Sewer Dump Valve

[cmillsap]

Here's a tip for making a disgusting & hard job easier.

My black dump valve was not closing all the way as evidenced by the air cylinder handle stoping about 2"s from the complete closed position. I knew I was in for a quick removal of the sewer cap and quick attachment of the sewer hose. The "stuff" came pouring out as if the valve was completely open.

After a lot of fresh water flushing; I removed the cylinder and paddle assembly from the valve body. To my surprise, the seal was missing from the paddle! No wonder that the "stuff" came gushing out like a fire hose...

Now you can not see into the valve body due to its location. It lays horizonal and way back in the bay. Actually, the space is so small the paddle has to be separated from the cylinder rod to completely remove it from the valve body. You can feel around with a long stick or screwdriver trying to locate the seal or you can go to Home Depot and rent a Ryobi Tek4 inspection camera. I opted for the latter.

I inserted the camera into the valve body and saw the seal laying on the bottom of the valve. Leaving the camera in the valve body, I made a hook on the end of a wire coat hanger and fished it through the end of the sewer pipe where the hose connects. The camera allowed me to guide the hooked end behind the seal and drag it through the pipe to exit at the hose connection. That camera saved me a whole lot of time and frustration....

I think I'm going to buy one as there are so many places on a Wanderlodge that are difficult to see when you need to do so.
They are only $99.

[csprenger]

(07-23-2013 23:19)cmillsap Wrote:  Here's a tip for making a disgusting & hard job easier.

My black dump valve was not closing all the way as evidenced by the air cylinder handle stoping about 2"s from the complete closed position. I knew I was in for a quick removal of the sewer cap and quick attachment of the sewer hose. The "stuff" came pouring out as if the valve was completely open.

After a lot of fresh water flushing; I removed the cylinder and paddle assembly from the valve body. To my surprise, the seal was missing from the paddle! No wonder that the "stuff" came gushing out like a fire hose...

Now you can not see into the valve body due to its location. It lays horizonal and way back in the bay. Actually, the space is so small the paddle has to be separated from the cylinder rod to completely remove it from the valve body. You can feel around with a long stick or screwdriver trying to locate the seal or you can go to Home Depot and rent a Ryobi Tek4 inspection camera. I opted for the latter.

I inserted the camera into the valve body and saw the seal laying on the bottom of the valve. Leaving the camera in the valve body, I made a hook on the end of a wire coat hanger and fished it through the end of the sewer pipe where the hose connects. The camera allowed me to guide the hooked end behind the seal and drag it through the pipe to exit at the hose connection. That camera saved me a whole lot of time and frustration....

I think I'm going to buy one as there are so many places on a Wanderlodge that are difficult to see when you need to do so.
They are only $99.

I have the HF camera. Works OK, images are slightly blurry.

[encantotom]

i bought a similar inspection camera that does stills and video from harborfreight. i use it quite often. funny enough, i bought it to use in my septic tank on the newell....

tom

[Endless Summer]

If you have an old PC in your shop, here is an inexpensive borescope that plugs into your USB port. It's small enough for spark plug holes.

USB borescope

There is also a nifty $200+ iBoresope that transmits the image wirelessly to an ipad/iPhone/android app.

[timetravelers]

(07-24-2013 10:47)Endless Summer Wrote:  If you have an old PC in your shop, here is an inexpensive borescope that plugs into your USB port. It's small enough for spark plug holes.

USB borescope

There is also a nifty $200+ iBoresope that transmits the image wirelessly to an ipad/iPhone/android app.

Thanks, Steve. I have the one from Harbor Freight, but it has a fixed length fiber optics cable. The USB version would be great.

[Arcticdude]

Man with something like that, I could open a traveling colonoscopy and dump valve service!

[al perna]

Chuck , we had the same issue back in the spring . I drilled a hole in the back wall , removed the handle on the dump valve and was able to slide the rod out of the way. . This allowed me to have access to the valve body without removing the air lines . We were not able to remove the flap with a hanger so we purchased a 9" long pair of needle nose pliers . after a few tries we were able to remove the flap and install the new paddle . Steven Brittles , of Dupree Products shared the time saving hole tip . After that experience , we will lubricate the dump valve each year . It is so easy and failure to the valve is quite inconvenient.
I must say if we had the camera, it would have saved a lot of guess work and time .

[patticake]

That's a good idea about lubing the valve often. I wondered why I have gone through 3 sets of valves in the 7 years that I owned this bus. But, it is funny that I owned my previous bus for 5 years and never had a problem. I guess the material, way back then, was of better quality.

[davidbrady]

(07-23-2013 23:19)cmillsap Wrote:  I inserted the camera into the valve body and saw the seal laying on the bottom of the valve. Leaving the camera in the valve body, I made a hook on the end of a wire coat hanger and fished it through the end of the sewer pipe where the hose connects. The camera allowed me to guide the hooked end behind the seal and drag it through the pipe to exit at the hose connection. That camera saved me a whole lot of time and frustration....

A little laproscopic surgery Chuck!

I had the same thing happen last spring. The seal separated from the paddle and lodged itself in the pipe. My tank was full so I empathize with the shower you took! I didn't think of using a camera to find the seal so I worked blind with a coat hanger to retrieve it. Pretty much the same experience... The seal was wedged sideways making it nearly impossible to extract thru the valve body. I too had to come in thru the discharge pipe. What a mess! Part of the problem is that on my LXi I think the paddle valves are installed upside down. The handles extend downward when opened allowing gunk to build up in the valve body. There's no room to turn them around. On my TODO list is replacement with electric (or possibly manual) valves. My neighbor has a Monaco with electric valves - they're compact so I think they can be oriented properly. I wouldn't mind getting rid of these Dupree valves.

[davidbrady]

Glad to hear they work well for you Rich. That's what my neighbor uses. I think this would be a very worthwhile upgrade to my LXi.