Fresh water tank drain leaking

[John Stephens]

I was ready to put my coach back in storage for two weeks after having it sit in my driveway for the last two months while renovating the interior and making the exterior shine for our upcoming trip to the Midwest, leaving 9/5. Yesterday, I drained the fresh water tank of all water that had been sitting while in storage and refilled it twice to flush it out. I travel with close to a full tank of water because we will dry camp for the first six nights of the trip.

This morning when I walked outside, I noticed the drain was still dripping and upon checking the level, found that it now only held ⅓ of the tank, so it had been dripping out all night. I am not familiar with the drain and valve on this coach and am hoping someone can help me out.

Since the drain is a T handle on the end of a long wire, I am going to assume the valve is a knife gate similar to those on the black and gray water drains. I can't see where the wire for the drain goes after it leave the basement compartment where the handle is located, near the water pump. The water drains from a pipe approx. 2" in diameter located farther up front near the dining room slideout.

I have had issues with this not closing completely a couple of years ago and took care of the problem simply by playing with the T handle of the valve, pushing it in and out a couple of times until the gate seated completely. This time, that isn't working. I assume either the gate has gone bad and needs replacing, or something is blocking it from closing completely, such as calcium buildup.

My question is how do I get this thing closed completely for the time being so I can go on my trip? If I can get it closed, it won't be used again until after the trip is completed and then, I can replace it if necessary. Is the gate located in the pipe I can see that drains the water, or is it closer to the tank? I am hoping I can get it closed for now because I don't know how long it will take to order a part for it. I have only a little over two weeks before we leave on our trip.

Any help or advice will be appreciated.

 

[Rene T]

Cap the end of the pipe.

 

[Ex-Calif]

I assume most fills (like mine) have a check valve. Mine drips with no pressure and leaks when the pump kicks in. There was an old male hose plug that finally broke in half and I have not found a new one.

What I did was install a garden ball valve shut off extension - I also have one at the end of my fill hose. What's nice is I can pressurize the fill hose, shut that water off at the end of the hose, connect it and then open both valves.

 

[John Stephens]

Cap the end of the pipe.

Rene, that was my first thought but upon closer inspection after the thing ran out of water and stopped dripping on my head, I realized that the water wasn't coming out of pipe but instead, an outlet that immediately made a right-angle turn into something else, possibly the water tank. There is no way I could fit a cap on the end of it. I couldn't see the fresh water tank at all. It may have been covered up with panels, I don't know. But I scooted my way completely under the coach from one side to the other and didn't see any poly tanks. I know the gray and black water tanks are poly and can be seen from the water compartment on the driver's side of the coach, so I am going to assume the fresh water tank is the same and probably paneled for protection.

I also can't determine where the cable for the valve goes after it exits the compartment the release handle is located in. If I could find the end of that, I would find the gate. I have a feeling this problem is over my head and I'm going to have to find an RV mechanic to do something about it.

 

[cbeierl]

If you take a look at the Plumbing Diagram for your coach you can see the fresh water drain valve (labeled V-16) at location 2-D on page 6 of the pdf.  (Note that you can zoom in on the diagram to see it better!)

 

[John Stephens]

If you take a look at the Plumbing Diagram for your coach you can see the fresh water drain valve (labeled V-16) at location 2-D on page 6 of the pdf.  (Note that you can zoom in on the diagram to see it better!)

I went to the Winnebago website and only found plumbing diagrams back to 2010. Mine is a 2005. If you know one can be obtained for a 2005, please let me know how to get it.

 

[John Stephens]

Never mind - I just realized your post included a link to it. Thank you.

Chris - can you tell me where you found this? I looked all over the Winnie website for it. A search turned up zero results.

 

[cbeierl]

Never mind - I just realized your post included a link to it. Thank you.

Chris - can you tell me where you found this? I looked all over the Winnie website for it. A search turned up zero results.

Winnebago Parts Catalog
Winnebago Plumbing Diagrams
Winnebago Wiring Diagrams
Winnebago Industries Operator Manuals
Winnebago Sealants Callout Sheets
Winnebago Service Tips

All of these should be accessible from http://www.winnebagoind.com, but you have to wander around a bit to find them.

Select WINNEBAGO under BRANDS at the top of the page.  From there select Owner Tools from OWNERS at the top of the page.

Select BROCHURE ARCHIVE or OPERATOR MANUALS from the bottom of the page, or select PARTS CATALOG under RESEARCH GENUINE WINNEBAGO PARTS for the Parts Catalog or select FIND INFORMATION under MOTORHOME KNOWLEDGE BASE for other info, where you'll find Plumbing and Wiring Diagrams at the bottom of the page, along with other info scattered around the page.

 

[John Stephens]

Winnebago Parts Catalog
Winnebago Plumbing Diagrams
Winnebago Wiring Diagrams
Winnebago Industries Operator Manuals
Winnebago Sealants Callout Sheets
Winnebago Service Tips

All of these should be accessible from http://www.winnebagoind.com, but you have to wander around a bit to find them.

Select WINNEBAGO under BRANDS at the top of the page.  From there select Owner Tools from OWNERS at the top of the page.

