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Best lube for grey tank and black tank valves

sgfrye
Explorer
Explorer
What are y'all using to lube valves?
34 REPLIES 34

CavemanCharlie
Explorer II
Explorer II
Mine get very hard to move but, it is only the shaft that seems to get sticky. I spray the shaft; when I have the valve open; with some door lock lubricate that I keep in the camper (the door lock seems to get sticky a lot too) that seems to keep it working easily for a few months again.

Bumpyroad
Explorer
Explorer
dcmac214 wrote:
Only valve that gets lubed is the toilet seal with coconut oil (why it's called oil is beyond me--it's a solid grease about the consistency & feel of Crisco). Have never put anything down any of the drains to lube any of the tank valves. Every year as part of winterizing & de-winterizing spray the valve open/shut rod guide tubes with silicone and work them a bit. Do the slides with silicone same time. Haven't had any problems yet.


the coconut oil I used was indeed an oil, sort of like any vegetable oil. don't know why it was different from yours.
bumpy

rockhillmanor
Explorer
Explorer
100% spray silicone. IMPORTANT to make sure its 100%.

Just spray on the valve rod pushing it in distributes it.

If your valves stems are getting hard to push in you most likely have paper stuck around them. Even just the tiniest pieces of tp paper in the grooves of the blade will make it hare to open and close.

First "Dump Tanks". :W

And then just pick up a bottle brush from the store and open the valve blade and run the brush around where they slide up and down in. You will be surprised how much paper you will find in those small grooves. Which makes it hard to open and close them.

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

dcmac214
Explorer
Explorer
Only valve that gets lubed is the toilet seal with coconut oil (why it's called oil is beyond me--it's a solid grease about the consistency & feel of Crisco). Have never put anything down any of the drains to lube any of the tank valves. Every year as part of winterizing & de-winterizing spray the valve open/shut rod guide tubes with silicone and work them a bit. Do the slides with silicone same time. Haven't had any problems yet.

mt1729
Explorer
Explorer
I eat a lot of greasy food.:B
Moose

dkreuzen
Explorer
Explorer
My valves started moving hard when my current MH was about a year old. I coated the blades with Silicone grease. Made the valves work very smooth and have stayed that way for the last 4 years. My previous 2 MH's never had the problem.

I used this: MPT19 Silicone/PTFE High-Performance Lubricant
Dennis
2012 Monaco Knight 36PFT
2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland
2005 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon on 2007 16' Car Trailer

tinner12002
Explorer
Explorer
I use a cap full of Calgon water softener in all my tanks to help keep them slick and help keep valves lubed. Dump a cap full every time we use it after dumping.
2015 Ram 3500/DRW/Aisin/auto/Max tow/4.10s,Cummins, stock Laramie Limited--Silver
Tequila Sunrise 2012 Ultra Classic Limited
2018 Raptor 428SP

NMDriver
Explorer
Explorer
Hmmm water soluble lubricant? Doesn't that mean it is washed away in water?

Anyway, I am another never greased my valves user. 25 year old RV.

I do use lots of water and have super soft water at our summer place so a dab of soap keeps everything clean and waste water moving down the pipe.
5er/2500Duramax/18ftBoat

YC_1
Nomad
Nomad
covered wagon wrote:
I like the idea above, but it would be nice to better understand the exact location of the screw lubrication hole.

Another thing to consider is always avoid the ethylene glycol rv antifreeze which is cheaper and causes the rubber valves to dry out because of its alcohol content.

You want to look for the propylene glycol rv antifreeze which will help the valves little bit with lube.


Where the metal rod goes in and out, split the distance to the edge. That is about 1.5 inch away from the plunger rod.

This is along the front skinny face. Not along the wide side but it would probably work there too.
H/R Endeavor 2008
Ford F150 toad >Full Timers
Certified Senior Electronic Technician, Telecommunications Engineer, Telecommunications repair Service Center Owner, Original owner HR 2008

wnjj
Explorer II
Explorer II
LarryJM wrote:
Lwiddis wrote:
Since I now know itโ€™s an issue...40 years after my first TC...Iโ€™ll lube them religiously.


Same here, but it's only been 36 years for me not lubing any valves.

Larry

Maybe youโ€™re lucky or maybe your diet includes enough natural lube, I havenโ€™t lubed my 11 year old truck camper valves either but the black one is super tough to pull and you have to pull it straight up while reaching in to the compartment so you canโ€™t get any leverage. A couple of times I nearly gave up. I didnโ€™t know they had jugs of lubricant until this thread. Iโ€™ve used a little laundry soap in the past but it didnโ€™t seem to last.
Scoff all you want. Iโ€™d welcome you to pull my black dump handle.

centerline
Explorer
Explorer
I use NAPA thread cutting oil... yes it sounds weird, but its not whats on the lable that counts, but how it works.

its a water soluble oil that mixes with the effluent and coats the inside of the tank and prevents stuff from sticking, IN ADDITION to lubricating the valves....
veggie oils set ON TOP of the effluent and can only lubricate what it sticks to... and most oils wont stick to a wet surface, so there is very little lubrication happening...

I have no idea about how this may affect the bacteria that helps break down the waste because we usually dump at least every two weeks, which isnt much time for the bacteria to work its magic anyway... AND, the cutting oil being water soluble, it doesnt ever cause a build up, emulsification or congealing in cold weather....

I pour in a pint about every 6-8 months or so, and it has worked well for me the past 6 or 7 years since I've been using it....
2007 M-3705 SLC weekend warrior, 5th wheel
2014 Ram 3500 CC/LB, 6.7 Cummins
2004 Polaris Sportsman 700
2005 Polaris Sportsman 500 HO
1979 Bayliner 2556 FB Convertible Cruiser
Heavy Equipment Repair & Specialty Welding...

Bumpyroad
Explorer
Explorer
Grit dog wrote:
Bobbo wrote:
MitchF150 wrote:
How would you "lube" them in the first place??


Dump the tanks, close the dump valves, dump in a quart of vegetable oil, open and close the dump valves rapidly a few times to spread it around

^Are you serious?


yep, IIRC that was the directions on the bottle of lubricant that I bought years ago. drain tanks, put in lubricant so it will settle down to low spots in system drain.
bumpy

theoldwizard1
Explorer
Explorer
Best light spray lube for ANYTHING Fluid Film !

Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Explorer III
Replaced my black tank valve that had a long cable with just the standard short T handle 1.5 years ago. I lubed everything with Vaseline. Have not used anything else since and the valve opens and closes nicely.

The oil lube will help for a bit but honestly it's a BandAid.

Before doing the oil leave the valve open and let the tank fully drain and have the toilet empty and water turned off to the toilet then pour then oil in the toilet go outside and rapidly open snd close. Have a bucket under the outlet to catch the oil and go inside and dump. Repeat a few times.
2015 RAM LongHorn 3500 Dually CrewCab 4X4 CUMMINS/AISIN RearAir 385HP/865TQ 4:10's
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