Valterra Electric Black Tank Dump Valve

[jd1923]

On 2/9/2025 at 9:44 AM, Mike and Carol said:

I will just add my experience with the long black tank cable.  It is very easy to lube.  Loosen the set screw on top of the black tank valve and the cable easily pulls out.  Wipe down with your preferred lube/grease and it goes back in as easy as it came out.  Tighten down the set screw and you’re done.  I’ve done this 3 times over the years since 2016.  A shorter cable run would probably be better and an electric valve better as well, but the current set up has been fine considering how many times we’ve dumped!  Mike

@Galileo I'm starting to feel your pain here!

I worked on the long cable going to the black tank waste valve. I tried to merely grease the two ends on the slide pistons with no improvement. Then I tried Mikes method. You need an 1/8" Allen key. The cable came out cleaner than I expected.

I cleaned the cable with rubbing alcohol and then greased it as inserting with a silicone-based grease. It got stuck at the end, so I freed the cable clamp (two Phillips screws) from the valve and then it pushed through easily. It's maybe a little smoother, but...

When I had the cable out it had two bends in it from the forced turns in installation. One in the middle of the length and a tighter radius bend at the waste valve end. Grease cannot help much with these acute bends. I tried working them out by hand with minor improvement. etrailer wants $50 for the 144" cable alone with mid-March delivery!

I still have no idea which way I will go. At least I have time, as they are difficult but still functional. This installation is crude (see pic). Besides the hard angles in the 12 ft cable, the two valves are on top of each other, angled towards each other and rubbing. They also could have mounted the 3" valve on a 45 degree angle so that the cable did not have to turn a full 180! And all they had to do was to install the 1 1/2" gray valve further forward. It's also rubbing hard on the fiberglass wall.

To install electric valves on either of these, I would have to move the gray valve and replace the black pipe, from the rubber joint to the gray tank. Val, on your newer hull OTT must have done better work or something was different for you to have the room to simply install the motorized valve.

BTW, nobody should really worry about adding extra splices, though I have removed many of them in our hull. Another thing you can see in the pic is all the crimped butt connectors and they were used all over the basement! More reliable than a 3M Skotchlok which should only be used by backyard mechanics adding aftermarket accessories, never in a factory installation. I hadn't noticed any of this until I got into it! More to come, sooner or later...

Edited February 11, 2025 by jd1923

[Mike and Carol]

8 hours ago, jd1923 said:

 

When I had the cable out it had two bends in it from the forced turns in installation. One in the middle of the length and a tighter radius bend at the waste valve end. Grease cannot help much with these acute bends. I tried working them out by hand with minor improvement. etrailer wants $50 for the 144" cable alone with mid-March delivery!

My valve installation looks very different than yours.  Bends in the cable will definitely cause binding.  My cable was straight with no bends at all.  Interesting because our hull numbers are so close.  Mike

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:

My valve installation looks very different than yours.  Bends in the cable will definitely cause binding.  My cable was straight with no bends at all.  Interesting because our hull numbers are so close.  Mike

Thanks Mike, you would think ours would be about the same. Our hull was titled in 2016 but I've seen several parts in the basement with 2015 dates. Yours is 22 hulls later which in that day could have been almost a year later. @ScubaRx Steve has mentioned how each was a one-off build back in the old days.

You can see in my picture the extreme 180 turn. My SS cable has a bend there to match and another one for some other reason at the midpoint of the cable. Next I'll pull the gray valve cable to the bathroom to see if it's straight. This short cable is equally hard to pull. Later I'm going to see if I can access the gray waste valve, under my Victron inverter, under the streetside bed and then come up with an overall plan. I've always really disliked plumbing! New cables, new valves, motorized... ? 

[Mike and Carol]

2 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Thanks Mike, you would think ours would be about the same. Our hull was titled in 2016 but I've seen several parts in the basement with 2015 dates. Yours is 22 hulls later which in that day could have been almost a year later. @ScubaRx Steve has mentioned how each was a one-off build back in the old days.

Ours originally was going to be delivered in December 2015.  But, due to my work schedule I asked to delay until May 2016.  They had already started building it in the fall of 2015 and just set it aside, finishing it in the spring.  So ours is a mix of 2015 and 2016, not that it matters any since there wasn’t too much standardization then.

[Galileo]

Thanks all for the comments and (horror?) stories!