Select BROCHURE ARCHIVE or OPERATOR MANUALS from the bottom of the page, or select PARTS CATALOG under RESEARCH GENUINE WINNEBAGO PARTS for the Parts Catalog or select FIND INFORMATION under MOTORHOME KNOWLEDGE BASE for other info, where you'll find Plumbing and Wiring Diagrams at the bottom of the page, along with other info scattered around the page.

Chris, this is fantastic; I really appreciate you sharing this information because I couldn't find it. I wonder if it made any difference that I went to Winnebago.com.

I was able to take off the access panel and get to the valve. The O-rings had gone bad and there was some gunk on the knife and its slot that had built up. I called my mechanic and asked if he knew where I could get replacement O-rings for the valve. He said he had one that had been ordered for another unit just laying around and would sell it to me for $6.00. One O-ring was split, so I used the best of the old ones, one of the new ones, cleaned everything the best I could and put it back together. It is holding water at this moment so I think I am good to go on the trip in two weeks.

Thanks to everyone that contributed to this resolution.

 

[cbeierl]

Chris, this is fantastic; I really appreciate you sharing this information because I couldn't find it. I wonder if it made any difference that I went to Winnebago.com.
...

Just fyi, winnebago.com is where you end up when you select WINNEBAGO under BRANDS on the winnebagoind.com site (first step in my recipe listed previously).

 

[cbeierl]

Also, I believe these are the correct seals: Valterra T1001-9VP Bladex Waste Valve Seals - 1.5"
And this is the complete valve:  Valterra T1001PBC 1-1/2" Valve Body

 

[John Canfield]

I replaced the entire fresh water drain valve instead of trying to clean or replace parts. It was way too difficult to access so I didn't want to experiment with refurbing. It probably would have been fine but......

 

[Ray-IN]

Cap the end of the pipe.

I did that until I could replace the knife valve, which was nearly impossible to reach. I glues a PVC female thread adapter to the pipe and installed a threaded plug so I could drain the tank when necessary.

 

[cbeierl]

Winnebago Parts Catalog
Winnebago Plumbing Diagrams
Winnebago Wiring Diagrams
Winnebago Industries Operator Manuals
Winnebago Sealants Callout Sheets
Winnebago Service Tips

All of these should be accessible from http://www.winnebagoind.com, but you have to wander around a bit to find them.

Select WINNEBAGO under BRANDS at the top of the page.  From there select Owner Tools from OWNERS at the top of the page.

Select BROCHURE ARCHIVE or OPERATOR MANUALS from the bottom of the page, or select PARTS CATALOG under RESEARCH GENUINE WINNEBAGO PARTS for the Parts Catalog or select FIND INFORMATION under MOTORHOME KNOWLEDGE BASE for other info, where you'll find Plumbing and Wiring Diagrams at the bottom of the page, along with other info scattered around the page.

New link for Winnebago Service Tips .

 

[cbeierl]

Online Service Tips now only go back to 2010!  :'( :'( :'(

 

[John Canfield]

Online Service Tips now only go back to 2010!  :'( :'( :'(

Service Tips was always a treasure trove of info for owners and especially us DIYers. The long time service manager retired three years ago and my buddy Bryan Funke, shop supervisor is now recently gone.

Winnebago dropped their WIT magazine as I recall a few years ago and I doubt they will revive the Grand National Rally for 2021 unless the Forest City locals scream bloody murder.

I doubt if we will recognize the business in a few years.

 

[John Stephens]

I doubt if we will recognize the business in a few years.

I hate to say it, but I agree with you. And there is no telling what it is going to turn into. This pandemic is going to change the world in a lot more ways than anyone initially imagined.

 

[SCVJeff]

In many ways a good thing..  business has been forced to trust their employees at home and AFAIKT its worked out not bad. That will mean serious reduction in office space, commuting, reduced insurance for less driving, etc. and invest in Zoom..

 

[Ex-Calif]

In many ways a good thing..  business has been forced to trust their employees at home and AFAIKT its worked out not bad. That will mean serious reduction in office space, commuting, reduced insurance for less driving, etc. and invest in Zoom..

I have been working from home since March 3rd. The company put in screening protocols and invited people back but allowed people to continue WFH which I did.  Over the summer they had probably 6-10 traceable cases. In wave three they have now had like 26 cases. My problem is that I can control me but I can't control my peers so I don't trust anyone with my life.

Some really want to go back to an office because of day care, kids etc. and it is really tough for them.

Lat week the company announced that they are consolidating roof tops.  Part of it is that we have downsized by about 40% long term and there are a lot of empty desks. We currently occupy 2 X 3 story buildings. We are apparently going to end up in one building.

I am either 6 months or 2 years from retirement. I told my boss last week that I don't ever intend to return to the office. I told him that after 9 months working from home I have completely demonstrated that I am probably more efficient working from home as I am not subject to the coffee pot chatter, the desk drop buys and all the hallway discussions.

One of the big problems is that leaders think they are leaders only when there is a crowd of people sitting outside their office that they can drop by and disturb with every errant electron that flashes in their head - LOL... He hates that he has to schedule time on a zoom call to talk to people.

I think it's great.

 

[John Canfield]

Interesting discussion, very timely. Just a nudge to please keep the thread on topic about the leaking water tank (yes, mea culpa also  ??? )