Electric waste tank valves

[Lantley]

Well I think it gives you a good idea that your valve sealed well this time.
However that does not mean a piece of debris or TP won't get caught on the gate valve blade next time.
Totally eliminating residual water may not be possible. There are just too many places for residual water to get trapped
Each fitting has a joint between the fitting and pipe that can hold water or catch debris that trap water.
This water remains trapped until you travel down the road and move around. The water drains and is caught at the end of the discharge pipe.
As long as it just a small amount it's not worth chasing after.

 

[Craig Anderson]

Creek Jenkins,

Please se answer from Alliance Servce below:


"Thank you for reaching out. I have received your request information regarding proper use of the 3-way switch for the Motordrain waste valve system. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us. Have a great day and happy camping!



To open the valve: press switch to up position

Once the valve is open, put the switch in the middle position

To close the valve: press switch to down position

Once the valve is closed, put the switch in the middle position"

Hope this helps,

This is very helpful. Probably needs to be conveyed to dealers too as we did not receive this information on our recent walkthrough. I currently have mine in closed position but will go out and put them in the middle position now. Thanks!

 

[Midnight Rider]

Just ad a Ventura valve on your drain pipe and you will no longer have to deal with that water in the pipe when you go to hook up.

 

[johnm]

Ok - no instructions on the electric dump valve operation anywhere I can find on this brand new 385FL.
What does the red light mean? open or closed or simply live? There are 3 positions for it - and the light is on during two of these positions..
Brand new rig - never been used - tanks are currently empty as I have been sanitizing the rig and have dumped all three tanks completely.

 

[2 Allies]

Closed is pushed in at the bottom, open is pushed all the way in to the top of the rocker switch. Once closed after emptying, rock the switch into the neutral or middle position.

See my post on this thread from the 1st page, straight from Alliance.

They have been working flawlessly for us.

Good luck,

 

[B&D1088]

Creek Jenkins,

Please se answer from Alliance Servce below:


"Thank you for reaching out. I have received your request information regarding proper use of the 3-way switch for the Motordrain waste valve system. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us. Have a great day and happy camping!



To open the valve: press switch to up position

Once the valve is open, put the switch in the middle position

To close the valve: press switch to down position

Once the valve is closed, put the switch in the middle position"

Hope this helps,

This is helpful to a point … just picked up our 2025 Paradigm 310RL.

Had it out now 13 days / 2 trips since picking it up on 7 June 2025. Dumped twice and as others have said, no information on proper operation of electric gates for the black and grey water valves.

Earlier today I performed another dump. Top (up) position is open and after leaving the switches in the middle-position (neutral according to other posts) the lights remained on long after dumping. Our Trip home is only 18 miles. My wife and I could hear the motor from time to time while unloading at home. I switched all three to down position (closed) and the noise stopped and indicator light turned off. Not sure of the recommendations here ??? or from the Alliance (Allies) maintenance department I’ve read.

As a side note the dump seemed to go well and the clear water was visible after twice filling the black-water to above 1/3 tank and dumping. I followed each black-water dump with a grey-water dump.

 

[2 Allies]

You put the switches in the close position (all the way down) until the light goes out. You will hear the motor stop, then put into the neutral or middle position.

Hope this helps ,

 

[B&D1088]

You put the switches in the close position (all the way down) until the light goes out. You will hear the motor stop, then put into the neutral or middle position.

Hope this helps ,

I’ll give that a try.

 

[2 Allies]

This might be a great subject for a Bill Martin 'What you know Wednesday ' episode now that more rigs are coming with electric dump valves.

 

[RichieW13]

Owner’s manual is pretty useless - out of date and not model specific.

It's pretty annoying that you buy a $70,000+ RV, but they don't issue owners manuals that are specific to the model and components included in your rig.

 

[Creek Jenkins]

Best tool for cleaning your black tank and checking the valve seals is a cheap ($100-$150) endoscope steerable camera. It has lots of other uses as well - I check my axle bearing seals, inspect inside the hot water heater, look into AC ducts, wiring chases, etc. Even used it to find top dead center on my 1941 Allis when reinstalling the magneto.

 

[Fisherman]

I don't see the need for the flush king...but to each their own. I like to dump the black and fill the internal sprayers until I have 30-40 gallons in the black...then I empty. I do this 2 times and by the time the last 10 gallons or so are coming out, I never see anything other than semi clear water.

