MOVED BLACK TANK VACUUM BREAKER----also replaced bathroom faucet

ForBruce

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273
This a 2 part story.
Hated the bathroom faucet. I sure everyone knows why . (it Spits across room when it hits air bubbles )
and while i was at it i also replace the hose going to it with pex.

The faucet is only $29.95 at amazon and fits perfectly, for those of you considering. The photo of the faucet is attached .

Also The Black Tank Vacuum Breaker leaked on me once when i had a "Montana" (dirty word) so i know eventually i would have to service it. (you have to disguard it --it is NOT repairable--plastic junk)

On the solitude 378mbs it is located behind the shower and axcessible in the lower bathroom closet by removing a panel. There is no way i can get both arms in that closet to do any work. and the hole behind the shower faucet is way too small .

On the Montana it was located under the bathroom sink and i had no trouble working in that area.

I , like others, cut the hose in the basement ceiling and reworked it into the bathroom sink cabinet.

At the same time i did away with that plastic piece of junk and replaced it with a brass check valve and a 1/2" Watts vacuum Breaker . (i've used this type of breaker in my business for over 30 years and it is reliable . What even better is there are rebuild kits available at a fraction of the Vac cost.

photos attached
 

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This a 2 part story.
Hated the bathroom faucet. I sure everyone knows why . (it Spits across room when it hits air bubbles )
and while i was at it i also replace the hose going to it with pex.

The faucet is only $29.95 at amazon and fits perfectly, for those of you considering. The photo of the faucet is attached .

Also The Black Tank Vacuum Breaker leaked on me once when i had a "Montana" (dirty word) so i know eventually i would have to service it. (you have to disguard it --it is NOT repairable--plastic junk)

On the solitude 378mbs it is located behind the shower and axcessible in the lower bathroom closet by removing a panel. There is no way i can get both arms in that closet to do any work. and the hole behind the shower faucet is way too small .

On the Montana it was located under the bathroom sink and i had no trouble working in that area.

I , like others, cut the hose in the basement ceiling and reworked it into the bathroom sink cabinet.

At the same time i did away with that plastic piece of junk and replaced it with a brass check valve and a 1/2" Watts vacuum Breaker . (i've used this type of breaker in my business for over 30 years and it is reliable . What even better is there are rebuild kits available at a fraction of the Vac cost.

photos attached

Thanks for the info. Another couple of projects I will likely have to do. I don't much like the spitting faucet either and noticed for 2023 GD put a more normal faucet in these trailers. I also like where you put the check valve and will likely do that as well.

Rob
 
The black tank has a vent, so where is a vacuum created? What does the vacuum breaker accomplish?
If I understand it correctly, the vacuum breaker is to allow the clean water portion of the black flush line to drain back out the inlet, vice stay full of water and potentially get contaminated from mixing with tank water. Basically, it acts as a vent on the clean side of the flush line when needed.
 
The black tank has a vent, so where is a vacuum created? What does the vacuum breaker accomplish?
It's kind of a misnomer. The vacuum breaker for the black tank flush has a movable seal that rises when acted on by water pressure. This allows water to flow to the black tank flush. When the pressure is released, i.e., water shut off, the seal drops down and allows air to access the plumbing at this point, and the water will drain out of the black tank flush line. The water will flow out the black tank flush into the black tank, and from the vacuum breaker back to the outlet of the hose when it is disconnected. Without this valve, the water would not drain out of the black tank flush line. Clear as mud? :)
 
It's kind of a misnomer. The vacuum breaker for the black tank flush has a movable seal that rises when acted on by water pressure. This allows water to flow to the black tank flush. When the pressure is released, i.e., water shut off, the seal drops down and allows air to access the plumbing at this point, and the water will drain out of the black tank flush line. The water will flow out the black tank flush into the black tank, and from the vacuum breaker back to the outlet of the hose when it is disconnected. Without this valve, the water would not drain out of the black tank flush line. Clear as mud? :)
[MENTION=5834]FT4NOW[/MENTION] [MENTION=42104]Hoopy Frood[/MENTION]
Ah..so if there was no flush line...no vacuum breaker?
 
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[MENTION=5834]FT4NOW[/MENTION] [MENTION=42104]Hoopy Frood[/MENTION]
Ah..so if there was no flush line...no vacuum breaker?

Is using the flush line more effective at cleaning the black tank than partially filling the tank through the toilet and dumping a couple of times? Convenience is a factor obviously.
 
