Lube waste water drain valves

[Bluto]

Do any of you use veggie oil in your waste water tanks to lube the drain valves?

Do you use it after each dump cycle or do you only use some veggie oil in the tanks for storage only?

[Farmer Dan]

I didn't use veggie oil to lube the valves - but I'm sure it would do the job. I did use canola oil to soften the toilet bowl seal so it held water. The '89 25' Excella we had would not hold water in the toilet bowl. A couple applications of the cooking oil, especially after the weather warmed a bit in early spring, and the seal held water for the next two seasons until we traded the rig.

Dan

[AtomicNo13]

I use cheap cooking oil every now and then.
Use brake fluid if I suspect a seal leak. Brake fluid will swell the seal a little and keep it supple. The seals in my 91 classic are original and don't leak. They slide like silk.

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

No lubing here. We just euro style our tanks and trash TP instead of throwing in tank and allowing chemicals to dissolve. We actually had to replace our black tank valve because of TP buildup, no way to lube on the 18 classic from what I understand.

[flyerboy]

OK,
Now inquiring minds want to know, how much veggie/ cooking oil in the waste tank and how often is every now and then???

[CRH]

If I were so inclined to lube my valves, I'd stop by a restaurant and ask them to save the old fryer oil. It comes in easily totable 3 gallon jugs.

[A W Warn]

In the past I occasionally added vegetable oil at the end of season, but stopped doing it many years ago.

There is already oil/fat in the black tank, from dietary fat that gets excreted. A little dish or laundry soap will help break down solid fats that form in the black tank in cool weather, and as a bonus the soap cleans and lubricates the black tank and dump valve seals. (google search the "Geo Method")

There's plenty of soap in the gray water from dishes and bathing, so no extra lubrication is needed in the gray tank.

[guskmg]

I have used Thetford's sewer valve lubricant and it work fine if you put in just enough water and about 4 onces of lubricant to cover the valve(s). Let it slosh around some then cycle the valves a bunch of times. There may be some debris in the valve slots that needs to be removed. Thetford's lubricant in coconut oil and much cheaper if bought in bulk quantities where organic food is sold. Ironically, it is coconut coir (outside hairs) that make such a good medium for compost toilets. Besides, you can eat the coconut meat. It is an amazing fruit.
guskmg

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by guskmg

I have used Thetford's sewer valve lubricant and it work fine if you put in just enough water and about 4 onces of lubricant to cover the valve(s). Let it slosh around some then cycle the valves a bunch of times. There may be some debris in the valve slots that needs to be removed. Thetford's lubricant in coconut oil and much cheaper if bought in bulk quantities where organic food is sold. Ironically, it is coconut coir (outside hairs) that make such a good medium for compost toilets. Besides, you can eat the coconut meat. It is an amazing fruit.
guskmg

Thetford's valve lubricant contains silicone. I tried it a few times, but did not see the promised result.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1edvSv6OfI

[sallye]

I'm not a mechanical expert, like a lot of you folks, but I do have experience with different oils. Anything good for cooking is going to get rancid and gummy over time. And it might attract vermin. Vegetable oil isn't recommended on butcher block countertops for those reasons, and I wouldn't use it on anything rubber as it degrades rubber over time. That stuff will even dissolve the finishes on wood over time. In a kitchen, cooking oils in the air result in sticky varnish on the cabinets - as often seen in rental properties.



I'd try mineral oil instead, or something made especially for valves or rubber seals.

[Streamracer]

We normally cook fried eggs for breakfast and after the oil cools we dump it in the toilet. Never had any problems with seals in 22 years we've had the trailer.