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ga traveler · 10-12-2015, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grassy

2 gallons of non poisonous anti freeze to do my rig. Cheap and guaranteed to do the job. Have seen the compresses air backfire so to speak...and you still have to use anti freeze in the traps, etc..

That's fine if you park your rig all winter. We use ours off and on all winter long. I also do not use anti freeze in the traps. I took a C B antenna base, removed the tip of a air blow gun, installed the base on the blow gun, reinstalled the tip. I place the base over the drain, mash the trigger, and blow out the p trap. As I said previously, We used air on fifty to one hundred motorhomes for fifteen years with zero freezing. That's about ten thousand coach's with no freezing lines.

lynnmor · 10-12-2015, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred1609

I only blow out the lines. I used AF once DW didn't like the odor it left and the time it took to get rid of it (I'm nose blind). We have not had an issue yet.

Drain the air compressor tank and show the DW the wonderful stuff you are using in place of anti-freeze.

grassy · 10-12-2015, 07:42 AM

yup..we do park all winter..

..and we never use the clear water tank for drinking water...

1bigmess · 10-12-2015, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lynnmor

Drain the air compressor tank and show the DW the wonderful stuff you are using in place of anti-freeze.

There's nothing wrong with getting more iron in the blood once in a while.

ga traveler · 10-13-2015, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lynnmor

Drain the air compressor tank and show the DW the wonderful stuff you are using in place of anti-freeze.

I use a six inch bronze (sic?) air filter on my air line. I believe you are coating every inch of your water lines with man made chemicals. If you like your chemicals fine. I prefer my air.

ThinBlueLine · 10-13-2015, 10:35 PM

It's always entertaining about this time every year when the "winterizing" debate starts.

I've used the compressed air method, and the antifreeze method and both worked fine, but for ease of winterizing and de-winterizing the air method does it for me. In fact on my current rig, the owners manual suggests either or.

So I say... do what works for you and what makes you feel the most confident.

raytwntrvlr · 10-15-2015, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ga traveler

That's fine if you park your rig all winter. We use ours off and on all winter long. I also do not use anti freeze in the traps. I took a C B antenna base, removed the tip of a air blow gun, installed the base on the blow gun, reinstalled the tip. I place the base over the drain, mash the trigger, and blow out the p trap. As I said previously, We used air on fifty to one hundred motorhomes for fifteen years with zero freezing. That's about ten thousand coach's with no freezing lines.

Seems to me that having the traps empty would allow some funky smells from the holding tank(s) to enter into the living area. What are we talking about here a dollars worth of pink stuff down the traps? Cheap insurance if you ask me. Anyway.... I use a compressor then the pink stuff.

swanson · 10-19-2015, 08:05 PM

In P-traps you could use, if you wanted, windshield fluid (the blue stuff). You can pick it up cheap and it's in the drain lines, no drinking it.

CCH · 10-20-2015, 08:01 PM

I know this is awfully old-fashioned, but a rubber plunger does a really good job of pushing the water out of a trap before putting the pink stuff in - and no adapter needed for the air line.

nothermark · 10-20-2015, 08:22 PM

FWIW I give the lines a quick blow out because the antifreeze we get these days is already mixed with water. I do not think more is good for it. Then I pump in the pink and make sure all valves get some through them so the closed spaces in the valve bodies get antifreeze. The traps have enough by the time I am done. In the spring I flush the lines then sanitize the water system with bleach. The bleach clears out the residual taste.

As far as chemicals go I am more concerned with oil from the compressor than I am with residual antifreeze. The same stuff is in all kinds of food products to keep things like salt from caking or packaged cupcakes moist for two examples. There are many, many more. ;-)

IC2 · 10-21-2015, 06:59 AM

Until last year I was an advocate of just draining then putting in a gallon or so of the pink stuff. I decided that I would try the blow out then install the pink stuff. I was surprised as to how much water came out after just a drain - water that (at least this 5er) would have diluted the pink stuff and maybe not protected the lines fully - and last year was dang cold here on the Northeast's tundra. This week may be the week if the rain holds off and provided I can drag the 30 gallon compressor up the hill as my Porter-Cable pancake nailer unit just doesn't have enough volume.

Oh and for the OP - a little pancake unit may or may not do your RV nor possibly not even a nailer. That nailer will need a certain cfm* output for operation which will be on the mfr's box. Harbor Freight have some pretty inexpensive compressors that will be fine for occasional tho not pro level use

* Cubic feet/minute