IMO, it's not an either/or, but the combination that works best. But if I had to choose only one, it would be the black tank flush rather than fill-and-empty. But I also use full pressure from the campground water supply. I have used a bucket to dump directly down the toilet and that has worked well also.
 
Isn't there one at the kitchen sink as well? Or is it only on the black system?

the sink vacuum breaker (no check valve) is just for the kitchen drain line . It lets air in the drain pipe to help the sink drain faster and by letting air in it DOES NOT pull air from the sink itself because that would also pull water out of the sink trap and allow smelly air to filter back in thru the sink .....same reason your toilet has a trap to hold water
 
All Montana trailers don't have their vacuum breakers under the sink. Both of the Montana trailers I owned had the vacuum breaker mounted behind the wall about 2-3 feet above the floor. Just a FWIW.
 
i'm sure they all don't have it under the sink, but my montana 385 high country had it there and it was a 2020 model

to make it perfectly clear: the vacuum breaker we are talking about is for the BLACK TANK FLUSH system fresh water and not any tank vent which is usually on the roof.

Decaying feces produces gas and to stop it from coming up the toilet every time you flush or blowing your tank apart it vents on the roof
 
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Well I learned a few things with this thread. I was trying to understand why trailers needed vacuum breakers in the plumbing systems but you don't need them in house plumbing...now I know. Thanks all.

Or is one of you gonna tell me there is one in my house....lol
 
Well I learned a few things with this thread. I was trying to understand why trailers needed vacuum breakers in the plumbing systems but you don't need them in house plumbing...now I know. Thanks all.

Or is one of you gonna tell me there is one in my house....lol

Sometimes a home does have a device that works on the same principle as a vacuum breaker. It’s called a back flow preventor. It’s required by code on underground sprinkler systems and fire sprinkler systems. It prevents contamination of the public water supply. New homes have vacuum breakers built into the outside faucets, too.

There are situations where water in the public mains can create a suction of sorts that pulls water out of your home’s plumbing, or out of the hose that supplies your RV. A fire pumper truck hooked to a nearby fire hydrant is an example. To prevent that suction from pulling contaminated water from the black tank in your RV, or from the underground sprinklers into the drinking water main, vacuum breakers and backflow preventers are installed wherever there’s a source of contamination. There’s too much to explain thoroughly here.
 
Sometimes a home does have a device that works on the same principle as a vacuum breaker. It’s called a back flow preventor. It’s required by code on underground sprinkler systems and fire sprinkler systems. It prevents contamination of the public water supply. New homes have vacuum breakers built into the outside faucets, too.

There are situations where water in the public mains can create a suction of sorts that pulls water out of your home’s plumbing, or out of the hose that supplies your RV. A fire pumper truck hooked to a nearby fire hydrant is an example. To prevent that suction from pulling contaminated water from the black tank in your RV, or from the underground sprinklers into the drinking water main, vacuum breakers and backflow preventers are installed wherever there’s a source of contamination. There’s too much to explain thoroughly here.

i thoroughly agree with the use of vacuum breakers . think if your neighbor decided not to use one and when the fire dept finished, your neighbors stagnant sprinkler water which was pulled back into the water main is now being pushed into you house and your drinking supply
 
i thoroughly agree with the use of vacuum breakers . think if your neighbor decided not to use one and when the fire dept finished, your neighbors stagnant sprinkler water which was pulled back into the water main is now being pushed into you house and your drinking supply

Worse yet, sucked up a water puddle covering an in-ground sprinkler head containing insecticide. Or from a hose with its end in a bucket of pool chlorine. It happens.
 
How about this one..i have been to restaurants who had problems with their dishwasher and were not able to drain the water for over a week.
The water looks like brown soup....the machine thank goodness have a vacuum breaker on the rinse line.... picture that being sucked back into your fresh water supply
 
Is there a reason the vacuum breaker has to be that high . I have a 310RLS and its behind my shower . The lines go up to the shower are right above my furnace so that if it ever leaks that's where the water will go. I understand that the breaker needs to be at the highest point of the plumbing , but in this case the entire black flush line is only connected to city water and not to the rest of the RV plumbing . could i not just replumb to behind the nautilus panel ? on a side note i have already replumbed and removed and replaced all the vinyl tubing in my system with PEX except for the black flush line , so replumbing and moving will leave me zero vinyl tubing in the system unless there is some in the underbelly (a project for this winter)
 

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