Ron J. asked us about Cleaning the Valve
I have removed the valve and soaked it in Sensor Power for a week. The valve operation is still stiff. It does not look like the valve can be disassembled. Is there something else I can do to clean it? Is there a lubricant I can use on it?
Dumper Dan Answers:
Try using silicone spray. With the gate open, spray it on both sides of the gate, to the point where it is dripping out, then cycle it and spray some more. If that doesn’t work something must be caught in the gears. The valve itself cannot be disassembled. Let me know if I can be of further assistance. 877 787 8833 X 12.
Tim has two great questions for Dumper Dan
#1 Which fuses are recommended?
Hello Dan,
I am just about ready to replace my old valves with my new valves. I noticed that New Horizons put two 10 amp fuses in for the valves. Would it be advisable for me to replace them with 5 amp fuses as stated in your literature? (I assume the answer is yes, but since New Horizons put in the 10 amp fuses, I just thought I would double check with you guys.)
Dumper Dan Answers:
Good morning Tim,
The right fuse to use is indeed 5 amp. We have on occasion had valves that require more power and blow the 5 amp fuse, we think it is a slight variation in the motor windings. If this happened to you, simply replace the fuse with a 7.5 amp fuse. I think 10 will allow the wire to heat up before the fuse gives in, and that would not be good.
Best regards,
Tim’s 2nd Question:
Hello Dan,
I’m going to be installing my new valves this week and I just found out it will be impossible to move the valves from the 3 o’clock position to any other position. So, I was wondering if I should add to my annual maintenance schedule, a cleaning and maintenance procedure, whereby I would tip our 5th wheel toward the valves, put in your valve cleaner and some water, and let it sit for a few hours. Maybe even repeatedly opening and closing the valves just for good measure. Obviously, the tanks would have to be emptied before performing the task. Do you have any comments regarding this idea? Or, would it be a useless endeavor? I just want clean valves! And the installation arrangement I have, just does not provide any way to move the valves from the 3 o’clock position. Take Care,
Dumper Dan Answers:
In a situation like yours, I would listen to the valves when they open and close during the season you are using the RV. If they begin to sound sluggish, say at the middle of the second year, I would put it on your list to remove the valves, clean them as directed here http://drainmaster.com/documents/DM26-5%20CleaningMaintProDM.pdf re-grease the gate with Dow 111 and reinstall them.
The key, Tim, is not to have backpressure on the valves, which happens when you first open the valve. The water fights the air in the plumbing, trying to push it down the sewer. Once this happens the water goes to full flow. It’s when the back pressure is there, that water can get into the gate body area. It doesn’t flood it, but one drop at a time and the water is contaminated which eventually causes the sluggish behavior. I have customers that tell me it took 5 years for the valves to sound differently, others a year, so it is difficult to say a specific schedule should be adhered to.
What you are proposing would certainly insure your tanks are clean but I doubt it would do much for the valve. As always we are here to assist, so please feel free to contact us any time. You may also find some interesting information on our blog http://www.drainmaster.com/blog
No, in fact you shouldn’t use any other brand of seals, no matter which type of RV gate valve you have. All valve seals the RV industry are made specifically for the valves they are sold with. The Drain Master seals are special in that they are impregnated with graphite which lubricates the gate as it slides back and forth while opening and closing.
Need seals for your Drain Master valve? Click here for part #5212 at the bottom of the page.
Well first let’s look at the way this fitting creates a seal. There is a rubber seal inside your bayonet fitting. To hook up your sewer hose you must twist against that seal which can cause the seal itself to crimp. And we all know that a crimped seal will cause leaks.
Now let’s take a minute and consider what’s passing through that hose. I don’t know anyone that wants sewage dripping anywhere near them. The correct type of fitting for a job like this is a compression fitting. A compression fitting allows the seal to have pressure applied to it evenly, eliminating the possibility of crimping. If you’ve ever seen an 18 wheeler off loading fuel at a gas station, then you’ve seen a compression or Cam Loc fitting. Now doesn’t it make sense to use the same type of fitting when you’re emptying sewage from your holding tank? In fact, when we were developing this product, we couldn’t find any other industry that uses the bayonet fitting. So why do most RV’s come standard with a bayonet fitting at the sewer outlet? Well, it comes down to cost. A bayonet fitting is quite a bit cheaper than a cam loc fitting, so over time it just became the standard, and up until now folks like yourself, just accepted it as one of the irritating things about the RVing lifestyle.
Standard 3" Bayonet Fitting
VS
3" Cam Loc Fitting with Cap
We all know that we keep the black water tank closed and dump it when it is about 2/3 full. But the grey water tank fills up so quickly from the sinks and shower that it seems like a good idea to leave it open to drain. Well the first reason is that once you have drained the black water tank, you need your grey tank full in order to flush out the sewer hose.
