Tank valve open/closing

**Mlatham** · 09-30-2021, 09:00 PM

2017 303 rls. Had it a couple months and just got back from first outing. When emptying the tanks I noticed the black and right side grey tank release valves were pretty hard to open and close. Any way to lubricate? Thanks

**Second Chance** · 10-01-2021, 09:48 AM

You can put tank lubricant in the tanks to lubricate the slide valves themselves, and you can use silicone lube on the rods the handles are attached to. Unfortunately, there is no way to lubricate the cables themselves. You can look behind the basement wall (removes with a few screws) and make sure the cables aren't making any tight turns, too.

Rob

**Bookumdanno** · 10-01-2021, 03:07 PM

This might work https://www.walmart.com/ip/Protect-A...18b530373be10e

**Second Chance** · 10-01-2021, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by Bookumdanno

This might work https://www.walmart.com/ip/Protect-A...18b530373be10e

Hmmm... interesting find. Have you (or anybody you know) tried one?

EDIT: it just occurred to me that the rods on our valve handles are quite a bit larger in diameter than motorcycle/snowmobile control cables. I wonder if anyone makes one in a larger diameter.

Rob

**dkayak** · 10-01-2021, 08:21 PM

My black tank froze up after a long trip in heavy rain followed by some time in storage. Root cause was not the valve or the flexible cable, but the rod that’s attached to the handle. The rod slides through a steel tube about 6-8” long. The rod itself is stainless steel, as is the cable beyond it. However, the tube is carbon steel and it had rusted heavily, preventing the rod from moving. The rod-tube interface was jammed up tight, full of rust. My local dealer replaced the cable assembly and observed a tight bend, so they used a longer cable. Our new process is to heavily lube those rods at each dump in order to prevent the tube from rusting again.