Problem draining fresh water tank

[LurkerDan]

EDIT: Problem solved!

Hi, I no longer own a fiberglass camper -- had to sell it and later bough a cheap used popup -- but this forum was so helpful for me when I had that Scamp that I thought I'd ask here, especially since the tank/valve in question looks almost exactly like the one on my old Scamp.

The previous owner never used the water tank so I expected to have problems. But I put a little water in it to test and the pump worked like a charm! Ok, I said, I just need to disinfect the tank and I'm good to go. A little bleach, and I fill up the tank and let it sit. So far so good.

But when I went to drain the tank, it won't drain. Here is a pic of the valve (this is inside the camper, underneath part of the dinette, with a drain tube leading from the valve out the bottom of the camper):


I know the brute force solution would be to hand pump all the water out then replace the whole valve, but I'm wondering if there are any simpler solutions or things to try.

[nlife]

I'd just unscrew the drain valve and let it empty. They aren't in there very tight. There could be something plugging the valve on the inside and it would be easier to check with the valve out.

[LurkerDan]

Thanks, but the problems is taking the valve out and letting it drain. Not sure how I can take the valve out without getting water everywhere inside the camper. The tank is full, and the only place where the water can go (as I see it) that isn't all over the inside of the camper is down the drain hole that the valve directs it. If I take the valve out, while the water will eventually drain out that hole, it will cause quite a mess (and damage?) before it does so.

Am I missing something or not understanding?

[nlife]

Oh by the picture I assumed that the tank was outside. Yea you don't really want a full tank of water on your floor. Can you pull the hose that goes to the sink and siphon it out?

[LurkerDan]

Hmm, I don't know but I'll check into that! And I'll edit my post to make it clear where the valve is. Thanks!

[Darwin Maring]

I have a valve that looks like that and it will only drain when the lever is in one position. Tuen the lever 1/4 turn at a time to see if it starts draining.

[nlife]

Hopefully your sink is easy to get at. The ones in the Boler are very awkward to get at. You need triple jointed arms and child size hands. I'm not sure what the setup is like in your pop up

[Robin G]

If the siphoning doesn't work, could you open the valve crawl under the trailer and poke someone up into the drain tube to see if it's clogged? I would suggest something metal, plastic etc, like a skewer, straw so you don't break off a stick or something up there. Be prepared to get wet. But I wonder if the drain tube is clogged? Good luck!

[LurkerDan]

Thanks guys, that helps. And yeah, the sink would be easy to get at, since it "folds down" (in order to lower the pop up). As it happens, I went out there to play with the valve position like Darwin suggested, and decided to crawl underneath the camper with a small screwdriver. There was a hint of water on the drain hose, which gave me hope. I stuck the screwdriver up, poked around, went inside, banged the valve a few times, and tried moving it again, and this time water started pouring out! I think there was probably some blockage (either blocking the water or blacking the valve from opening) but it seems to be gone!

Problem solved!

Edited: hilarious, as I was typing my answer, Robin was providing the answer! :

[nlife]

My next suggestion was to poke a paper clip or wire clothes hanger in there to see if it was clogged. Glad you got it figured out! Hopefully you didn't end up getting a drink of bleach water in the process ;-)