But there are two more reasons you’ll want to keep the grey tank closed. Most sewer systems in RV parks consist of piping coming from each RV space and continuing along to either the septic tank or sewer outlet for the park. Also there will be, depending on the design, a few vent pipes which will rise out of the ground and stand about 10 feet in the air. The purpose of these is to vent the air that is displaced when someone at a site dumps their holding tanks. The air in the lines is being pushed along seeking the path of least resistance to vent. So if you keep your grey tank open and you are situated next or near to someone dumping their tanks, the air that is displaced by the water heads for the nearest opening. Your coach becomes an additional vent! If your grey tank is closed, you are not creating an opening for odors!
The last but not least reason for keeping your Grey tank closed is that creatures live in sewer lines. That’s right critters, bugs, worms etc. and they can find their way up your sewer hose highway into your Grey tank. With the tank 2/3 full even if they are in the hose, they will be flushed back down the drain—where they belong!
Question:
What is the warranty of the Polychute hose? John W.
Drain Master:
Hi John,
We like to keep things simple, so we do not have a lengthy warranty outlining our way out if the hose fails for whatever reason. Our warranty is: If you ever have a problem with our hose, let us know and we will take care of it! (As long as you have not done something negligent and want us to give you a new hose.) By that we mean drag it behind your RV for 10 miles or melt it on your generator exhaust, etc. We sell waste transfer systems, not simply sewer hoses and this warranty applies to our whole system. Thanks for asking.
With appreciation,
Doug
Statement
Hi,
Thanks for your answer. Will be putting this on my Christmas list. I was a mechanical engineer and looks like you folks have done a great job. John W.
Drain Master:
Thank you John, we sure appreciate your business. Let us know if you have any further questions. As a mechanical engineer you will like this HepVo Waterless P-Trap.
Best regards,
Doug
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Statement:
Draining and Flushing Holding Tanks
Your procedure for draining and flushing is interesting. I added a few things. First, after hooking up my stinky slinky, I open the gray drain for about 15 seconds to check the stinky slinky for leaks. I fix em before continuing. Second, I drain the black tank then flush it 3 or 4 times by partially filling it with the flush hose and dumping it similar to your procedure. Third, my I put 2 cups of bleach in the gray tank. After 3-4 minutes I drain the gray tank. Fourth, after the gray tank is drained I ”walk the hose” to insure that the stinky slinky is as empty as possible. Fifth, I close the gray drain valve and disconnect and cap the RV drain valve fitting and stinky slinky end. Then I disconnect the other end from the ground connection and stow the stinky slinky. The stinky slinky is pretty clean and doesn’t smell badly, kind of like Clorox. Then I cap the ground connection and that is it. I always leave the disposal facility cleaner than I found it. Dan L.
Drain Master:
Good morning Dan,
Thanks for sharing your dumping procedure, I am happy that it is similar to our recommended method and that you are trying to insure a sanitary transfer of the waste as well as being conscious of not spilling it on the ground. I totally understand your “stinky slinky” issue which is exactly why we designed our own sewer hose from scratch. It took us more than 3 years to find a company that would build our designed hose right here in the US. We found that most RV industry standard products are designed to cost, instead of being designed for the actual purpose. We changed all that with our systems, both Polychute and Waste Master are purpose designed to industrial standards. What that means to you is no more fear of leakage when dumping your holding tanks! You can begin by simply dumping your Black water first, flushing, then dump your Grey and flush.
As for the bleach in the Grey tank, it will eventually dry out the seals in your valves and dissolve the lubricant but more importantly you sound like you are environmentally conscious. If so and you use a holding tank additive like our Pure Power product family, which uses bacteria and enzymes to kill odor and break down the solids, the bleach is killing the very things you are trying to promote in your tanks!
Capping your system is very important and I am sure as an RVer I would enjoy being the next person to use the site you just left. Many times during our 10 years of full timing we had to go back to the office and get another site assigned because the last person on the site had made a mess. Our goal is to make this issue go away for all RVers and it can be done, first by using products up to the job, and with a minor amount of training for RVers. We include the method of dumping holding tanks in every package we ship to our customers as well as it is posted o our web site. I do waste management seminars at rallies whenever possible!
A little food for thought: If the EPA ever took a soil sample in any RV park or resort in the US they could shut down the RV lifestyle! We can prevent this from happening by changing the products used and educating the RVing public.
Have a Happy Holiday and thanks for taking the time to write to us.
In appreciation,
Doug
Alfa Motorized Dump Valve Repositioning Procedure
This document was written by Drain Master and edited by Central Valley RV.
Note:
When Alfa Leisure began using the Drain Master electric dump valves they installed them in the wrong position according our Installation Instructions and continued to do so despite our factory audits insisting they mount the valves over the piping and not to the side or down. This resulted in earlier than expected valve failure due to waste and liquid entering the valve body and remaining there.
