Valve Lube

[tlmgcamp]

Looking to lube the stems on the valves from the waste tanks and water tank. With Teflon, silicone, lithium, etc is there anything that is detrimental to the seals?

 

[Sunnyfalls]

We put this in the black and gray tanks:

Drain Valve Lubricant | RV Holding Tank Valve Lubricant | Thetford

Smooth operation of RV grey and black holding tanks valves. The 100% biodegradable formual lubricates the valves and coats plumbing lines.

www.thetford.com

We also use this when disassembling and reassembling our RV dump valve and on all the O-rings of our homestead creek and well water filtration system:

MOLYKOTE® 111 Compound

NLGI Grade 3-4, translucent white, used primarily as a general purpose o-ring and valve lubricant.

www.dupont.com

https://www.borstengineeringconstruction.com/Our_Well_Water_Filtration_Pump_House.pdf

Gayle & Bob
Los Gatos Casita

https://www.borstengineeringconstruction.com/Our_Los_Gatos_Casita_Spring_2023_Trip.pdf

 

[RVfixer]

Putting lube on the stems won't do much for hard or sticky valves. When the tanks are empty we put liquid dish detergent down the drain and toilet with some water. Then open and close the valves quickly a few times. Works well and lasts for a reasonable amount of time. I don't know if the commercial valve lubes work any better.

 

[Onyrlef]

You can drill a 1/8" hole in the blade valve housing and insert the straw tube from a can of lubricant, use a short screw to seal the hole.

 

[Kirk]

You can drill a 1/8" hole in the blade valve housing

What I did was to drill a 1/4" hole in the housing of each dump valve and squeezed some silicone grease into the blade area and used a small stainless steel bolt to plug the holes.

 

[tlmgcamp]

Good stuff...thanks all

 

[House Husband]

I drilled and taped for grease zerks. The dump valves are now part of my LOF.

Richard

 

[RedForeman]

Looking to lube the stems on the valves from the waste tanks and water tank. With Teflon, silicone, lithium, etc is there anything that is detrimental to the seals?

I doubt any common lubes would cause a problem. I'd reach for some dry lube like you'd use on a cable or lock cylinder, or maybe spray silicone, just to avoid a mess.

 

[gwinger]

I use this. Heavier than standard silicone spray.

 

[tlmgcamp]

A little concerned about a wet lube as road grime will stick. But since the valves are closed during travel maybe that's not a problem

 

[Kirk]

A little concerned about a wet lube as road grime will stick

The difficult part is not usually the shaft that attaches to the handle to the blade but the blade itself. If you do as suggested in post #5 or #7 you will then lubricate the blade its self. There are also products that one can pour into the tanks immediately after dumping that are supposed to go on to the blade and lubricate it. I used to do that with vegetable oil, putting about a pint of it into each empty tank every 6 months. That is better than nothing, but not as good as #5/#7.