RV Black Tank Valve Hard to Open | How to Fix It?

Being an RVer and handling an RV with all its stuff isn’t always easy. An RV is compact with various RV components and accessories, and as an RVer you’ve to control, use, or maintain them as they require including fixing any issues. Such an issue is the black tank valve is stuck or hard to open. All RVers have to face this problem sooner or later. 

It’s obviously frustrating and the frustration rises when one accidentally causes damage while trying to get the valve open. For example – breaks the plastic handle. So, what one can do to get rid of this mess? How to make the valve opening convenient? Well, keep reading till the end to know the fixes.

4 Fixes for Hard-to-Open RV Black Tank Valve 

No matter what type of RVer you are, if you’re about to open your stuck black tank valve for the first time and fail, various questions can arise in your mind. Such as what kind of tools or labor is required to fix this issue, whether is it an easy fix or you may need to hire a professional, etc. You’ll get all the answers when you know the fixes. Even though the most traditional fix is lubricating, sometimes it can be more. Here are all the relevant fixes one by one –

Fix 1: Apply Vegetable Oil

You can start by lubricating the valve using vegetable oil. It’s a common household item and has more than enough lubricity, meaning it can reduce friction between two surfaces. Apply the oil on the handle and inside the gate valve box and make the valve open and closed. In some cases, the fix proves itself useful. 

Fix 2: Apply WD40 Spray

The fact is that even though vegetable oils can be used as a lubricant, it isn’t as good as silicone-based lubricants. Silicone-based lubricants offer better heat and oxidation resistance compared to vegetable oil. The WD40 spray is a well-known silicone lubricant. So, apply it to make the opening process convenient. 

Fix 3: Apply Dish Soap

Inner residues are one of the main reasons that make the tank valve hard to open. In this case, it requires to break down or loosen the residues from inside the tank. Therefore, a dish soap and water solution can be pretty useful. So, flush a powerful dish soap and water in the black tank. Then drive your RV around in a way that it makes enough sloshing of the mixture that gets down into the valve and breaks down the residue blockage there. 

Fix 4: Make Use of a Hammer

There’s another fix to make the valve smooth, which is tapping on the valve with a hammer. Typically, this fix isn’t recommended and it requires expertise to apply. Yes, you can loosen the valve suitably by tapping it using a hammer, but you’ve to do this gently. Otherwise, this can even lead to a broken valve, making you spend extra money on replacing it. 

Final Verdict 

That’s all about making the black tank gate valve easy enough to open. No matter what makes the valve so tight, the aforementioned fixes can make it appropriately loose. We especially recommend the second fix (Fix 2) in this case, but you can also try the other ones if you prefer. Just make sure to apply them accordingly. Let us know if this post proves useful. Also, if you have any other issues with your RV, feel free to share them so that we can suggest relevant solutions.