Talking to the owner I spoke to a few weeks ago - hull 200-something - he mentioned a few changes that Oliver made that may have been experiments or one-offs or who knows what. One he mentioned was electric disc brakes (anybody else have them?) and sealed wheel bearings that I -thought- only came in a few years before our 2022 model. From what I understand, the location of the black tank valve was also moved “upstream” some years ago.

Having worked for a company that employed leading (bleeding?) edge technology, I’ve learned that substitutions happen on the production floor. I would imagine that supply chain issues would require substitutions as well. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised that a picture of one owner’s unit might look totally different from what another owner sees. One would expect that hull (serial) number would list every deviation from standard, but seeing as “standard” is likely a moving target, that’s a lot to ask.

As for splices and “Scotchlocks” - yeah - those are definitely not professional grade. In a pinch, I use the butt splices with the heat shrink sleeves. Being a tech school child of the ‘70’s, I prefer soldered splices with heat shrink. Only limitation there is time and how tight of a space you have to work in. 

[MAX Burner]

18 hours ago, Galileo said:

he mentioned a few changes that Oliver made that may have been experiments or one-offs or who knows what. One he mentioned was electric disc brakes (anybody else have them?) and sealed wheel bearings that I -thought- only came in a few years before our 2022 model.

@Galileo - Hey, Val!  @ScubaRx Steve and Tali are owners that have upgraded to disc brakes.  There are others, too.  

The newer Dexter "Never-Lube" axles are configured with sealed bearing "cassettes" - I believe they're only available with the 5.2k# axles (I may be wrong here).  One still needs to inspect them annually, however.  Last time I checked, the disc brake upgrade was definitely only available with the heavier axles and not for the 3.5k# axles.  The disc upgrade is on our radar screen but not until our 12" drum brakes need replacement, FYI.

[jd1923]

@Galileo Val, I hope you have made progress and are back up and running!

Let us know. Mine turned into a project, as you can see here:

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/10711-waste-valves-restoration-and-upgrade/

 

[rich.dev]

Just an FYI on lubricating dump valves/seals by Ray from ”Love your RV and boat”. 

 

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, rich.dev said:

Just an FYI on lubricating dump valves/seals by Ray from ”Love your RV and boat”. 

Wow, thanks Rich for this video!
If I had seen this a couple weeks ago, I might have purchased Drain Master RV waste valves, expensive though at $635 for a 2-valve set.
https://drainmaster.com/rv/product/pro-series-s3vt-kit-2-valves-6002
The design of these would allow installation at the gray valve which is flush to the floor.

I did just buy a tub of Molykote on Amazon which will be delivered tomorrow. It seems better than the lube I've been using designed for swimming pool plumbing. I'll wait on reinstalling my last, most difficult to reach gray valve, until I can apply this product.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VV6QZ7N?ref=fed_asin_title

Edited February 20, 2025 by jd1923

[Galileo]

Finally finished!

I admit to being quite lazy and uninspired - and yes - busy traveling and not in one spot long enough to get to it. But, the rest of the Valterra electric black tank dump valve installation is complete!

The 18-3 wiring harness that came with the valve was far too short. Since I was going with a longer run, I upgraded to 16-3. I used the existing manual valve cable to pull the electric cable through. It was certainly easier than if I had to pull a harness with terminals on both ends. Only snag (literally) was where the original cable was taped to the insulation. 

I had to duplicate the control end of the cable. Basically 5 crimp-on 1/4” female disconnects and two jumpers. The valve end of the harness has a special connector which I couldn’t find the terminals or removal tool for - do I just butt-spliced it onto the end of my harness. Not my preference, but it was either that or cut out the connectors entirely and just butt-splice the harness right onto the valve. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

First picture shows where I installed the control. I contemplated putting it where the manual pull handle was - but it’s a tight fit, and I’d have to scrap the switch plate and open/closed legend. That, and it looked much easier to make the cutout in the place I put it than the manual dump handle location. I’m not super thrilled with this location - and having visions of it being actuated by accident - by an elbow or something I toss back there. (I don't wanna go full Dave Matthews on anybody!) I debated adding another switch, but for now, I can always swing the valve handle out of engagement with the actuator until I’m ready to dump.

The “board” here - between the basement area and the location of the outdoor shower and other goodies is easily cut with a spade bit and a utility knife.

Second picture shows the valve in position.  Pretty straightforward. The electric physical valve swaps out with the manual one. Route your wires, use OTT official black gorilla tape to hold cable in place. Snap the connectors together and - Bob’s your uncle.

