Grey tank valve stuck

[Just Mike]

My grey tank is full and I the drain valve is frozen. No matter how hard I pull it won't budge. I've read many post here and elsewhere about this being a problem with the cable, and many other post that say it's a problem with the valve itself, so I'm kinda confused about whether the problem is in the cable or the valve.


However, my immediate problem is that I want to free up the handle so I can drain the grey tank. Can anyone tell me what to do/try to free up the handle?

[SactoSteve]

Have you had any success freeing the valve?

[Just Mike]

Unfortunately no.


I tried pouring some rv dump valve lubricant made by Thetford and I've also tried Liquid Plumber, with no luck.


I'm going to have to figure out what to do about the full grey tank and then pull the valve and replace it. I'm considering hiring a mobile rv tech.

[creativepart]

I would never put drain cleaner in an rv sink drain. It’s far too caustic. The problem is a mechanical one at the gate valve/pull cable. This will never be solved with drain cleaner chemicals.

If you are unable to get under the RV to investigate and fix this then yes you should get a mobile tech. The sooner the better now that you’ve added caustic chemicals to the tank.

[SactoSteve]

I agree with “seek professional help”.
I did find a thread here. https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...ml#post3921155

Thread contains a diagram of how the mechanism works but requires cutting through the coroplast to access.

Hope you can resolve this quickly.
-steve

[Fred 2106DS]

Here are a few pictures from my 2106DS to show you what you will be dealing with if you decide to open up the underbelly. As you can see, the grey tank valve assembly is close to being directly in line with its pull handle so you may be able to replace the flex cable assembly with a straight pull rod assembly.

[Bigbird65]

Good photos Fred.

[Desert Taco]

Great pics, Fred. My issue isn't with the grey tank its pretty smooth. The black tank cable is a bear to pull from new. My understanding is the cable is long and convoluted. Curious in how difficult it was to remove the coroplast to get to cables?

[Fred 2106DS]

Originally Posted by Desert Taco

Great pics, Fred. My issue isn't with the grey tank its pretty smooth. The black tank cable is a bear to pull from new. My understanding is the cable is long and convoluted. Curious in how difficult it was to remove the coroplast to get to cables?

Hi Terry,

It's not difficult. I cut the coroplast from one side to the other and removed it in a couple of sections. I will take pictures and post tomorrow to show what I did and how I sealed it back up.

Both my cables lay in a single loop between the coroplast and bottom of their respective tanks. Similar to the attached PDF.

I don't have great pictures of my black tank valve assembly, but I attached what I have. It's similar to the grey tank setup.

Fred

[Fred 2106DS]

Terry,

Here are the pictures of my sealed up coroplast underbelly after I added tank heaters and water level sensors to the grey and black tanks. I marked in yellow where I made my cuts in the coroplast to drop the sections needed to make my installations. I used 4" Bottom Board Repair Tape to cover the cuts and expanding foam to seal around the drain pipes.

The first picture was taken from the door side and the second and third are taken from the slide side.

The coroplast is only about a 1/4" thick and very easy to cut. I just used a utility knife with a new blade and followed one of the corrugations from one side to the other when making my cuts. Also, once I had enough of a cut to get my fingers in above the coroplast I pulled the coroplast down a little to make sure I wouldn't cut into anything important. Once you have a big enough cut you can see above the coroplast as you cut.

If you are just going to be working on the black tank cabling you can probably just remove a section of coroplast on the black tank side of your drainpipes and make your repairs.

Let me know if you have additional questions.

Fred