Stuck Trudesign Valves during MCA Inspection and solution
26 May 2026 · 2 min · 898 views
Man taps TruDesign valve with rubber hammer in engine room
What this video covers
A Trudesign composite through-hull valve on Leon Schulz's Hallberg-Rassy 46 seized during an annual MCA inspection of a commercially coded vessel.0:07 The valve — a toilet discharge outlet — had locked up from urine-salt crystals forming a crust around the mechanism.1:44 The MCA inspector refused to force it, fearing breakage, and was about to log it as a defect.0:56 Before the inspector left, Schulz found a Trudesign promotional video showing their valves surviving hammer blows after being frozen in ice.1:13 He struck the stuck valve with a rubber mallet, the crystal crust broke loose, and the valve moved freely again.1:41 Closing it confirmed the toilet discharged nothing, proving the valve was fully functional.1:44 Trudesign valves are noted as the only composite through-hulls approved for engine-room installation under MCA coding rules.0:38 Schulz recommends exercising seldom-used Trudesign valves more frequently to prevent crystal buildup, though he notes they normally require no maintenance.1:58
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