 

[jd1923]

On 6/3/2025 at 1:00 PM, Galileo said:

 

Love the switch install, excellent work! 😂

[OffWeGo]

Wanted to chime in on the black tank valve cable installed from the factory (2022).  Mine was being hard to open and close all the way so I pulled the valve, did a thorough cleaning and reinstalled it.  It didn't improve, so I pulled the cable out of the sheath and found a small kink in the cable about midway between the valve and the pull handle.  I'm not sure if it was from impact during construction or from being pushed in too hard.  I ordered a new cable and looked at the instructions and found out the cable must be straight at both ends for at least 6".  It is also required to be secured every 2' O.C. for the entire run.  The cable from the factory doesn't meet either criteria. My guess is if the cable was properly installed at the factory it would operate the way it should.

 

Has anyone "properly" installed a replacement cable? Results?

Black Tank Blade Valve Cable Installation Instructions.pdf

[jd1923]

4 hours ago, OffWeGo said:

Wanted to chime in on the black tank valve cable installed from the factory (2022).  Mine was being hard to open and close all the way so I pulled the valve, did a thorough cleaning and reinstalled it.  It didn't improve, so I pulled the cable out of the sheath and found a small kink in the cable about midway between the valve and the pull handle.  I'm not sure if it was from impact during construction or from being pushed in too hard.  I ordered a new cable and looked at the instructions and found out the cable must be straight at both ends for at least 6".  It is also required to be secured every 2' O.C. for the entire run.  The cable from the factory doesn't meet either criteria. My guess is if the cable was properly installed at the factory it would operate the way it should.

Has anyone "properly" installed a replacement cable? Results?

Our 2016, about the same thing. I reinstalled a replacement cable, but to do it properly I would have to reroute the waste drain plumbing. More here =>

 

[Townesw]

My black tank dump valve was hard to close from day 1, March 14, 2018. During the Summer of 2018 I found the installation instructions for the cable and valve and realized that it was at best a marginal install. I pulled the cable out and lubed it with a dry type lubricant and straightened the kink in the very end of the cable where the factory had screwed the set screw in and barely caught the end of the cable and bent it into the hole opposite the threaded set screw hole. This caused the cable to be slightly bowed which didn’t help the situation (See A and B below) and didn’t make valve closure any better.

I also noticed that the clamp on the frame above the valve was broken and didn’t properly secure the cable sheath. I could get some clamping force but not enough to suit me. 
 

 

Given this and the fact that the cable/sheath/clamp length and position relationship weren’t going to permit full closure of the blade (if you have worked on bicycle brakes, throttle cables, choke cables you know what I mean) I decided to modify the clamp portion of the frame above the valve. I disassembled the frame and drilled the hole where the sheath is clamped through the bottom of the frame (See C and D below). I used a drill size that would create a tight fit of the sheath in the clamp hole. I reassembled everything, pushing the sheath lower in the frame (which also allowed me to push the end of the cable down past the set screw in the plunger) and this permitted the blade to completely close. 
 

 

Now with the valve closing completely I wasn’t having water in the sewer hose when I went to hook it up at a campsite but it was still difficult to open and close the valve due to the routing of the cable.
 

Winter of 2020, I finally accepted that manual operation of the dump valve wasn’t going to be as smooth as I expected it to be so I ordered (2) stainless steel knobs from McMaster Carr, drilled and tapped them to fit on the opposite end of the cables, and installed them in place of the Valterra handles that came on the trailer.  This made it easier to pull and push the cables without concern about breaking the handles.

 

 

 

 

 

I think it was Spring 2021 when I talked to the service department about my findings and what I had done and that I still wasn’t pleased with the force required to operate the valve and that I thought it was due to the cable routing. They offered to relocate the black tank dump valve and since the sheath clamp part of the frame was broken I took them up on their offer. 
 

The service department relocated my black tank dump valve as shown below. This resulted in the valve assembly being tilted about 75 degrees from the vertical to the street side and the cable was rerouted from under the dinette seats to the street side of the dinette seat. This resulted in an improvement in valve operation, not perfect, but it is an improvement. 
 

Valve location before 

 

After, showing only the 1.5 inch sink/shower drain valve

 

New location of the valve showing also the new routing of the cable

 

 

I hope that this information is helpful to those trying to improve the operation of the black tank dump valve. I also hope my high school English teachers don’t read this. They would be appalled. 
 

Bill

Very early 2018 Hull 313
 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 24 minutes ago by Townesw