This document was created to help Alfa owners reposition the valves at minimum expense.
1. Flush and empty both holding tanks.
2. Remove both black and gray drain valves and piping attached to (Clean existing valves (see attached procedure) and the other existing fitting manifold.
After removing Valves and Manifold
3. Flush out the holding tank flanges, wipe the compartment out then turn off all 12vdc and 115 vac to the coach.
4. The poly compartment needs to be cut so the valves will fit in the 12 o’clock high position. Be very careful doing this because you will be very close to the Grey and Black tanks. Puncturing a tank will not be fun and a very expensive repair. You only need to cut away enough to have the body of the valve have an inch of clearance. Note; There may be wires laying on the top of the compartment so check to be sure you do not nick them when cutting the hole.
5. Dry fit the valves on the existing flanges making sure you have about a half inch of clearance around the valve.
6. Reassemble by lubricating the seals with Dow 111 grease then place 2 seals, one on the Black flange and one on the Grey Flange. Apply the other two seals on the manifold flanges.
7. Insert the 8 bolts from the back of the tank flanges and hold in place using duck tape or putty.
8. Install both valves in the proper 12 o’clock high position then install the existing manifold. Add nuts and hand tighten. Tighten the nuts no more than 1.5 turns.
9. Reconnect the wiring fill the tanks and test of leaks. Keep in mind that the valves need only tightened to 20 inch pounds of torque. If the valves do not work is it most likely do to over tightening of the bolts or piping miss aligned, causing the valves to bind up also be careful not to install the flanges with excess amount of glue which could end up with the gate glued shut.
Completed Repositioning
Notes:
When you study the top (first) photo you will notice that solid waste is present in the Grey tank, in fact a lot more than in the Black tank opening. How can this be? This customer has been back filling his Grey water into the Black tank. If he has done this to extend his stay by transferring liquid this is the result! If he was doing it to flush the Black water with Grey water it didn’t work! The manual valve was added as a safety measure for you by Alfa to insure that when you took the cap off to connect the sewer hose you would not get a surprise because a grandson was playing with switches earlier in the day. It was not put there for back filling purposes! Need help with proper dumping procedures; call our toll free number 877 787 8833.
Question
I have 2003 alpha with the electric drain valves … A year ago the grey water valve stuck. I mangaged to get it open and use the main valve mechanically. Now the Black drain is sticking. Is there anything that can be done about this to fix the valves. Kevin
Drain Master
Hi Kevin,
You can do a cleaning procedure found here. You may also want to read this. If your valves are not in the correct position (over the piping) you will need to do the cleaning procedure when the valve becomes sluggish. You may want to consider replacing the valves with our latest version as described here.
Question:
My waste valve on the Galley tank will not open. I have checked the switch and it is good, as it will open the black tank valve. I just hear a clicking sound. It is stuck closed. The other 2 valves work fine so it is not a power issue. My under belly is totally inclosed, so gettting at the valve is a major undertaking. Any ideas on how to get it open? Thank you, Paul
Drain Master:
Hi Paul,
Unfortunatly the only way to open the valve is to use the manual override on the actual valve itself. If you are hearing it click you could rock the switch from open to closed a number of times and see if that lets it loose.
Question:
We would like to know if you sell the Drain Master valves in Canada. If so, where ? Thanks, Norman
Drain Master:
Good morning Norman,
We sell the valves direct from our web site or by phone. We ship to Canada about 4 times a week average so no problem.
Why are we not offering the Sewer Master or the Sewer Supreme hoses?
The reason is, we have engineered a true RV sewer hose and it is called Polychute. This new hose will in all probability be the LAST sewer hose you will ever need to buy. We set out to design a sewer hose that would eliminate all of the issues associated with RV industry standard sewer hoses. This took more than 2 years to accomplish as hose manufacturers want to sell what they have, which is NOT what we, as RVers, wanted.
The Polychute is made of a special blend of Polyethylene TPE material with UV inhibitors and flame retardant additives. It has no metal wire in it and the spiral is on the outside, so it acts as a wear strip. The inside of the hose is very smooth and because there is no metal wire in it the hose is crush proof. In addition the hose has a 3 to 1 compression ratio and is spring loaded so it wants to be in its collapsed state making it very easy to handle.
The hose comes in a couple of different options to meet your specific needs. If your coach sewer outlet fitting is a male Cam Loc fitting or threaded fitting The Waste Master version can be customized to your specifications if needed.
If you have the common industry bayonet fitting, see our Polychute version. The Polychute version is 16’ long extended and approximately 5’ in its relaxed position. The Polychute comes in its own convenient storage case which eliminates odors and all versions come with our patented nozzle swivel on the end. 
We believe Polychute will not only exceed your expectations, but it will soon become the sewer hose that everyone owns.
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