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Monday, May 6, 2013

The Wonders Of Nature, The Wonders Of RV Ownership

One joy of our extended stay here in our South Carolina “home” is spending quality time with the boys.  We get to be involved in their lives and they actually want to spend time with us (go figure).

We watched Andrew playing soccer, he was the goalie for most of the game.

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At the campground, there is a large pond, which fascinates the boys. 

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There is always some new thing to see, fish, turtles or creatures they’ve never seen before.

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Little tadpoles.  I was able to explain the wonders of nature to them and how the tadpoles will grow into frogs, if they don’t run across a hungry fish or turtle first.  The boys loved seeing and catching the tadpoles, but we carefully returned the tadpoles to the pond so they can grow.

Of course owning an RV comes with wonders of its own.  You wonder what is going to act up next.  The next picture does not bode well for a clean and easy repair.

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Yep, my black tank valve (why does it always have to be the black tank?) is acting up.  It is binding when I open and close it, and will have to be replaced.  Evidently the rubber seals are wearing or ripped and will eventually fail and allow the tank to leak.

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Since I’ll have to take the whole sewer manifold off, I’m going to replace the gray tank valve at the same time.  Don’t want to do it twice.

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Fortunately I have a flushing system on the black tank, so I’ll be giving it a serious bunch of flushes before I take the valves apart.  I have had one black tank experience where I had to pick up “things” that fell out on the ground, I don’t want to be repeating that!

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(Picking up “Things” after a sewer hose came apart)

It’s just as well that I do the valves now because I notice a couple months ago another problem that was developing.

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The rubber couplings that attach the dump valve manifold to the black and gray tanks are starting to dry out and crack.  I didn’t want to order these from Winnebago and pay big bucks, so I looked around MFS (Man’s Favorite Store), Home Depot, and found these for under eight bucks.

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Heavy duty pipe couplings.  I can remove the rubber piece from inside the metal clamp and use it that way, or install it with the clamp.  I haven’t decided yet if I’ll use the clamp, I’m leaning towards not, so I can keep an eye on the rubber for possible cracking down the road like the originals.

I’m holding off on this job for a short while. Marti and I will be leaving Wednesday for a car trip up to NJ and PA to visit the granddaughters, little Rebekah is turning one next week and we want to be there for this milestone birthday.

I figure I’d better wait to do this job for when I get back, because things never go as smoothly as planned and from experience, it could require some additional trips to Home Depot or Camping World.  (Don’t ask me how I know this).

I’ll do a post on the repair when I get back, I want to take my time, do it right and ensure no “things” fall out of the black tank and get in the pictures.  ;c)

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

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23 comments:

  1. Oh goodness Paul you are making me worry again. What year is your Journey? I think she's younger than Winnona. How does binding feel when you open and close the valve? It takes two hands for me to push ours all the way shut. Oh my.......black tank repairs. Eewwwww.

    Safe trip to NJ and PA and Happy B'day to Rebekah.

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    1. The Journey is a 2007, we bought it new so I can't blame things on anyone else.

      The valves are supposed to slide easy, I have to give it a hard pull or push, never had to do that before.

      If your's isn't leaking, you may not have to worry about replacement. I'm going to replace mine even though it's not leaking. You know my luck...

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  2. You get all this done and you will be a certified R Sanitary engineer.

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  3. There's a reason you're stuck in South Carolina. It's because if you weren't there, you wouldn't be able to spend all this time with the boys. That's precious time. Hug those girls when you get to NJ too!

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  4. TMI!! When you do get back and start this job, how about keeping your detailed description to valves, clamps and couplings etc. We don't need to know about "things" ..... I'm just sayin!

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  5. It's so great that you are there long enough to go to the grandkids' activities and spend time with them in the campground. Good luck on the black tank repair.

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  6. You and your 'things' :) We had to replace our black tank valve as well..Camping World came and did it..it was under warranty at least. Works much better now!

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  7. So good you can be with grand boys! We miss our grands terribly. I am beginning to count the time until we can scoop them up in our arms once more.

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  8. My black water valve was way under my fifth wheel and was always hard to operate. A friend put a zerk fitting in it and some grease and it worked fine ever after. Of course that was in '03 and I sold it in '06, so who knows what it's doing now.

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  9. Have to tell you I am looking forward to reading about your sweet grandchildren and the trip to PA. Not quite so excited about the black tank repair and 'things' LOL

    Safe Travels....

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  10. Have fun with the grands up in NJ & PA ... for you probably won't have with the planned maintenance ... then again, maybe you will.

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  11. I have learned that taking ones time is the key to any repair. Anytime I try to do things quickly, I end up with frustration.

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  12. Things? What a pleasant way of putting it.

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  13. Have a great trip and forget about the "things" and the job in front of you while enjoying those beautiful grandkids.

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  17. I often wonder the same thing. What's next? We just had to replace the motor on our AC, at the tune of $500...ouch. I happy to say our black water tank is fine, because that is one stincky job, we do not want tackle!

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  19. ahhh. . .multiple trips to Home Depot. . .fun!

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  20. There's just no getting around having to do "stuff" to whatever it is you're living in. I *suppose* it can be more fun in an RV, but that depends on the "stuff".
    Good luck with all that.
    I've done my share of dealing with "things", so it's certainly not from a holier than thou point of view, just so you know.
    The good news is, you get to rinse first.

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  21. Paul, will be interested in how the valve repairs go for you. A commentor above talked about adding a zerk fitting. I've seen this done before and the users claim that it really does extend the life of the valves. You might want to think about that while you have the valves out and accessible.

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    1. I've found that an occasional spray of silicone does the same thing. This one, however is binding, you can feel something catching on the outward pull and it requires a hard push to get the valve seated when closing.

      The valve is just about six years old, so I can't complain, I did get my monies worth. :c)

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