Black tank rinse connection cap broken

[Rich W]

I was winterizing this afternoon, was almost finished. I blew out the black tank water inlet for the rinser and was replacing the screw in cap; crumble, crumble. The nylon thingy just crumbled as I was putting it in, wasn't even tightening it yet. First the cap itself came off, then everything underneath started crumbling.

I have a manual for the 2007 23' Safari, and most of the parts work on my 2006. Only the entire rinse inlet is listed, however. I just need the nylon screw plug. Anyone ever find one of these?

[AWCHIEF]

Camping World or Amazon is where I would start my quest. There is nothing special about these caps. They are generic off the shelf parts.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

Camping World or Amazon is where I would start my quest. There is nothing special about these caps. They are generic off the shelf parts.

Been there, all I can find is the entire assembly. I just need the little nylon cap. I'd hate to buy all that, $42, for just the cap. Should just be a $2 item.

I'll take what's left of the old one over to Lowes and Home Depot, see if they can match it up to something.

[Rich W]

I think I found something at Camping World

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...let-plug/27840

[Rich W]

That cap was $1.29 online
In the store, for members, $2.69
In the store, non-members (or expired) $3.85

It's white, compared to the gray original; very visible.

On the other hand, the cap fits and it's covering the inlet, I should stop crabbing.

[TBRich]

You could check with any RV place to see if they have what you need. Our original cap was just a cap without threads (with the tether to attache it to the body) that slipped over the opening and was held only by tension...it NEVER stayed on while towing. Made me crazy as I could see it flapping in the wind while driving. I finally replaced it with a black screw-on cap with the tether to connect to the body of the rinse port. I believe I got it at a local RV shop that deals primarily with Airstreams (Oasis RV in Tucson).

[The Ice Man]

Ace Hardware sells a hose-thread nylon plug for less than a dollar. That's what my rig wears now.

[guskmg]

best Did you say everything under the cap crumbled? If so, that is a female faucet fitting with a 1/2" PEX barb. I have had mine out so as to access the city water fill. If you take both out it is a lot easier to access and repair. If the city water fill regulator housing shows any space between the two halve replace it while you have it out. It is freeze damaged and is getting ready to leak.
guskmg

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by TBRich

You could check with any RV place to see if they have what you need. Our original cap was just a cap without threads (with the tether to attache it to the body) that slipped over the opening and was held only by tension...it NEVER stayed on while towing. Made me crazy as I could see it flapping in the wind while driving. I finally replaced it with a black screw-on cap with the tether to connect to the body of the rinse port. I believe I got it at a local RV shop that deals primarily with Airstreams (Oasis RV in Tucson).

Thanks, I found something at a new Camping World that opened up across from my storage lot. I took off the tether because there was no place to attach to the AS body. It works fine, but the bright white is very noticeable. I wish I could have found a silver/gray one like the original. I'll probably paint it black with some plastic paint. Maybe the sun will fade it to a more suitable gray.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by The Ice Man

Ace Hardware sells a hose-thread nylon plug for less than a dollar. That's what my rig wears now.

Thanks, Ice Man. Only one Ace Hardware here or where I store my AS. I checked at Home Depot and Lowes, they had only the female hose caps. I've added it to my cell phone list of hardware things I need. If I find some I'll pick up a couple and keep them in my 'just in case' drawer.

Originally Posted by guskmg

best Did you say everything under the cap crumbled? If so, that is a female faucet fitting with a 1/2" PEX barb. I have had mine out so as to access the city water fill. If you take both out it is a lot easier to access and repair. If the city water fill regulator housing shows any space between the two halve replace it while you have it out. It is freeze damaged and is getting ready to leak.
guskmg

Hi guskmg, it's the black tank rinse water hose connection just below the city water inlet. The female connector is OK, it was just the male cap that crumbled. It was a simple repair, I just got a white 3/4" male hose end cap at Camping World.

I've seen prices for some of these caps offered in the $20+ range, plus shipping. If something is for an RV (or boat) you can pretty much quadruple the price. Its better to find a suitable replacement used for a different purpose.

[The Ice Man]

The nylon hose-thread plug (male) was in the PVC section as I recall. That may well be the case at Lowe's and Home Depot too.

[CruizinDux]

Rich you could probably find a male hose thread plug in brass that over time will be less bright (maybe dip in salt water??)...and better than the white.

b

[OTRA15]

Also the brass one will be easier to paint black than a plastic one. Without a tether connection, however, it will be easier to lose, so I would consider buying 2-3 brass ones and painting them.

I damaged ours once when a branch caught it during a nighttime backing up maneuver, and bought a new assembly. The darn thing will not stay in place, as it is a snap-in connection for the plug. Grrrr . . .

Good luck!

Peter

PS -- Actually, following up on Bob's "salt water" comment, you can get a special acidic solution, from a jewelry supply store, which will turn the brass a nice dark brown. I have a bottle in my shop . . .



. . . and will post the info if you want.

[Rich W]

Thanks, everyone, great ideas. We are not able to travel right now, family matters, so I just got the plastic one at Camping World and now Dora is in storage. Bugs and dirt can't get in.

I thought about the PVC plug. The ones at Lowes are quite expensive, for a piece of plastic. I guess because they have to withstand the pressure, same as the other PVC pipe it closes.

The brass plug is interesting, I'll have to look into that. It will eventually weather and I'm not in any big hurry to make that happen. We're not going anywhere for the winter, so if I find one I'll just leave it out in the weather this winter.

On my cellphone I have a list of things to look for when I go anywhere, especially Lowes and Home Depot. (I get a 10% military discount at Lowes, so that's my preference.) I've just been looking for plastic caps but they might have the brass or PVC caps too. The list is great, I'm always needing something and I'd always forget what it was, so now I use my digital list.

Again, thanks for the good ideas and an excuse to go to the hardware store. I just got back from Harbor Freight, they are having a pretty good sale this weekend. I keep old copies of their coupon books and compare prices and these are some of the lowest I've seen, especially for the compressor hose reel I've been wanting.