Winterizing-this didn't suck...

[two2go]

Winterized the plumbing on our Dolphin for the first time. I drained everything as well as I could, hooked up compressor and blew out lines with faucets open. Disconnected sink and ice-maker water filters. Then I hooked up a fitting and short hose to the winterizing inlet fitting on the service panel in the wet bay and put the end of the hose in a jug of "pink" juice. I turned on the pump but got no suction to pull solution out of jug. I rechecked all the valve settings and they were right for winterizing.
Finally, I was running out of daylight and pulled the whole panel out to get to the water pump. I hooked up a suction hose directly to the water pump inlet fitting, and it sucked pink fine and I was able to get all the water lines, faucets, and drains filled with pink.
Am I missing something? Why didn't I get suction through the panel winterizing fitting? Maybe the next time I have to do this or I am in a warm place, I can figure it out. Oh, also, the water pumps "burps" about every four minutes. Maybe the pump isn't working right, although it did draw the solution when I connected directly to it?

[two2go]

Winterized the plumbing on our Dolphin for the first time. I drained everything as well as I could, hooked up compressor and blew out lines with faucets open. Disconnected sink and ice-maker water filters. Then I hooked up a fitting and short hose to the winterizing inlet fitting on the service panel in the wet bay and put the end of the hose in a jug of "pink" juice. I turned on the pump but got no suction to pull solution out of jug. I rechecked all the valve settings and they were right for winterizing.
Finally, I was running out of daylight and pulled the whole panel out to get to the water pump. I hooked up a suction hose directly to the water pump inlet fitting, and it sucked pink fine and I was able to get all the water lines, faucets, and drains filled with pink.
Am I missing something? Why didn't I get suction through the panel winterizing fitting? Maybe the next time I have to do this or I am in a warm place, I can figure it out. Oh, also, the water pumps "burps" about every four minutes. Maybe the pump isn't working right, although it did draw the solution when I connected directly to it?

["007"]

You may have a valve on line from fresh water tank that has to be closed.

[jerseyjim]

That happened to me only once....I figured the pump had lost its' prime...so reluctantly I indtroduced water back into the system, made sure then pump THEN worked....then thru the lever to "inlet to pump" and flushed out the pipes with the "pink stuff".
It worked...never happened before or since.

Guess it's one of the joys of RVing.....

((Edited to say: Make sure your hotwater heater is bypassed...or all the pink stuff will go there first...and 6 or 10 gallons EXTRA to do nothing is a waste))

[two2go]

In response to jerseyjim, I tested the inlet to pump last month while in AZ with the water system working normally. I connected the suction hose to the fitting and tried to pump water out of a jug, but it wouldn't draw. I suspect valve problems. See my other post about my water tank filling up when on city water pressure. I've got more to check out when it warms up here (eventually!) in Colorado.

[two2go]

Found the problem. I pulled the whole valve panel out and traced all the water lines and connections. The line to the water pump inlet and the line to the water tank were reversed at their connection to the fittings on the back side of the panel. When I got them hooked up right, I put the right valve on "Inlet to pump", hooked up a hose to the suction inlet, and the water pump sucked water out of a jug. Now that winter is over, I can winterize easily. Ha!
Hope this helps someone who may review this saga later on.

[Bill Davis]

I have a problem pulling water out of a jug at the inlet port until I remember to open the valve for the outside shower, allowing water to pump out. Then the suction starts and water is pulled into the tank.