ACE - Antifreeze Siphon ?

[sanfordturbo]

I tried to siphon my anti-freeze into the water lines the other day. It didn't work. Didn't have any suction on the siphon hose. My guess is that the fresh water tank needs some water in it to prime the pump and pressurize the system in order to create proper suction.

This is my first time trying this out. I've already drained the fresh water, water heater, black/grey tanks, and poured pink anti-freeze into the p-traps. The cabin heater is set for 60 degrees, so I'm not too worried about the hoses freezing up with whatever water is left in them.

Has anyone tried this out on the Thor ACE?





Found this post, but no details: ACE winterization syphon hose missing?

[skipwil]

I normally take the pump intake hose off and replace it with one i made. I stick it into the Rv antifreeze-turn the pump on - go insisde open a faucet 'til it runs pink. Repeat on all faucets,showers,commode and outside fixtures. You will have to make sure the antifreeze container stays full-nice to have help. If no one's there- you'll have to shut the faucet off-go outside and change the jug-then go to the next faucet. BE CERTAIN to shut the hot water heater by-pass valve. You don't want antifreeze there. Drain the hot water tank.
Safe travels...

[Tv Boy]

Did you remember to close the low point drain valve? ( has the ring on top seen in your pic) Otherwise you would not get suction...

[sanfordturbo]

Yep. I made sure both drain valves with the key ring loops on them were pushed all the way down and closed off.

I also made sure to shut off the hot water valve under the bed next to the water tank itself. Not sure if that is the correct valve to keep antifreeze going into the hot water tank, but since the suction wasn't there, nothing got out of the jug.

Is that the correct hot water tank bypass valve?

[TDiGuy]

another way to winterize it to blow out the water... just replace the garden hose with a connecter that has an air valve. you can get one at a hardware store or campingworld.
Add air and open the faucets. I trust the antifreeze more. so
I just took a hose clamp and 2' of clear plastic hose and do like skipwil says... put it in the jug and turn on the pump... open the faucets... I forgot about the waterheater the first time. took 7 gallons of rv anifreeze.... now I only use one gallon... everybody has to learn.

[jtstromsburg]

Hard to see in the picture, but looks like there may be a small white valve above the white suction line, than would need to be shut off to switch from the tank to the af connection. Maybe not, but I can't tell in the pic?

Joel

[Tv Boy]

Did any water drip out after you took the plug out of the syphon inlet?....You may need to open a faucet ( use the hand shower) to get the system to draw from the bottle.

By the way ...they sure jammed those shut off/ bypass valves inside that small space under the bed!!

[sanfordturbo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tv Boy Did any water drip out after you took the plug out of the syphon inlet?....You may need to open a faucet ( use the hand shower) to get the system to draw from the bottle. By the way ...they sure jammed those shut off/ bypass valves inside that small space under the bed!!

yeah, water came out of there. I tried it with the faucets opened and i tried it with them closed. I also tried it with the cold and hot water valves under the bed opened and closed. Whenever the faucets were off and the water pump was running, it would build up some pressure somehow. When I opened up the faucets, they would release the pressure and spit out some water, then do nothing. None of the pink stuff got sucked up in the siphon tube.

I'm going to fill up the tank partially tomorrow and see if i can get regular water running normally again. Then I'll try to siphon in the antifreeze.

If that doesn't work, i'm going to take the intake hose off of the water pump, bypass the heater, and run the pump with the faucets open. They have some sort of metal clamp on the intake port of the water pump that doesn't appear to be easily removed. I'll get in there with some pliers and figure it out.

[Tv Boy]

Had you used the water pump yet with the onboard tank? If so, sounds like something is plugged at the syphon connection where it ties into the water system.

[sanfordturbo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tv Boy Had you used the water pump yet with the onboard tank? If so, sounds like something is plugged at the syphon connection where it ties into the water system.

Yes, we used the faucets, shower head, exterior wash down, etc. when we purchased it.

[sanfordturbo]

Filled up the fresh water tank to 1/3 full. Turned on the pump and ran the cold water faucets until regular water came out in a steady stream. I finally figured out that all of the valves under the bed next to the water tank have to do with cold water going into the hot water tank, and water coming out of the hot water tank. While trying to pressurize the system with the water pump I saw water coming out of the water tank drain plug opening. After closing the cold water valve under the bed, i found that the water stopped going into the water heater tank.

After the hot water tank valves were closed, the cold water lines to the faucets quickly pressurized. The pump turned off on it's own. I could use cold water just fine at the faucets after all of this settled down.

After the cold lines were good to go, i pulled the drain valve to the right of the water pump to get rid of the water in the fresh water tank. This took some time, because I didn't want to use the pump to flush out the water like i did the first time. I wanted the pressure side of the water pump to remain full of water.

Once the fresh water tank was drained, I closed up the drain valve and hooked up my siphon hose to the jug of pink antifreeze. I fired up the water pump and opened up the cold water to the kitchen sink. Went outside to check the siphon hose and it immediately started to suck in the antifreeze! The kitchen sink was soon spitting out pink stuff. I did the same for the bathroom sink, shower head, exterior wash down, and kitchen sprayer thingy. Took almost a gallon of antifreeze.

So, my system likes to have fresh water in the lines before trying to do the siphon thing.

But if you never put antifreeze in the hot water tank, how do you get antifreeze in the hot water lines?


.

[Tv Boy]

Just open the hot water at the taps when you are sucking from the jug. If you have the water heater bypassed, the antifreeze will go into the hot water lines, otherwise you would need 6 gallons just to fill the water heater.

[Tv Boy]

The bypass valves under the bed are not easy to see or get to ( lots of wires and pipes there. This is an area an A.C.E. specific owners manual would be nice!