fresh water tank drain

[kingfisher24]

: so we left spicewood texas saturday am, temp was 27F ; we slept in unit, used fresh water... drove seven hours...nothing out of the ordinary during the trip...temp was in low 60s...pulled into destination got out of the truck and noticed water gushing out of tank...in between the wheels street side...well there is a PLASTIC drain cock there that according to the manual and my experience,,,is the drain valve for the fresh water tank: this PLASTIC ry:valve had burst just as i pulled in the park...did it freeze overnight and take seven hours to break????????> WHY A PLASTIC DRAIN Valve.....!!!!!
I engineered a fix...but to truly fix... the tanks will have to be dropped......look at your trailers for this valve...i never noticed mine before it exploded

[Aage]

Originally Posted by kingfisher24

did it freeze overnight and take seven hours to break????????> WHY A PLASTIC DRAIN Valve.....!!!!!

Maybe it froze and took seven hours to thaw out...?

[wolverine]

Originally Posted by kingfisher24

: so we left spicewood texas saturday am, temp was 27F ; we slept in unit, used fresh water... drove seven hours...nothing out of the ordinary during the trip...temp was in low 60s...pulled into destination got out of the truck and noticed water gushing out of tank...in between the wheels street side...well there is a PLASTIC drain cock there that according to the manual and my experience,,,is the drain valve for the fresh water tank: this PLASTIC ry:valve had burst just as i pulled in the park...did it freeze overnight and take seven hours to break????????> WHY A PLASTIC DRAIN Valve.....!!!!!
I engineered a fix...but to truly fix... the tanks will have to be dropped......look at your trailers for this valve...i never noticed mine before it exploded

The other possibility is that you hit something on the road that cracked the valve. After we had that happen to our classic, I installed an additional galvanized bracket from Home Depot to give the valve more protection from road debris. Those valves are standard in most RVs so most RV dealers carry them in stock. I bought two so I have a spare in case this ever happens again. Hopefully, the extra shield will prevent a recurrence.

[Airtandem]

I had a 98 Excella and mine broke like a piece of glass. On the 2010' there is a metal deflector to protect it.
The best was on a Fleetwood 5th wheel. it had a valve just like the black/grey tank. This made draining alot easier.
mike

[Dwight]

Anyone have a photo of the metal shield?

[Ravenquest]

It has been my experience that a frozen item will not leak until it warms up and melts. These valves get old and brittle, I broke mine just trying to open it.

steve

[SilverGate]

Originally Posted by Dwight

Anyone have a photo of the metal shield?

Yes, here.

[wolverine]

Originally Posted by SilverGate

Yes, here.

In addition to the shield mounted below the valve that comes standard on some Airstreams, I purchased a 90 degree galvanized bracket at Lowe's. They are located with the wood framing bracket section of the store. I mounted this in front of the existing bracket to deflect any road material from hitting the valve. That still leaves space on the trailing section of the valve to open and close. Sorry I don't have the photo of the installation because I am traveling.

[kingfisher24]

could it really, in 60 degree weather, take 7 hours to thaw when it was only 27 for an hour or two initially...the metal guard was intact...i seriously do not think i hit anything...but was alble to fix it and it is still holding...

thanks

[Boxite]

Old thread...I know. But I bought a 2008 used and the PO pointed out the "goop" that had been stuck onto the fresh water drain to stop a leak.
The drain valve was actually cracked.

This is a very common plastic part... replacements found at any/all RV stores... but what a cheasy valve!

I replaced it with a brass drain valve (also known as a METAL SILCOCK) and barb purchased at Home Depot. Look for a "flanged, brass, silcock" and a threaded "hose barb".

Permanent fix, with sturdy metal. The only thing making this the least bit difficult is the fact that the sheet metal support box for the tank has riveted ends. I drilled the rivet heads and popped the rivets off and removed the end of the sheet metal box.
I installed a short piece of PVC flexible hose from the tank to the brass barb (which I threaded into the drain valve) and mounted the end of the box back in place using common sheet metal screws. Now if I ever have to get back in there it's a simple screwdriver matter, but the brass drain valve will likely never need attention.

HOpe this helps.

Here's what the sillcock looks like. A hose bard threads into the backside of it and short hose connects to the tank.

Metal Silcock & Hose Bibs : B & K Flanged Sillcock