First Gen Ramfill

[IROCNParts 108]

So being proactive I purchased a new drainmaster valve to have as a spare because these first gen valves seem to have issues. While doing some greasing I came to an interesting conclusion.

 

The rams all work great when they are standalone. I cleaned/greased them as per the drainmasterr specs and even tightened the bolts to 20" (inch) lbs as per spec. And was still having issues. Sticking, slow opening, some so stuck they wouldn't open.

 

I tried removing all the flanges and gaskets and the valves opened flawlessly. So I re-assembled and retested and sure enough they began to fail! The new ones however, did not.

 

So I retesting torquing to about 10" lbs and found the failure rate dropped. So I don't know if I'm missing anything here but perhaps these older valves just aren't good enough for these applications?

 

I'm using dow 111 grease, lubing the f-*k out of them. New gaskets, proper, and if not, even lower torque specs.

 

Anyone else have any insight? I have not tried to get grease "up top" into the gearing. Going to try that tomorrow.

 

Thanks guys!

[IROCNParts 108]

https://vimeo.com/131144176

 

Heres a vid of the starboard one. Works mint. Torqued to 12" lbs. It does stick a little at opening. The grease almost acts as a suction

[IROCNParts 108]

and heres a vid of the port one that is driving me mental. When taken apart it rips open.

 

https://vimeo.com/131144408

[DarksideR 1,679]

Ahhh, technology at its finest.

So you tried the new valve (different design?) tightened at 20"lbs and it worked perfectly?

And the old ones work "better" @12"lbs, but not as good as the new one?

[IROCNParts 108]

I haven't tried the new ones (gen2) yet. I only got a new gen1 valve. go wash your mouth out with soap junk. I gotta think the water pressure against them is too high and perhaps is binding them internally. they're initial design is for motorhome / rv septic tanks. so they're deisgned to hold back water, but at 30mph the water pressure is pretty high. I ciuild see that potentially causing issues.

 

I dunno. I'm thinking too much

[IROCNParts 108]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lNQZDocrwzY

[boatnut 230]

I haven't tried the new ones (gen2) yet. I only got a new gen1 valve. go wash your mouth out with soap junk. I gotta think the water pressure against them is too high and perhaps is binding them internally. they're initial design is for motorhome / rv septic tanks. so they're deisgned to hold back water, but at 30mph the water pressure is pretty high. I ciuild see that potentially causing issues.

 

I dunno. I'm thinking too much

I don't know about pressure, but when you have a black tank full of poop and TP , it's gotta have a fair amount of pressure behind....

[IROCNParts 108]

lol methane gas!

[h20king 794]

I don't know about pressure, but when you have a black tank full of poop and TP , it's gotta have a fair amount of pressure behind....

[/quote only about half pound of pressure per vertical foot of liquid

[boatnut 230]

I don't know about pressure, but when you have a black tank full of poop and TP , it's gotta have a fair amount of pressure behind.... [/quote only about half pound of pressure per vertical foot of liquid

Is that from personal experience???

[h20king 794]

Sort of I am a union steam fitter so pipe systems are what I do for work. I rounded up so it would be easy for you to figure. Does not matter the size of the tank. It is called head pressure so when we test large tanks from the bottom side we must also add in head pressure. For example lets say you have a 10 foot tall tank that you must test and fill from the bottom with a test pressure of 130 LBS you would have to bring the system up to 135 LBS for the tank to see a 130LBS.

[IROCNParts 108]

what kind of pressure do youthink the rams see at 30mph

[IROCNParts 108]

if anyone is curious the gen2 valves are made by Valterra. Part # e40a

 

 

[South Shore Marina NJ 99]

If you're having issues, talk to your dealer about a retrofit with the new valtera valves. Could be covered under warranty. The new valves are much nicer. That being said, none of our boats have had issues with the drain master valves either.

[IROCNParts 108]

is there anything that needs to be done when retrofitting or is a simple swap in swap out? Plugs are the same I noticed. Everything else looks the same too

[South Shore Marina NJ 99]

Varies from boat to boat, but for all intents and purposes it is a straight forward swap. I should clarify, the "upgrade" to the newer valves, in your case, would likely not be a warranty covered item, but replacement of the current malfunctioning valves could be. I think there is an effort being made, however, to push to retrofit the earlier first gen models with this newer equipment.

[IROCNParts 108]

good news! Great to hear! Thanks for the info!

[h20king 794]

what kind of pressure do youthink the rams see at 30mph

Lots not sure what the formula for that would be but it is far more pressure than they ever see in an RV. You would think Centurion would have their own valve design built to handle the job instead of just using what was out there.

[IROCNParts 108]

I should probably mention the first time I put my boat in the water the valves didn't function correctly. I purchased it new. And it was a factory order

[Bongo Fury 640]

Knock on wood.....I have yet to have any issues on my 2013 now in it's third season and just about 200 hours (drought killed us last year).