Using bulk food grade mineral oil to lube waste valves?

[John E Davies]

Has anyone tried plain mineral oil? I tried the Thetford product for a while and felt that I was just wasting money.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/Mineral-Cutting-Butcher-Stainless-Approved/dp/B00VNI1JI0/ref=cm_wl_huc_item

 

Compared to .... https://www.amazon.com/RV-Drain-Valve-Lubricant-24/dp/B000BGK2L0

 

An online RV article recommended 1/2 cup of food grade mineral oil in every tank, three times annually (spring, mid-summer, and fall).

 

http://roadtrek190popular.blogspot.com/2015/04/lubricating-waste-tank-seals-and.html?m=1

 

I am a real cheapskate and I suspect that the Thetford product is just mineral oil with perfumes. I cannot find an ingredient list or MSDS for it.

 

I do really like their compact flat sided bottles since they sit neatly together in the pantry without wasting space like round ones. I am saving my old grey water deodorizing treatment bottles and would use one to keep the bulk mineral oil in for trips, and others for vinegar (for the composting toilet).

 

I also wonder how to easily lube my black tank valve since it is not getting used at all. If I open the grey valve with the sewer opening capped, will the grey tank valve treatment reach it and be effective at all? I worry about inadvertant leakage onto the ground.

 

Comments welcome.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Overland]

I think the answer to your last question is yes, but only one side of the blade unless you open the valve.  You’d get grey water into the black tank but I guess that’s no big deal since you can either rinse it out, or just go through the process with clean water in the grey tank.  I agree that mineral oil is probably no different than the Thetford stuff.

 

 

[John E Davies]

I think the answer to your last question is yes, but only one side of the blade unless you open the valve. You’d get grey water into the black tank but I guess that’s no big deal since you can either rinse it out, or just go through the process with clean water in the grey tank. I agree that mineral oil is probably no different than the Thetford stuff.

 

Thanks for the comments.

 

In regards to only lubing one side of the seals, that is what normally happens with the grey valve unless you left it open part way. In a “normal” configuration only the inner part gets fully coated in lube for an extended time period. Though treated water rushing past might treat the outer seal to a small degree.

 

I don’t want to put any grey water in my black tank, as I will at some point convert it to fresh.... and I prefer keeping it as clean as possible until then.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

[Overland]

I wouldn’t trust the valve on the black tank to prevent it from being contaminated.  I pulled the wrong valve on mine this summer, opening the black tank, and water came out. The only way it could have gotten in is when draining the grey tank.

[Townesw]

I wouldn’t trust the valve on the black tank to prevent it from being contaminated. I pulled the wrong valve on mine this summer, opening the black tank, and water came out. The only way it could have gotten in is when draining the grey tank.

 

Have someone push in on your black tank drain handle while you are pushing down on the black tank valve blade plunger under the forward dinette seat. Mine is not seating well. It sounds like yours isn’t either.

 

Bill

[Overland]

Could be - I'll check.  It was only a tiny amount, and only noticeable because it smelled of winterizing fluid.  I should probably fill it and see if it leaks out.

 

Regardless, I wouldn't trust those valves to keep fresh water safe.  Maybe if you could take the tank out to really sanitize it, and then cap it off so that it was no longer connected at all to the grey tank.

 

 

[Geronimo John]

Bill:

 

My 2018 Ollie black water valve leaks until the discharge line is full of sewage.  It complicated boon-docking GREATLY as I can not drain gray water when the discharge is contaminated with black water.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Geronimo John

[Geronimo John]

Question:

 

Why are the black and gray water lines connected to the same discharge?  At least if they were separate, we could still drain gray water without major fear of contamination in a serious way that we do every time we do elect to water trees with gray water.

 

Geronimo John

[John E Davies]

Why are the black and gray water lines connected to the same discharge?

Simplicity of plumbing layout.

 

Cheaper.

 

You can flush the black water out of the big hose with the grey water.

 

Install a composting toilet and you will have no more black water, much longer fresh water reserve, and much fewer worries in general.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[mossemi]

 

I also wonder how to easily lube my black tank valve since it is not getting used at all. If I open the grey valve with the sewer opening capped, will the grey tank valve treatment reach it and be effective at all? I worry about inadvertant leakage onto the ground.

 

 

Could you use your pvc fresh water chlorine injector on the black tank flush line and inject the mineral oil into the black tank?

[John E Davies]

Could you use your pvc fresh water chlorine injector on the black tank flush line and inject the mineral oil into the black tank?

Woohoo! That is a great idea. It never occurred to me. I could leave a small amount of fresh water in all the time with some oil, except for winter.

 

For those who don’t know what this is.... http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/how-to-bleach-service-tee-to-sterilize-water-during-tank-fill/

 

Thanks.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[KarenLukens]

Bill:

 

My 2018 Ollie black water valve leaks until the discharge line is full of sewage. It complicated boon-docking GREATLY as I can not drain gray water when the discharge is contaminated with black water.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Geronimo John

 

Sorry, I've been gone for a bit. Both of the valves inside the storage compartments separate the tanks completely. Your black tank valve is not seating properly. This can be caused by a bad seal, but most likely the valve itself is not closing completely because of toilet paper or something has gotten stuck in the seals groove. So you have 2 choices... First, empty the black tank completely, then close the valve inside the storage compartment. Then open the front dinette storage door under the seat and see if the metal valve stem will push down any farther with your thumb. If it does, then you have found the problem and this can either be fixed with some research, or you can simply push the metal pin back into place each time to complete the valve seal and close it completely. After a year, ours won't close all of the way and I haven't looked for the problem yet under the bed, so we dump normally by pulling the handle in the storage compartment to open and close it. Then we push the pin down after and it seals just fine. There is an Allen screw, I think 3/32" on the pin, you can see if it can be adjusted like I did, but that didn't fix ours. I believe our cable has a problem under the bed, but closing it by hand isn't an issue for us right now and it doesn't leak at all. If your sewer hose is full, is supposed to be the indicator of a problem because that line is supposed to be empty after the valves at all times unless dumping waste.

