Black water tank cable

[Edgardner]

The cable to the black water tank is extremely hard to pull. Any suggestions?

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Edgardner

The cable to the black water tank is extremely hard to pull. Any suggestions?

Unfortunately, there is no way to lubricate the cables for the valves and they apparently rust over time. I had to replace the cable and the valve for the black water tank on my 2012 36RL three years ago. Mine had become extremely hard to pull also. The Valtera valves and cables are available on Amazon. Here is a link to what I used:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The install was moderately difficult for an older person like myself, but, not impossible. You have to drop the coreplast from the bottom of the coach to access the valve and cable. Also, you will have to remove the back wall of the storage compartment to access the back side of the utility compartment. The black tank on my coach is towards the front of the coach. Before installing the new cable, I filled the cable sheath with Teflon lubricant and it still works very smoothly.

Hope this helps.

[ted 95]

Have been told buy Lippert and Valtarra to never use wd40 or white grease as they will slowly clog up inside. I have tried a bit of graphite powder but also nervous it too could clog. Was also told quite often the problem is the plastic slider inside (the gate) could have junk. Once in a while I put about 8oz of dish soap down the drain and use the spray flusher and it kind of greases of the gate and also cleans out the tank a bit. Another trick if you have been stationary for awhile just before leaving the next time. Leave about 5-8 gal of water in the tank. And just before you leave (engine is running) dump 2-3 bags of ice down the hatch. While driving to the next CG it will move around and clean up the tank then melt.

[travelin' texans]

I use the el cheapo dish or laundry soap in my black tank every time I dump & flush & leave couple gallons of soapy water in it while traveling, valve still works smoothly.
Never had any luck with the ice in the tank other than wasting ice, didn't even help the sensors.
I also add about a 1/4 cup of cheap cooking oil to the gray tanks after dumping & they work smoothly as well.
I agree about WD40, it's for rusted bolts only & a great dirt magnet, use a silicone spray (WD40 now has a silicone spray which good) on everything in your RW.
20161005_120522.jpg
I've used this since my RW was new on slides, doors, hinges, if it's supposed to move I spray it, bought at Wal-Mart.

[HTX]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

I use the el cheapo dish or laundry soap in my black tank every time I dump & flush & leave couple gallons of soapy water in it while traveling, valve still works smoothly.
Never had any luck with the ice in the tank other than wasting ice, didn't even help the sensors.
I also add about a 1/4 cup of cheap cooking oil to the gray tanks after dumping & they work smoothly as well.
I agree about WD40, it's for rusted bolts only & a great dirt magnet, use a silicone spray (WD40 now has a silicone spray which good) on everything in your RW.
Attachment 3091
I've used this since my RW was new on slides, doors, hinges, if it's supposed to move I spray it, bought at Wal-Mart.

Ditto.

The RV tech that has services both the Redwood and the previous sob recommended adding soap. According to a guy that fixes this kind of problem everyday "The black water tank cables fail significantly more often than the grey water tanks because they have grease and soap flowing through all of the time." Cable failure is a function of increased resistance on the actual closer over time.

[5th_Time]

Luckily, my tank sending units have always worked properly, as other than vacations and weekends, our rig mostly camps in the driveway. Last few years, I noticed my cables starting to get more difficult to move in/out, so I bought all three and decided to replace them all. After removing the front belly pan and viewing the size of the job, I thought that it was probably the slide door on the valves and sheepishly decided "if it ain't broke - don't fix it". I sprayed CRC Silicone lube instead where I could.

Instead, after lots of research, I decided to pour a gallon of vegetable oil down each drain to lube the valves and then after a few minutes, I actuated the valves a few times. Seemed smoother...

On the next trip out, I noticed that my black and grey tank readings were stuck at 1/3 or 2/3 and even after couple usages, could not get them to return to normal. From time to time, I would check the monitor panel, but no luck. Seems like veggie oil probably leaves a sticky residue inside the tank if it dries or the trailer sits for any period of time unless there is water present. The cure was worse than the disease!

It's winter up here in Connecticut and the Redwood has just sat since October. Last weekend, I was happy to see that the monitor panel finally reads all tanks empty again. Be careful when using straight vegetable oil as a valve lube...

[RCAircraft]

Originally Posted by Edgardner

The cable to the black water tank is extremely hard to pull. Any suggestions?

Since new, I have been adding two cups of Gain liquid laundry detergent and one cup of Calgon liquid softener to the black, grey and galley tanks following each emptying. So far, after five years no issues with the tank valve pull cables. If anything, the Gain adds a pleasant scent to the air during dumping.