Here is how my setup looks. I have water flow meters on the fresh water line and the black tank flush connection. I only have the hose connected to the black tank flush when I am actively dumping tanks. The meter stays on, but the hose is removed via quick disconnects.

View attachment 3176

when you fill the black tank with fresh water to rinse do you leave open the toilet valve? I was told by an rv tech that filling black tank with a closed toilet and closed blank tank drain pressures the system and can blow or damage seals given the water in flow at 40 to 50 psi will compress the air in the system and create a pressurized black tank. True or not I don’t know but physics say if system has no where for the pressure to go it could harm the system.

 

[2 Allies]

The black tank is vented to the top of the coach thtough a 1 1/2 inch ABS pipe, must have been a new RV tech. Unless your vent is plugged, no way to pressurize the tank.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

when you fill the black tank with fresh water to rinse do you leave open the toilet valve? I was told by an rv tech that filling black tank with a closed toilet and closed blank tank drain pressures the system and can blow or damage seals given the water in flow at 40 to 50 psi will compress the air in the system and create a pressurized black tank. True or not I don’t know but physics say if system has no where for the pressure to go it could harm the system.

You might want to find a new RV tech. The grey and black tanks are all vented to the roof. Even the fresh water tank has a vent or it would exploded when filling it.

 

[Jwtsg]

when you fill the black tank with fresh water to rinse do you leave open the toilet valve? I was told by an rv tech that filling black tank with a closed toilet and closed blank tank drain pressures the system and can blow or damage seals given the water in flow at 40 to 50 psi will compress the air in the system and create a pressurized black tank. True or not I don’t know but physics say if system has no where for the pressure to go it could harm the system.

Tech is mis-informed & incorrect,,,should mention that to him & his service mgr. Basic plumbing 101,,,,grrr,,,

 

[RockDr896]

For those who want a permanent glued on valve solution, but very little pipe to cut and install the valve. You can get sch 40 (Inside x Inside) or (Inside x Outside) couplers. I used them a lot when fixing pool piping, which tends to have very little places to make cuts. Lets say you make your cut right at the face of a TEE and that leaves the original pipe glued into the TEE. The (INSIDE x INSIDE) coupler, will allow you to slip it into that remaining glued in pipe and build out from there. This will allow those with very little length to work with and keep the entire dump valve from sticking out too far. I hope this helps some of you with the problem!! I made my valve glued on.

 

[BryanValRox]

For those who want a permanent glued on valve solution, but very little pipe to cut and install the valve. You can get sch 40 (Inside x Inside) or (Inside x Outside) couplers. I used them a lot when fixing pool piping, which tends to have very little places to make cuts. Lets say you make your cut right at the face of a TEE and that leaves the original pipe glued into the TEE. The (INSIDE x INSIDE) coupler, will allow you to slip it into that remaining glued in pipe and build out from there. This will allow those with very little length to work with and keep the entire dump valve from sticking out too far. I hope this helps some of you with the problem!! I made my valve glued on.

They also make tooling(cutters) that cut out the original pipe from the fitting once you cut it off. It allows you to reuse the original fitting and maintain the original sizing. You basically install it in a drill and cut out the glued in piece.

 

[2 Allies]

Bryan is right, works great! Had a travel trailer develop a Crack and the toll saved me from having to replace the crazy y they had on it.

 

[RockDr896]

They also make tooling(cutters) that cut out the original pipe from the fitting once you cut it off. It allows you to reuse the original fitting and maintain the original sizing. You basically install it in a drill and cut out the glued in piece.

You are totally right, if you work with pipe every day and it makes sense to have all the different ream dimensions. I would vote for the inside ID fix for a 1 time situation. Especially if you have to fix an area where you have to buckle in a piece. The reaming tool plus the drill dimension, is not going to work. So both work really well....so we now have two great solutions.....those doing the work...you pick!! LOL

 

[BryanValRox]

You are totally right, if you work with pipe every day and it makes sense to have all the different ream dimensions. I would vote for the inside ID fix for a 1 time situation. Especially if you have to fix an area where you have to buckle in a piece. The reaming tool plus the drill dimension, is not going to work. So both work really well....so we now have two great solutions.....those doing the work...you pick!! LOL

100% agree, like any project there is always more than one path to completion.