 

Reed

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rideandfly]

 

My 2018 Ollie black water valve leaks until the discharge line is full of sewage. It complicated boon-docking GREATLY as I can not drain gray water when the discharge is contaminated with black water.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Geronimo John

 

 

Reed,     Happy to see you back posting again! :)

 

We had a problem with the cable handle shaft when the valve was opened, the handle shaft would come out of the bulkhead threaded fitting under the bed. Shortened wire 3/8" where it connected to the 3" valve. Works properly now.

 

I may be off topic, but wanted to post how we resolved 3" valve bypass. Posted this in another thread, too.

 

We purchased Ollie used and the black tank 3" valve was bypassing when we purchased Ollie.  Tried Thetford drain valve lubricant poured in black water tank and adjusting/lubricating cable, both without success.

 

Replaced blade valve and seals earlier this week following Valterra video instructions starting around 3:10.

 

New Valterra 3" black tank valve body and seals:

 

 

Valve located under dinette seat:

 

 

3" Black tank valve on RH side:

 

 

Loosen 3" black tank hose to allow removal of the 3" blade valve:

 

 

Removing cable mounting bracket:

 

 

 

 

3" Valve removed:

 

 

Build up on seal surfaces contacting valve blade causing bypass:

 

 

Silicone lubricant used on seals and blade rod.  https://www.danco.com/product/0-5-oz-silicone-faucet-grease/

 

 

New valve/seals installed and working great:

 

 

https://www.valterra.com/product/waste-valve-body-3-with-coupler-seals-hardware/?pcat_id=1445

 

 

 

[Mainiac]

A nice and through job. Probably took a lot longer to document than to actually do.  We have replaced those valves and seals before (in SOB. some other brand) and it is a relative simple job. The silicone lube is really an added benefit. Always amazed how much better and easier the replaced seals work. It is a simple job that anyone should be able to do, or at least know how simple it really is if you have a repair shop do it for you. The above example is well done. A side note: be sure the lines and tanks are well flushed and drained...

[rideandfly]

A side note: be sure the lines and tanks are well flushed and drained…

 

 

Thanks!

 

Agree, did not want a big mess.  :(

 

Flushed black water tank before starting the job and had trailer hitch high to be sure black water tank was drained.  :)

[KarenLukens]

Mainiac wrote:

A side note: be sure the lines and tanks are well flushed and drained…

Thanks!

 

Agree, did not want a big mess. ?

 

Flushed black water tank before starting the job and had trailer hitch high to be sure black water tank was drained. ?

 

 

So after replacing the whole valve and seal assembly, do you feel that just replacing the seals would have fixed the problem also?

 

Reed

[rideandfly]

So after replacing the whole valve and seal assembly, do you feel that just replacing the seals would have fixed the problem also?

Reed

 

 

Reed,

 

Yes,

 

Seals would have fixed the problem after cleaning valve.  Debbie soaked lower valve portion with blade for a day in water & white vinegar before cleaning.

[MountainApple]

I wonder if this (putting mineral oil down the drains) would also help keep odors from coming up when the p traps dry out when a trailer is stored. What do y’all think? Ours sat for a few weeks in summer after hauling, the p traps dried out, and wow what an odor came up into the cabin from the empty grey tank.

 

It cleared out, and generally we are using happy camper to good result, keeping the grey water smelling fine. But there’s got to be residue in the tank itself when it’s “empty”.

 

Like you we have a composting toilet and have thought about repurposing  our never used black tank. Though I am certainly now going to open the black valve and see if anything drains out!

 

Sorry if this is a dumb question John, but you mentioned mineral oil in all 3 tanks...how would you get oil into your fresh tank? Would you pump it in in via the boondocking configuration or use your self built inline hose bleach dispenser? Can one safely run oil through a water pump?

[John E Davies]

 

Sorry if this is a dumb question John, but you mentioned mineral oil in all 3 tanks…how would you get oil into your fresh tank? Would you pump it in in via the boondocking configuration or use your self built inline hose bleach dispenser? Can one safely run oil through a water pump?

 

 

No, that is a smart question. NEVER EVER put oil in the FRESH water tank because it is potable water. Nor does it have a three inch dump valve that needs lubricating. All the little ball valves have self lubticating seals. Plus I would not want oil anywhere around the pump. It might swell the rubber (?) impeller and seize it up, I am hypothesizing here.

 

I did not actally mention the fresh tank, I was talking about the two grey valves and the black valve.

 

I hope that clarifies this. Please do not add oil to your drinking water supply. I actually never drink from it, but some folks do not mind the taste.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[KarenLukens]

I wonder if this (putting mineral oil down the drains) would also help keep odors from coming up when the p traps dry out when a trailer is stored. What do y’all think? Ours sat for a few weeks in summer after hauling, the p traps dried out, and wow what an odor came up into the cabin from the empty grey tank.

 

It cleared out, and generally we are using happy camper to good result, keeping the grey water smelling fine. But there’s got to be residue in the tank itself when it’s “empty”.

 

 

Put RV Antifreeze down the P traps when storing it and you will be fine.

[Overland]

The odor of RV antifreeze is worse.

 

If you sanitize your fresh tank before storage, drain that chlorinated water into the grey tank plus a little extra chlorine and leave it for a few days and that should keep the grey tank from stinking.  Also, close the shower drain valve and put the stopper down on the kitchen sink strainer and that will keep odors where they belong.