winterizing

[rivrduk]

Tradewinds model 7373. Today after draining the waterheater tank, i attempted to pump anti-freeze into the motorhome waterlines.I followed the directions in the operators manual and everytime i pumped the anti freeze into the unit it came out the hot water tank drain hole. Had i not had the plug out i guess i would have pumped 6 gallons into the water heater tank. Yes, i turned the handle to the water heater by- pass and it still came out the drain. I checked the one way valve at the bottom of the tank and it will let water in, but it wont let it out, so i replaced it as it was and tried it again and it still came out the tank drain. What am i doing wrong here? Is there supposed to be a one-way valve in the top where the hot water comes out to the MH to let water out, but not in, or might i have a faulty by-pass valve. I believe the the cold water comes in at the bottom and the hot comes out the top. Is this correct and if so i have the one way valve in correctly at the bottom. Does any Tradewinds owners of the same model or maybe a 98 or 99 model with the same setup that i do have any suggestions as to the problem. HELP. Rivrduk

["007"]

Here is a thread to help with the by-pass valves, there are three that need to be turned.

[PlayItForwrd]

He may have one of those one-handle jobs, with an anti-backflow valve. I bought one for our boat's water heater. First time I used it, the anti-backflow valve let plenty of antifreeze thru. Waste of time & money. A 3-handle setup is the only way to go...

[SuperGewl]

First don't waste any more money on gallons of RV antifreeze. wht you need to do is get yourself an air compressor and an adapter from Camping World for the City water Input.
Now set the pressure for 20psi on the air compressor and connect it to the City Water Input. Now open the sink valve furthiest away from the City water input. Make sure you open both the Hot and Cold side until you get air from the spigit. Now do this for every sink and dont forget the toilet. Once all this is done, pull the drain plug for the Hot Water Heater. Oh yeah make sure you leave the Hot water side of the sinks open and vent the pressure from the Hot Water heater prior to removing the drain plug. If you dont you will get very very wet. Once all the lines are empty of water leave the sink valves open. This will allow any water that you may not have gotten out a place to expand if it freezes. Now empty the Black and Grey tank. When done take 1 gallon of RV antifreeze and pour alittle down each sink and the shower drain. Pour the bulk of it down the toilet. Now your RV is Winterized and it doesn't cost but about $5 a year to do it. It you want to save even more then don't use RV anti freeze at all. But make sure you put about 1-2 gallons of water with some bath salts and dish washer detergent in it. This will help keep the black tank valve lubed and help with the sensors in the black tank.

I use this methid all the time and have been very successful.

[njs42]

Don't forget your ice maker if you have one---disconnect fittings in the fridge access panel and let drain.

[txdutt]

I had the same type of thing happen to me last winter when I drained the w/h first before starting to pump the pink stuff. The pump kept putting af into the w/h even though I had flipped the bypass valve (mine has one valve by the pump to bypss the w/h when winterizing). This year I flipped the bypass and started pumping the pink thru everything first and it worked like a charm. I drained the w/h as last step I did. And yes, I made sure that af was coming thru the hot water lines in the bathroom, sink & washer.

[gary peterso]

Don't forget the toilet overflow, mine has 2 small holes by the top ring. If water in there it will brake the toilet.

[fjstevens]

I drained my W/H today, I have a 88 Pace arrow. I looked for ever for the W/H bypass and cant find it anywhere. Any suggestions? Also is there a drain for the fresh water tank? This is the first time for this process..... i dont want to mess it up.