Sewer Dump System

[Robin Goffrier]

The Beaver is on our lot in Indio.  We were scheduled to fly home for the holidays Thursday morning, Nov 21.  On the 20th I had a crew wash and wax the coach.  Have used them before with very good results. So Thursday morning at about 0400 I get up and begin getting the coach ready to be vacant for 40 days. Need to be at Palm Springs airport at 0645. Last thing I did was to drain both black and gray water tanks.  My 06 PT used to have electric valves but when I bought it earlier in the year from BCS the electric valves had been changed to manual, AND the manual valves are located on the opposite side of the coach from the drain and wet bay.  When I asked BCS about it they told me not to worry about it as the manual system was much more dependable.  Well, .... OK.  So back to Thursday morning at 0darkthirty I opened the basement door on the starboard (passenger) side and pulled the black water valve handle.  I heard water rushing but a wee tad louder than I expected.  And then the smell nobody wants to experience.  I ran to the other side of the coach to find the sewer hose torn open and dumping .... effluent on to the ground.  I ran back, closed the valve and opened the gray to dilute the black already on the ground.  Then I closed them both. This was all done by flashlight.  Would seem that the detail crew set the foot of a ladder on the hose which tore the heck out of it.  We got the situation and damage stabilized and beat feat for the airport.  I have called my neighbor to have him check the site and all seems reasonable. So now I need to purchase the necessary items to restore the system.  At minimum a new 20' hose will get me by.  But maybe its time to rethink my dump system.  I could install an electric pump system or even try to reinstall the original electric valve system.  Any thoughts?

[Bill Lampkin]

My coach came with electric dump valves. First trip out from the dealer, black valve would not close all the way. Dealer replaced valve. Next year, grey valve wouldn't close, so I panicked and ordered new valve drop shipped to us in BC Canada. Paid $85 import duty to pick it up. 1 hour at campground to swap out. Next year it was the black valve's turn again, but I made a discovery, loosen the mounting bolts a half turn and valve works more freely. Worst part of swapping the valves in my coach is that they are buried behind the wet bay panel, and behind the flex hoses to the manibloc panel. So this last winter, I cut the wet bay panel into 3 sections, so access is now fairly easy. I also installed new style electric valves from the same vendor (supposed to be way better). This summer, I got some TP stuck in the black valve and it again would not close all the way. Made a mess at the dump station, but I cleared the clog somewhat so we could get on the road (after cleaning up the mess!). At home, I pulled the valve and found the culprit. TP the size of a cigarette butt stuck in the valve. So always use the black tank rinse after dumping! I met another Beaver owner who, like you, has a coach modified with manual valves on curb side. To keep things simple, if I were you, would be to get rid of the cross-coach piping and install cable-operated manual or electric valves in the original, street-side location. And the new style electric valve do seem to work better, despite my tribulation. Its always something!

[Bill Lampkin]

Robin, My apologies; We met at the "Do Nothing" Rally in Anacortes! My 'Old Timer's disease kickin' in! Sorry about your sewer woes!

Happy Turkey Day!

[Lee Welbanks]

Robin, My 06 Patriot Thunder came with the electric Drainmaster valves which were great when they worked which was not very long, the brain trusts at Monaco installed them horizontal (flat) which should never be done. Anyway I replaced both once and then a few years ago back east I just replaced both of the $188 valves with $15 Velvac gate valves, haven't had a problem since.
On my coach which is almost a 07 built Nov of 06 it has a Drainmaster hose system attached which has a valve on the end of it that I can shut off if needed. Is your hose attached to the coach or do you drag it out and attach it?
I would not recommend going back to the electric valve because they will fail and I've not heard much good reviews of pump systems.

[Jerry Carr]

Robin on our 06 PT which came from the factory with the ele. valves we bought the rig in 08 and the previous owner had changed to the manual valves. After 6 years I changed the system back to the drain master electric valves and never had a problem with them. Last I heard from Ton the new owner all systems are working great. I do think that drain master may have improved the components, on a side bar I would add some vegetable oil into the tanks while sitting in storage. 

[Fred Brooks]

   Robin, No Joy when this system goes amuck, no pun intended. I have electric valves on our 2000 and only recently changed the valves out because of annoying seepage. The biggest problem that is easiest to overcome is following proceedures that get the desired result. For some, dump valves are an ongoing challenge and to others it is a non issue.
   Here are some considerations and this is primarily directed towards newbies so they will understand the dynamics involved in keeping their dump valves happy. 1- fill your toilet with plenty of water, the more the better. (Beavers come with large waste tanks compared to others. 2- Use a chemical that is biodegradable and fragrance free that breaks everything down into a slurry. (I use "OdorLes" the last 15 years because it works). 3- Never dump your waste tank unless it is Full or almost full. The design of the tank is dependent on "head pressure". The weight of the water & waste pushing down on the bottom of the tank is what assists in cleansing when you open the dump valve. The rush will exit any debris sitting on the bottom and push it past the dump valve seals. 4- Take the time and refill the tank with the provided "waste tank flush" and drain one more time. Happy Trails, Fred, retired Luxury Coach Technician

[Stan Simpson]

I echo what Fred says. We have never used anything in our black tank, except just plain water. We flush extra each time, and wait and wait until its at 90% before we dump (no pun intended). I always take the time to do the flush.

[David T. Richelderfer]

I dump the tanks when convenient and/or when I know they need to be emptied depending upon filled percentage or whether we will be dry camping in the following week.  I flush the black tank either at home or when convenient, i.e., at an RV park with a dump at my parking site or when at a public dump that has no waiting line.  If there's a waiting line to dump, like at a BLM LTVA, then I don't take the extra time to flush the black tank.

After parking at a public dump or even in an RV park site with its own dump, I will use the air leveling system to tilt the coach over to the streetside (RV's dump side) to help the solids "skoot" downhill with the speeded up flow of liquids.

When dry camping, I turn down the toilet's water fill to use less water in the bowl and thus make the black tank's filling rate slower.  Because of this, I try to flush the black tank most often after dry camping.

At home along side my driveway where I park the coach, I had a sewer line cleanout installed so it's perfectly placed for hooking up the dump hose.  I sometimes leave the dump hose hooked up for weeks at a time because we use the coach for an extra bedroom for visiting family.

A few years back I had to replace both waste tanks' drain valves because they would not open and close properly, then eventually quit opening/closing altogether.  Cheryl Ann at Drain Master advised to not hold the open/close button longer than 2 seconds.  If the valve is working properly, then it will completely open or completely close in about 1.5 seconds.  Holding the button longer than 2 seconds will serve to burn out the motor in the drain valve.  She told me that many times coach owners will keep their finger on the button too long and that will kill the valve.

Also, I like the idea of loosening the four bolts a half-turn that hold the drain valve tightly in position.  As someone earlier indicated, I think we tend to overtighten the four bolts which will overtighten the valve seals making them harder to open/close.  Just a thought...

[Fred Brooks]

   Thanks Dave, another issue that causes a problem is driving with the waste tank 1/2 or more full. The "waste tank flush" is a nozzle that has approximately 9 holes in it. It is usually mounted on the curb side end of the waste tank and is designed to spray the interior of the tank and also clean the probes that indicate tank levels. Here is the issue, While in transit, you get these horizontal "waves" of floating toilet paper that gets forced into the holes of the tank flush nozzle. You know you have a problem when you hook up the flusher hose and turn it on and nothing happens. Fun project on a Saturday afternoon if your so inclined. Fred