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Old 03-07-2016, 05:44 PM   #1
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2014 25' FB Flying Cloud
Hillsborough , North Carolina
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Vacuum Breaker Check Valve - Sewer Flush

Anyone had the problem of hooking up the hose at the dump station to the sewer flush and opening the spigot valve too quickly allowing an in-rush surge to pop the top off the Vacuum Breaker Check Valve?

I am wondering if that could of been the cause of the failure of my vacuum breaker check valve. (in a 2014 Flying Cloud)

Any tips on replacing would also be appreciated. One side appears to be a fairly normal finger tight coupling. Once that side is disconnected, is it easier to pull the remaining assembly through the wall to the outside?

is a pressure regulator a good idea on the sewer flush?
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Old 03-07-2016, 06:36 PM   #2
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I'm assuming you have the inexpensive plastic one that Airstream started using some time ago. Your not the first to have it fail, even when it is hooked up to the pressure regulated supply from their rig. Do a google search into the forum and find info on the solid brass replacement (that Airstream previously used).
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Old 03-07-2016, 07:34 PM   #3
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There is also a possibility that the valve was not blown out with air when the system was winterized and had become frozen. They are often plumbed so that they don't self drain, and due to the check valve nature, need to be blown out with compressed air.
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Old 03-07-2016, 07:52 PM   #4
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Stand by for links to various posts on this

Here is one post with photos and specs for the brass valve -- other posters' suggested sources are good too:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f163...ml#post1708060

And an earlier one in the same thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f163...ml#post1704994

Another thread:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f396...-oh-50633.html

We have the same model year Flying Cloud, thus you may also have the older plastic vacuum breaker. I hope to check mine out again when I charge the pipes, but my access is terrible (buried under the bath vanity counter) compared to yours.
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Old 03-07-2016, 08:12 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GeeSag View Post
. . .
is a pressure regulator a good idea on the sewer flush?
Always. [even though in theory the water pressure cannot build up to maximum because the discharges are open-ended in the sidewall of the black water tank]

You may have introduced excessive water pressure to the vacuum breaker IMO if you did not have a regulator in-line.
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Old 03-07-2016, 09:58 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by idroba View Post
There is also a possibility that the valve was not blown out with air when the system was winterized and had become frozen. They are often plumbed so that they don't self drain, and due to the check valve nature, need to be blown out with compressed air.
And if you don't blow out your system, but pump antifreeze instead, you can hook up your no-fuss-flush and briefly open the valve to pump antifreeze through it.
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Old 03-08-2016, 03:35 AM   #7
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Someone please describe what this discussion is about. This is the first that I have heard of this topic and I can't really envision what it is about.
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Old 03-08-2016, 11:42 AM   #8
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Marty have you read the threads and seen the photos, as linked in Post 4 here? Your owner's manual should describe this black water tank back-flush system, one component of which is the vacuum breaker under discussion. If things are unclear after you have seen the above, please advise.

Peter
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Old 03-08-2016, 03:17 PM   #9
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Marty, maybe your 2007 Safari does not have a black water tank flush system?
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Old 03-09-2016, 10:38 PM   #10
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My owner's manual does not describe a black water tank back-flush system. What is it and how does it work? I had already looked at the prior posts before asking.
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Old 03-10-2016, 04:53 AM   #11
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It lets you hook up a city water hose to a special connection which then blasts the inside of the black water tank with high pressure water to flush out any remaining solid material. In my opinion it is not necessary, as the old-fashioned way works fine. [drive trailer just before dumping to reduce solids to pulp, which flows easily, then put fresh tank solution and some water in for the next trip -- at season's end stick an old hose down the toilet and let it run a while. Drive around with just some water in there and dump again.]

I will not use the black water tank flush system until I can get the new brass vacuum breaker installed, which will require removing the rear dinette seat entirely from what I can see.

Sometimes IMO all the new improvements just add things which can break. No thanks. You are better off without it . . .

