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rockintom · 02-07-2020, 04:22 PM

Carl...…doesn't that make you wanna go do business with them again???

I was lucky my two were replaced by Ralph at PI....I think he knew they were a PIA. Mine were out of the 1 year and inside of Viego's 10 year or whatever it was. The manifold concept is not so bad, but the product itself is "weaker than a bowl of hen piss"!!!! Thanks for sharing. Hope the one you have is better.

JDT · 02-08-2020, 07:02 AM

We go by the Viega plant in McPherson, Ks every time we go to Colorado. I'll "wave" to them for you when we go by it this year. When we went to the Tulsa boat and rv show last month we saw one fifth wheel with the Viega system. A Redwood I think. It looked just like mine. I honestly haven't seen the need for one as I don't ever remember turning anything off at any of the ports, other than the one that developed a leak. What do these things cost new? Also, let us know if you come up with another plan.

Still Working "NOT" · 02-08-2020, 10:20 AM

Three years ago I had to replace mine. I was going through SC and pick one up. If I remember right it was $260.00. Probably higher today.

Mine was a hairline crack also. Took me about an hour to replace.

CARLnJANIS · 02-08-2020, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDT

We go by the Viega plant in McPherson, Ks every time we go to Colorado. I'll "wave" to them for you when we go by it this year. When we went to the Tulsa boat and rv show last month we saw one fifth wheel with the Viega system. A Redwood I think. It looked just like mine. I honestly haven't seen the need for one as I don't ever remember turning anything off at any of the ports, other than the one that developed a leak. What do these things cost new? Also, let us know if you come up with another plan.

Jim,

They are $185.40 for the 12 port. And you have to buy the ManaBloc directly from Viega. The 12 port manifold is not in their catalog. It is a special model.

I did a iRV2 forum search for ManaBloc and found where several manufacturers are now, or at one time, installing the Viega ManaBloc manifold. I found a few RV owners who were also having leaking problems.

Maybe Viega should design a drip catcher that is designed to hang below their manifolds. They could then design a drain system for the drip bowl to drain the water out of the wet bay. They could sell them separately and at a high markup price, then charge a steep shipping and handling fee. Or they could make a better product that doesn't leak or crack when finger tightened.

As a mental exercise in futility, I have been thinking about what it would take to replace the ManaBloc if the new one fails. I could build a manifold out of brass pipe and fittings. Or I could buy a different brand manifold. Whatever I do, will require a redesign of the back wall of the wet bay to accommodate the different manifold's layout.

rockintom · 02-08-2020, 11:06 AM

Carl, I have seen a few DRV's and they use the brass fitting set up. Just FYI.

excel2014 · 02-10-2020, 08:40 AM

Mine started to leak back in Dec. Called viera in Denver and they shipped one to me here in AZ. Had it installed by repair service and glad that I did. Needed bunch of seals. Cost was 180. Got a second one from SC for spare. Because it is less than ten years old, manibloc rep said to ship it to them for testing and verification and if they found this to be their problem they would repay my account. Very easy to work with. They have a short form that they sent me to fill out and submit with manibloc. I will do this when In get back home in April.

CARLnJANIS · 02-10-2020, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by excel2014

Mine started to leak back in Dec. Called viera in Denver and they shipped one to me here in AZ. Had it installed by repair service and glad that I did. Needed bunch of seals. Cost was 180. Got a second one from SC for spare. Because it is less than ten years old, manibloc rep said to ship it to them for testing and verification and if they found this to be their problem they would repay my account. Very easy to work with. They have a short form that they sent me to fill out and submit with manibloc. I will do this when In get back home in April.

'14,
Same here. They were very nice, easy to work with. I purchased a new ManaBloc. Then they sent me the warranty claim forms by email. I filled them out, emailed them back. They sent me an email with a return authorization. I returned the defective ManaBloc to Viega, cost about $15.00 to ship if I remember correctly. And post #42 in this thread was their conclusion.

IMHO, I think Viega will start denying stress fracture warranty claims from Peterson Industries products because there is no reason to maintain a positive relationship with the trailer owners since the manufacturer is no longer in business and the warranty denials will have little or no effect on Viega's sales.

I will be installing the new ManaBloc I purchased this coming Thursday. And since the one I bought is not a warranty replacement, I have a new 10 year warranty.

Too bad I don't have a bird, I could use the warranty document to line the bird cage.

