Valterra valve solution

[DaveFL]

Owned MH's for many years and finally decide to fix rather than replace the Valterra valve on the holding tank. Valterra puts out a good valve however it gets stiff after a few years or non use. The one I have now has been in the MH for about 3 yrs, limited usage and shouldn't be hard to open or close, drilled 1/8 inch hole, tapped in a thread and a few squirts of oil it is smooth again. You can use self tapping screws or bolts. Valve was used two months ago, tank was flushed until it ran clear, just to make sure I ran the hose again today and when I drilled out came brown water, valve holds water, one more reason to modify, would be a shame to destroy a valve by freezing the water held in it.
Once oiled all three valves worked smooth, now I have spares Middle picture shows how to move handle to make drilling easier, this valve is only a backup valve in case of primary valve having a problem on the road.
Bottom picture shows where to drill and tap a screw, if you want freeze protection you might want to do two so that water will flow out the low point, my concern was getting oil in and only drilled the high side.

[Phoenix]

I have been carrying a spare valve around for a couple of years, waiting for the T-handle to come off in my hand. But now, I'm going to drill a hole and oil mine, too!

I wonder if a 1/4" (miniature) grease zerk-fitting would fit? They even make one that has tapered, concentric ridges/rings that can be tapped in with a hammer, instead of screwing it in.

Great idea! Thanks for the tip and photos!

[DaveFL]

Like the idea of a fitting but not the hammer, valve is plastic and wacking it might disturb the rubber o-rings or crack the case. Oil flows to the two tracks on either side of the valve and the shaft but you would have to put in a lot of grease to fill the entire interior and then when you pull handle you would have to displace grease and whatever worked its way past the o-rings around the sliding sealing plate.

[Kevin245]

Thanks for sharing this idea Dave. I carry a spare valve gate assembly in my parts kit for the same reason. I had to change both valves out in our Avion last October. The front two connecting bolts were readliy accessible but the back two were on the blind side and were difficult to reach. The bad part was that the old zinc plated bolts had corroded so much that there was no way to unbolt them even after dropping the belly skin.

I ended up slicing through the gate body with a sawzall without damaging the flanges. I used stainless hardware on the new valve gates.

What type of oil are you using for lubrication?

[RickDavis]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

I have been carrying a spare valve around for a couple of years, waiting for the T-handle to come off in my hand. But now, I'm going to drill a hole and oil mine, too!

I wonder if a 1/4" (miniature) grease zerk-fitting would fit? They even make one that has tapered, concentric ridges/rings that can be tapped in with a hammer, instead of screwing it in.

Great idea! Thanks for the tip and photos!

on other RV forums I have read of people installing a grease fitting and filling it with grease. Haven't tried it my self.

My valve is the low point in the tank and a few ounces of cooking oil does wonders. Also loosening the bolts that hold the valve together a 1/4 turn can help a lot as the valves age

[Larry C]

Originally Posted by RickDavis

on other RV forums I have read of people installing a grease fitting and filling it with grease. Haven't tried it my self.

My valve is the low point in the tank and a few ounces of cooking oil does wonders. Also loosening the bolts that hold the valve together a 1/4 turn can help a lot as the valves age

Do you just pour the cooking oil into the tank through the toilet? If that works it sounds like that would be the most simple solution...

Larry C

[RickDavis]

Originally Posted by Larry C

Do you just pour the cooking oil into the tank through the toilet? If that works it sounds like that would be the most simple solution...

Larry C

I do, but my valve is horizontal and the low point so if the tank is empty all the oil goes there. On a vertical valve it would be more difficult. The theory is the cooking oil won't have an adverse affect on the seals where a petroleum product might cause swelling

[DaveFL]

Originally Posted by Kevin245

What type of oil are you using for lubrication?

I used what I had in a plastic squeeze bottle labeled machine oil with a tube for getting in small places, feels like 10 wt, but unknown. The cooking oil recommendation makes sense for next time, time to fill a small bottle and put it in the sewer supplies.