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Hot Water Winterization Valve Leaks Around Stem.


NVNGRR

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My 92 Micro Warrior has a major leaking problem in both valves from the hot water tank. It did this a little bit last year when I turned on the pump but it stopped soon. This time I cannot get the valves to stop leaking. Water shoots out around the stems. I have tried opening and closing them several times with no luck. The drain valves for the fresh water tank are the same kind and work fine. I could sure use some ideas. I am stumped.

By the way they have never frozen, I winterize every year and the last 6 years it has been stored inside a insulated building.

Thank you,

Kevin Miller

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I could sure use some ideas. I am stumped.

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Nice pic. I have a '92 Winnebago Itasca and have rebuilt my drain valves.

The drain valve is connected to a short piece of hose that drains outside, through the floor.

Locate this hose from underneath and put a piece of cardboard or newspaper in the vicinity of the hose.

Remove the metal 'C clip' (bend it with needle nose pliers) from the top of the valve (it's shown in your pic)

then, carefully drive the valve stem downward, with a long, thin punch or whatever, completely through the valve body.

It will drop to the ground and you will capture it on the cardboard.

Take this plunger to a competant hardware store and let them remove the O'rings, measure them, and give you replacements.

Lightly lubricate the O'rings before plunging them back, upwards, into the valve body from below. Reattach the 'C clip'.

Should be good to go for another 20 years.

The other way is to remove the entire drain valve assembly, take it apart, repair, which is a pain but doable.

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I completely replaced the valves with new PEX. I removed the shower pan for easier access only to find out the drain fittings were loose. It was a good time to reseal-caulk all the pan edges. You will have to do rerouting of the pipes as the pictures show. The PEX fittings fit the old Winnebago gray pipe with no leaks. Be careful of the valves. There is a ^ arrow showing flow direction. If they are installed wrong they will leak. Don't ask how I know. I painted the area under the shower pan with STA-KOOL elastomeric roof coating.

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I had a feeling I wasn't the only one with this problem. I will try twoblocked's fix first and see if I can rebuild them. I will have to remove them though because they are directly above the grey water tank. I hope by removing the white clips the pipes will be flexible enough to lift up without disconnecting them. I should have known this was coming because these valves have been seeping a little bit for the last few years when I fill up the first time.

Thanks for the quick responses, I have a week to get this fixed and keep the wife happy. I got a dirty look when I told her we may have to haul water jugs on our next trip.

Kevin

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Thanks guys I got her fixed. I went to 7 different places before I found the exact same size O rings. A place called Industrial Hydraulics in Chehalis, WA. They have wall to wall O rings but found mine in their discontinued bin under the front counter. I bought extras.

I managed to get by with just disconnecting the 4 upright connections. With the tubing clamps removed from around the tubing I had enough flexibility to pull the valve up and twist it sideways to get the stems out. The new O rings fit much tighter than the old ones so I knew that was a good sign. I put her back together using some vaseline, turned on the pump and held my breath. So far so good, not a drop of water.

There was what I assume to be a calcium build up on the old O rings and stems. I cleaned it off the stems before putting the new O rings on.

My wife is now happy with me again, at least for now. :greedy:

Thanks for the help, I would probably still be banging my head without it.

Kevin

And I hope nobody minds that I did cross post this on the Yahoo Toyota Camper group. I was desperate.

K

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