Need help. Black tank handle broke off

[Breadman99]

Hello,

I am un the middle of a long multiple stop trip. When trying to dump the blank tank at our last stop the handle broke completely off. I tried to pull the rod with vice grips but there isn't enough rod to grab. Tank is completely full and we are on our way to next stop. With it being a Sunday, there are minimal shops/stores open. I am limited to a couple big box type department stores.
What are my options? I need to empty tank. If I cut the underbelly will I be able to get at valve to manually open?
If so, where would it be located? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Breadman99

Hello,

I am un the middle of a long multiple stop trip. When trying to dump the blank tank at our last stop the handle broke completely off. I tried to pull the rod with vice grips but there isn't enough rod to grab. Tank is completely full and we are on our way to next stop. With it being a Sunday, there are minimal shops/stores open. I am limited to a couple big box type department stores.
What are my options? I need to empty tank. If I cut the underbelly will I be able to get at valve to manually open?
If so, where would it be located? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If it were me, I would just stop using the black time until I got home top have my Mobile Tech come out and repair. It is likely that even if you get open you may not be able to reclose to use anyway.

It broke for a reason, so that needs to fixed and replaced.

Your scenario gives me a thought though for future. I carry a FloJet macerator pump but it connects to the the 4 fins of the main output on the waste drains. If I could find an adaptor that would connect to the 4 fin side of the Flo Jet macerator and have a standard water hose fitting on the other side then I could connect my waste hose to macerator pump put inside of toilet to get to black tanks while the discharge side is connected to another waste hose that goes into city drain.

It would be good backup. Of course I assume the pump will get enough pressure head to pump out of the waste tank?

[dkoldman]

Here is part I refer to.

https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T102...98391653&psc=1

I need to call Jet flo to see if the macerator is trong enough to get pressure head to pull through a 25 ft orange sewer garden hose and up may be 4 to 5 feet?

[backtrack15]

Is there any chance you could temporarily swap the handle over from the grey tank valve? I’m guessing not, but thought I’d toss that out there. If yes, you might twist the handle clockwise/counterclockwise a bit to see if you can free the cable and avoid breaking another handle.

[Breadman99]

Just a quick update. I reached our next stop (black tank full). I was able to grab what was left of the rod with a pair of vice grips. I'm not able to switch over the handles because unfortunately the last half inch of rod busted with the handle. I was able to empty the tank and get the valve closed again. I think I should be good till we get home in a couple of days amd I can get things pulled apart to fix properly. I believe a bend in the rod created the original binding of the rod creating the break.
Any advice or thoughts on what I might need to replace? Where is the other end of the rod? At the valve? Would it be one long rod to valve or separate peices?

[backtrack15]

You can slip a flexible inspection camera with light over the frame rail (under the fabric) and look at what is there. That’ll give you an idea for where the valves are and the best place to cut if you need to for repair. I think the valve actually has about six feet of cable coiled between it and the valve handle.

I bought a camera on Amazon for ~$25 and it was great for checking on things below the floor of the Micro Minnie.

[Breadman99]

So I am home now and attempting to repair my black tank handle problem. I was able to locate the valve and cut access into the underbelly. I was hoping I could just replace the cable,rod, handle. I can't seem to figure out how to unhook the cable from the valve. I'm also having trouble identifying the make of the valve. Anyone able to identify? Or know how to disconnect cable. The plastic peice covering the cable seems to be built into the valve housing. Im sure if i could remove this housing, I could unhook the cable. I'd like to avoid replacing the whole valve due to the fact it's glued in and functions fine.

[backtrack15]

You might do a Google image search to see if you can find valves that look the same as what you can see there… then search for their manuals.

It also looks like there are a couple of videos on this subject (replacing the dump valve cable without replacing the valve). Maybe one of these will match yours.

Sorry I can’t be of more help.

Edit: Doing the image search, it looks like a RecPro valve.

[golden13]

I've seen extenders with those bayonet connectors on both ends, and there's also one that fits on the sewer outlet of a campground and has a hose fitting right on top. I'm not sure if all the bayonet ends would match up properly, but it's worth checking out!

[grtharris]

This should help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kt-ERUczY4