Black/grey tank controls

[rhaney]

We bought a new 2018 Sprinter from Camper World in Atlanta. First trip out our electric fire place quit working along with auto leveling jacks and electric water heater. Lots of small things like drawers that will not stay closed and decorations and blinds falling off the wall.

Now I am ready to dump tanks and after looking for a good while I find the blade valve handles tucked away under the frame but without markings.

My question is which one is black and which one is grey? Does anyone have one that is marked? I like to dump black first but am not sure which is which and the manuel Keystone sent does not cover it.

[chuckster57]

As a rule the black tank will have a 3" valve and the grays will be 1 1/2" valves.
I have seen handles being different colors to designate tank.

[Terry W.]

We bought a new 2018 Sprinter from Camper World in Atlanta. First trip out our electric fire place quit working along with auto leveling jacks and electric water heater. Lots of small things like drawers that will not stay closed and decorations and blinds falling off the wall.

Now I am ready to dump tanks and after looking for a good while I find the blade valve handles tucked away under the frame but without markings.

My question is which one is black and which one is grey? Does anyone have one that is marked? I like to dump black first but am not sure which is which and the manuel Keystone sent does not cover it.It's going to be trial and error. If there were marked, it might not be correct. If you can see the plumbing the larger pipe in black water. I'm guessing you checked your breakers. The fire place and water heater are 120 volt and levelling Jacks are 12 volts so that would be a fuse.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[SteveC7010]

We bought a new 2018 Sprinter from Camper World in Atlanta. First trip out our electric fire place quit working along with auto leveling jacks and electric water heater. Lots of small things like drawers that will not stay closed and decorations and blinds falling off the wall.

Now I am ready to dump tanks and after looking for a good while I find the blade valve handles tucked away under the frame but without markings.

My question is which one is black and which one is grey? Does anyone have one that is marked? I like to dump black first but am not sure which is which and the manuel Keystone sent does not cover it.
A lot of us have an adapter that fits right on the dump fitting that has clear pipe. Mine is a 45 degree one. For long term use, it allows us to see when the drain water is running clear as we dump and flush. Personally, I would not be without it, and now have accumulated two different ones.

This is one of the ones that I have: https://www.amazon.com/Camco-39847-RhinoFLEX-Degree-Fitting/dp/B006OQ35GU

I also got one of these years ago to build my own dump hose for exactly the purpose we're discussing here: https://www.amazon.com/Camco-39432-Degree-Adapter-Fitting/dp/B000EDSSEI/ That one is my everyday quick dump hose and is still in use.

If you can't determine which handle is which, I am going to suggest that you get one of these and place it in-line when you dump. Briefly pull each handle and then you'll know for sure which handle is gray and which is black.

If you can't get one before you absolutely have to dump, bite the bullet, dump 'em all, flush and clean up extra well, and have the clear fitting on-hand for all future dumps.

[JRTJH]

In addition to Steve's advice, one comment I'd suggest: Don't close a "flowing black tank valve". Doing so will increase the chances of catching foreign material in the valve blade seat. That "little bit of tissue" or other foreign material can cause the valve blade to not seat fully which will cause your valve to leak, filling your "capped area" with black water, setting you up for a dirty surprise the next time you remove the terminal cap.

My "general rule of thumb" is to never close the black tank valve when liquid is flowing out of the tank.

You should have two gray tank valves and one black tank valve. With a clear adapter you can easily tell which valve is which on the first dump. No matter which you pull first, you'll still have the "other gray tank" to flush the sewer hose after the tanks controlled by those "two handles close to each other" are empty.