By the way, '14, I hope you have better luck than I did. Carl

excel2014 · 02-11-2020, 10:10 AM

Mine is leaking at the corner pins/rods. I carefully looked to see if it was a leak at the threads and found none. A lot of water over time would drop down into the water box. So I will fill out claim form and send in. I was told by viera rep that I would need to go through one of their recognize area dealers and they would send in for me. Just what I was told.

CARLnJANIS · 02-11-2020, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by excel2014

Mine is leaking at the corner pins/rods. I carefully looked to see if it was a leak at the threads and found none. A lot of water over time would drop down into the water box. So I will fill out claim form and send in. I was told by viera rep that I would need to go through one of their recognize area dealers and they would send in for me. Just what I was told.

I was told a very similar thing. I was told to contacted the area rep. I contacted the area rep and as it turned out, the area rep lives about two blocks down the street. He stopped by and took pictures and said he would submit the claim. The area rep called me later and asked me if I purchased the ManaBloc or was it OEM. I stated that it was installed by the manufacturer and came with the trailer. He replied that since it was an OEM product, that he couldn't help me and I would have to go directly through Viega customer service for warranty claims.

My problem started in November 2018 and I didn't start the warranty process until June 2019. We were planning several trips for 2019 and since I had a work-around, I decided to wait until Fall and Winter 2019 to replace the manifold. When I called in December 2019 to begin the warranty claim, the same OEM warranty claim process was still in effect. Maybe recently they changed the OEM warranty claim process but if they were not aware that your ManaBloc is an OEM product, they may tell after you jump through a few hoops that you will have to go through Viega customer service warranty claim service.

If they don't ask you if your ManaBloc is OEM, you may be able to handle through a local rep. And since it seems to be something other than a cracked port, you may get better satisfaction than I did. Once again, good luck.

Post the outcome to this thread when Viega makes a final decision on your claim.

CARLnJANIS · 02-11-2020, 02:07 PM

Was sitting here at my PC desk mulling over this ManaBloc issue. I think I'm going to expand the holes in the back of the wet bay horizontally where the PEX comes through the back wall so I can remove and reinstall the port adapters from the ManaBloc without taking the ManaBloc off the back wall.

I will then install the new ManaBloc with new cone seals and I am going to wrap the port threads with Teflon tape. Hopefully, this will eliminate the leaking issue. Of course, according to Viega, this will void the warranty since the manifold has a label stating that using any thread seal would void warranty. I'm going to venture a guess and say, "I don't care about their warranty?" If it fails again, I will try to, in the words of Gunny Highway, "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome."

rockintom · 02-11-2020, 02:24 PM

Carl, I think you have forgotten, that if the cone seal do their job, you gain nothing by adding Teflon tape to the treads on the ports. That area (threads and nuts) is not designed to seal out water.

CARLnJANIS · 02-11-2020, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockintom

Carl, I think you have forgotten, that if the cone seal do their job, you gain nothing by adding Teflon tape to the treads on the ports. That area (threads and nuts) is not designed to seal out water.

No Rockin' my good friend, I haven't forgotten.

This is true, "If the cone seals do their job" there is no need for Teflon tape. But the cone seals have not done their job.

I have examined the new ManaBloc. It was sent with new port supply connections made for the ManaBloc. These are different than the port adapters that were used on the EXCEL trailers. The ManaBloc port's inside seal area is designed at an angle to accommodate a plastic-type ferrule not a cone seal. As the supply connector's nut is tightened onto the port, the ferrule is compressed by the inside angle forming a seal similar to a copper compression fitting. However, the cone seal is pressed against the narrow strip of plastic around the outer edge of the port squeezing and expanding the whole seal creating, IMHO, an inferior seal.

The Teflon tape is not supposed to replace the cone seal, it is just a second line of defense against a leak. In my case, the leak was coming from the thread side, not the fitting side of the port adapter nut. At best, I am just trying to slow down a leak before it forms.

On thing I did find out, using any connectors other than the supply connectors designed for the ManaBloc, voids the warranty.

https://www.viega.us/en/products/Spa...anifold-3.html

JDT · 02-12-2020, 06:32 AM

This has been enlightening. For some reason I had it my mind that the ManaBloc's were way more expensive. That's the reason I did the bypass on my one leaking port. Carl, if you come up with a better mouse trap, please let us know.

excel2014 · 02-12-2020, 12:43 PM

Their are system out there you could try. I have thought about it. supply house has a 6 port copper manifold with crimp connection. Don’t think I would install shutoff valves.