Holding Tanks-Drain Handles

[Festus2]

So far, 2 of the 3 holding tank drain handles have been left in my hand when I have pulled on them to drain the holding tanks at sani-dumps. The first to come off was the black water tank handle together with its shaft and today, the same thing happened with the galley holding tank. In one case, the handle came away from the shaft then the rod came out. In the 2nd case, the entire handle and the rod came away.

I notice that there is a threaded female end at the end of the rod which screws into another rod which is pretty much hidden under the under belly covering. It looks like this handle and rod screw into the valve which opens and closes the drain from the holding tank.

I tried screwing the hand and rod back onto the valve mechanism but it seemed like it just kept turning which indicated that the threads were worn.

I may have to put some epoxy or some other sealant/adhesive in the threads so they will bond and not come apart when I pull on the handles to open the valve.

Has anyone else had problems with their holding tank pull handles? If so, what did you do to prevent them from coming apart?

Nothing like having a handle of a holding tank pull valve in your hand just when you are beginning the process of getting rid of your waste at a sani-dump!

I've always thought that the 3 pull handles on the holding tanks on this particular RV were a bit on the "flimsy" side and they are proving me right.

[Flyguy]

Yes Richard, when I bought our Passport it came with long shafted handles, I removed them and cut the 8" shafts down to 4" and bought two metal handles from CW to replace the plastic ones, I don't mind having to reach a little farther to grab the dump handles in exchange for a more solid feel. Those extension shafts are aluminum with a 1/4 - 20 SAE thread, the actual rod on the dump valve itself turns so you have to hold it to tighten the aluminum extension shaft, my valves main rod was accessible on one of them but I had to cut back the under cover to access the other. If you can't see the main rod on both of your valves you might just have to cut back the under cover on your trailer too, I used a box cutter to do this with and I cut just enough of a hole to gain access. You can replace the aluminum shafts with steel ones if you want, it will take a 1/4-20 tap to cut the threads in the end of the shaft. I hated those plastic handles so I just got rid of them and replaced them with metal ones.

[Firecapt]

I had the same problem with my "galley" tank handle early on. Since then I have just been verrrrry careful when pulling any of the handles and no problems since.

My plan is to replace all pull handles with these: http://www.drainmaster.com/staticpag...ex.php/dm_cart

They are expensive but in the end easier to use, probably won't break, and don't have handles hanging down that can catch on something and break off.