Drain valve lube (attn: Newbies)

[JimD]

Groan....I am now humming "You put the lime in the coconut....".

I have read where putting dish washing soap in a tank with about a half tank of clean water and then driving helps clean things up. Have yet to try is. So far I have been lucky with my sensors by filling the tanks to full before dumping. My black tank has the internal cleaning squirters which have worked well so far. I do flush the black tank multiple times when dumping.

[JFlightRisk]

[QUOTE=JimD;769656]Groan....I am now humming "You put the lime in the coconut....".

That song NEVER ends. Dang! now I'm humming it!!!

[ynpmoose]

Originally Posted by 75H

Magnolia Tom,

Thetford Drain Valve Lubricant, this bottle has been in the MH since May, 2018. Drained & flushed tanks and put about 4 gallons of water back, mixing in the lubricant.

Instructions say to drive around a bit, but we're up on jacks so I just opened & closed the valves several times not letting much water out. Via a see-thru connection on the sewer hose, I could see the orange-ish product was passing through and therefore in contact with what I assume is the plastic or rubber valve seals.

Product gave near instant relief from the slight resistance and squeaky noise coming from the black tank valve. Best money I've ever thrown down the drain!

Do you use the whole 24 oz bottle in one tank?

[Love To Travel 2]

I purchase the pine oil at Dollar Tree. They usually have 2 types, the Pine Sol brand which is gold in color and comes in a smaller bottle. It is a little thicker in consistency. They also sell a brand X pine cleaner which comes in a larger bottle and different colors like yellow and blue and green. For cleaning the tank while driving, I use a bottle of the $1.00 Pine Sol with around 3 or 4 gallons of water. Last week we took a short hop in the MH. Day 1 was about 160 miles, so prior to leaving home, I dumped the bottle in the toilet along with 4 gallons of water and away we went.

We spent 3 nights at a campground and on the morning we left I emptied the tank for the first time this trip. I may be a little anal about the black tank, but I dump the tank then turn on the black tank flush and let it run about 5 or 10 minutes with the gate valve open. Then I close the valve and let the flush run until the tank is about 1/2 full. I open the valve and let everything run out, then do the fill/dump cycle two more times. You would be surprised what comes out, even on the third flush cycle. If you do it the way I do, DO NOT GET DISTRACTED and forget the flush is running and the tank is filling. If you do, you will have a mess on your hands, and feet, etc. The second leg of this trip was only 90 miles, plus we were boondocking for 2 nights, so I didn't use the pine oil.

Something else I do when the MH is going to sit for an extended period of time in our driveway is to fill the black tank to about 3/4 with water and some dish detergent or pine oil. This keeps anything that could be stuck to the sides of the tank from turning into a cement-like consistency. Then just before heading out I empty the tank.

In almost two years with the 29MV, I have not had a problem with the tank level gauge. Yes, it does take some water, but I think it is worth it. I also purchased some of the Happy Camper powder which gets added to the black tank, especially when boondocking and in the summer.

Just my two cents but I hope you get the information and help you need.

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by Chet & Marie

Hi Magnolia Tom. I am intrigued and plan to try using the Pine-Sol method on my black water tank as the indicator lights are all but worthless. I wonder how exactly you go about using it in terms of how much and when. Our black water tank is 20 gallon and normally if we are boonie camping we dumped it every other day as takes showers in our camper, wash dishes the soreness, and so on and so forth. I have a bottle of Pine-Sol and we're headed out this weekend so your reply would be appreciated. Thank you Chet and Marie

After every dump, I do my version of the Geo method. I add a couple caps of liquid Calgon and about a cup of Pine sol with about 3-4 gallons of water. I don’t actually measure, i just eyeball it. I also will add a squirt of dawn soap. I use cheap pine sol I get from the dollar store which is 64 ounces for a dollar. I think the real secret is the Calgon water softener. We also have a water softener so every flush is getting soft water too.

[Chet & Marie]

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

After every dump, I do my version of the Geo method. I add a couple caps of liquid Calgon and about a cup of Pine sol with about 3-4 gallons of water. I don’t actually measure, i just eyeball it. I also will add a squirt of dawn soap. I use cheap pine sol I get from the dollar store which is 64 ounces for a dollar. I think the real secret is the Calgon water softener. We also have a water softener so every flush is getting soft water too.

I assume this would work for the grey water as well.

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by Chet & Marie

I assume this would work for the grey water as well.

I would think so as well

[TCNashville]

Originally Posted by Magnolia Tom

I think the real secret is the Calgon water softener.

I totally agree here. I think the water softener slicks up the sides of the tank so not as much sticks to it. I use the true GEO method of Calgon, a little bleach and Dawn dish soap. I see lots of people mention they use fabric softener [instead of water softener] but I don't think it does the same thing. I've been using this method for 3 years now, no odor whatsoever and my sensors actually work in my 7 year old camper. I may try the pinesol thing in lieu of bleach next time. Thx for the tip.

[Chet & Marie]

Thanks and will try it next week.

[GeorgiaRV]

Originally Posted by RoWest

I found this video about lubricating the drain seals. Kinda' ingenious and uses everyday products. On my list to do before our 3-month summer sojourn.

I did about a year ago, what is shown in this video. It works great!

[Jacyko rookie]

Great info and video

[Springhook]

Found som "Pine-Glo" at Dollar Store. No indication of pine oil in the ingredients. Isn't pine oil what we're looking for?

[jd99336]

I went hunting the dollar stores for "Pine" anything that actually showed Pine Oil in the ingrediants. Interestingly the only one that did was Pine Sol original which was pine oil and some sort of lotion that is common in skin care products. This appeared harmless and non-petroleum based, so have have used it twice now.

I have detected no benefit in my valves at this point. There weren't bad to begin with, so starting to show hesitation, so figured why not. I will use the rest of the bottle (I also bought Calgon water softener based on other recommendations and have noticed improvement in my sensors as it supposedly will help remove build up on the probes) but if I don't see better results will stop it's use.

While the intial smell of pine oil is nice, I can assure you that after a couple of days, the smell of the black tank and pine oil does NOT resemble pooping in the woods.