I really can't get in it, I'd have to tear these apart and take a look at them.
Some of the other ones on the side valves I can get up and clean that out really well. But otherwise I do see where with the, they start working on some of the cabinetry and I get wood in there. If you throw anything down the toilet that's non what will not dissolve inside that toilet, it could get hung up in these ridges in here and get sandwiched and not make its way through. So then, then you're basically going to have to take this completely out and replace it.
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