360david Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 The fresh water dump valve on my swift escape 674 appears to have seized in the closed position. I have tried lifting and turning the blue wheel on top of the valve but it wont turn. dont want to force it in case it breaks. I have drained the tank into the waste tank by opening the taps but there is still residule water left in the tank. Question. How do I free the valve and how do I drain the tank. Many thanks david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 I’m guessing that you are referring to a Truma “FrostControl” safety/drain valve as shown in the attached images This has a blue rotary ‘switch' on the top that is crosswise when the valve is closed, and to open the valve the switch needs turning through 90 degrees. The switch can be turned clockwise or anti-clockwise to open the valve, but pulling the switch upwards should not be necessary and is unlikely to help. You appear to have two choices 1: Apply more effort when attempting to turn the switch and hope damage won’t occur. 2: if the switch still refuses to turn (in either direction) remove and disassemble the valve to try to identify where the problem lies The FrostControl valve is intended to drain the water from a Truma heater, not to fully drain a motorhome’s fresh-water tank. A good deal of water may drain from the fresh-water tank through an open FrostControl valve via siphonic action, but to drain the tank completely it’s normal for the fresh-water tank to have its own dedicated drain-valve. Obviously (as you’ve done) it’s possible to get a lot of water out of the tank by running the water-pump, but there’s bound to be some water left if this approach is used. I’d expect your Swift Escape 674’s fresh-water tank to have its own drain-valve, but I don’t know where that might be. (Have you checked the Swift manual?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Have you pushed the blue button as you turn the switch, or is it stuck as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Closing a FrostControl valve is a 2-stage process - turn blue switch and then push blue button in - but manually opening the valve just requires the blue switch to be turned. https://www.truma.com/web/downloadcenter/files/truma-watersystems-frostcontrol-installation-operating-de-gb-fr-it-nl-dk-se.pdf If the valve is closed and the blue switch is jammed, then the blue button won’t move outwards. It would be worth pushing the button inwards while turning the switch, just in case it frees the switch mechanism up, but it’s not standard practice to do this when opening the valve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaman Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 WD40 around the stuff valve, magic stuff . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 If you view the video-clip on the link I provided in my posting of 4 July 2019 8:26 AM above, you’ll appreciate that (short of iimmersing the complete valve in a bath of WD-40) lubricant can’t reach the valve’s internal moving parts that might be causing the jamming. The French-languge video-clip modifies the valve so that, in cold weather conditions, the valve can be closed to allow the heater to be filled with water. The modification also prevents the valve opening automatically in cold weather, though it’s over-pressure protection feature is unaffected. (Essentially, the FrostControl valve is converted into a Truma manual safety/drain valve.) There’s also English-language advice here https://community.smallmotorhome.co.uk/forum/technical-section/technical-discussion/19103-how-to-defeat-the-pesky-truma-frost-control-jg-that-dumps-all-your-water on modifying the FrostControl valve to full ‘manual’ operation by drilling a hole in the metal canister inside the valve and draining out the oil inside the canister. The advantage of the more complex French ploy (that replaces the canister with a wooden equivalent) is that the original canister is undamaged and can be reinserted to return the valve to ‘automatic’ operation. It’s like the difference between vasectomy and castration - there’s the possibility of reversing the former (the French approach) but not the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
360david Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 Thanks for all the replies. can I add that its not the frost control valve. Its on the drain pipe from the fresh water tank. The switch above the entry door should open the valve but it doesnt. hence trying the manual route. There is no mention of a drain plug in the tank in the manual. Im tempted to remove the whole valve and put an old fashioned drain tap on it. However if anyone has had this issue before I would be interested in how it was resolved. Its the same as the valve on the Grey water tank. That works fine at the moment Thanks again David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 This seems to be discussing a similar problem https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/2017-bolero-waste-drain-valve-not-working.171603/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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