Later . . . low on the list of Spring tasks to get OTRA! [on the road again]
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Old 05-04-2016, 12:22 PM   #12
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Open up the wardrobe (or whatever cabinet is adjacent to the blackwater flush inlet) and cut that PEX and remove that backflow preventer and THROW IT AS FAR INTO THE LANDFILL AS YOU CAN!
REplace it with a common plumbing elbow or "sharkbite" elbow and be forever untroubled with it again.
The reason that backflow preventer was installed was to satisfy a building code that is unlikely to apply. That code was intended to prevent germs from backing up into the city water supply thru a hose that is continuously connected to the flush system in an unpressurized condition.... something that you will never ever do.
The backflow preventer is a common problem with the flush system and even when it works properly can and does leak a little water into the hollow compartments of your trailer... Don't believe?... remove the paneling and observe the little air-vent on the device when first pressurized with water.

Throw that POS away and replace it with ordinary plumbing connector of your choice. IMHO.
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Old 05-14-2016, 06:56 PM   #13
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Any other opinions on the right way to fix this?

I just tried to use the black tank flush and I heard it start to work, and then it just stopped. The initial water pressure was probably quite high. Mine is the brass unit, and apparently it is now stuck closed. No water is getting through. I can access it inside the closet, and it's not leaking inside the trailer. If I turn off the water, there is still a lot of pressure from the hose side when I disconnect it - so it's like the check valve or something is stuck closed.

Thoughts?
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Old 01-04-2017, 09:32 AM   #14
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Excellent thread. I had this happen a month ago at a campground with extremely high pressure. It blew that thing apart & I was barely able to reach behind the panels & grab one of two pieces; the other still down there somewhere. I came here to post this question. Thanks everyone for input!
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Old 01-04-2017, 10:29 PM   #15
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I have only tried using my black tank flush once. Water rushed out of the bottom of my trailer -- out of the wall -- so clearly something, probably the valve, is broken or plugged. I haven't bothered with it further.
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Old 01-14-2017, 10:10 PM   #16
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My previous post on this subject was because my black tank backflush did not work. I bought the AS slightly used and the flush system would not accept water at all.
A fellow traveler (RoadCessna here at the forums) showed me how good the system works...when it works ...by demonstration on his 20' Safari.

So I gathered my courage...located the removable panel inside the wardrobe (immediately inboard of where the external water hose connector is) and FOUND the cheap plastic backflow preventer completely blocked by an insect nest of some sort. Some little bugger had crawled in there and built a very substantial paper-plug that completely shut it off.

When I saw it was a cheap plastic device.... and when I saw it was mounted so high up inside the trailer-wall....well-above the black tank... I realized there is simply NO WAY that the black tank is going to back-feed the city water system unless someone deliberately applied SUCTION to the system.
So rather than deal with another plastic check-valve failure (as that's what the backflow preventer is...a checkvalve).... I simply used tubing cutters and cut it out of the system and threw it away.
I installed a brass "elbow" instead.... and I did it the simple way... I bought a "sharkbite" brand of elbow and inserted the PEX tubing I had cut the preventer out of. A year later now and it still works perfectly with no leaks and my black tank gets flushed easily and sanitarily.
Simple fix.
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Old 01-15-2017, 04:43 AM   #17
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FYI this is a fairly old thread. Here are some other threads including a recent one:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f444...em-161480.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f163...-143133-2.html

In Post #2 of the second link there is a photo of our vacuum breaker hidden away under the bath vanity counter.

Peter

FYI
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Old 06-28-2017, 04:23 PM   #18
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My black water is not flushing when I turn on the
Hose to flush it out. Where is the vacuum breaker on 2014 FC,
So I can check it?
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Old 06-28-2017, 05:04 PM   #19
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If your black water flush system has not been used consistently, the small holes in the spray jet heads (inside the black tank) may be clogged up with dried-out fecal and TP material.

Vacuum breakers are located in different areas in different models. Your owner's manual may inform, or may be silent. Ours is buried under the bath counter. See Post #17 and the other threads linked therein.
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Old 06-28-2017, 05:59 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silverkiwi View Post
My black water is not flushing when I turn on the
Hose to flush it out. Where is the vacuum breaker on 2014 FC,
So I can check it?
I'll bet it's directly inside from the outside connection.... and UP about 12-inches from the connection. Look inside cabinetry for an access-panel.
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