Winterizing

[Leadbottom]

Getting close to that time of year so I have a question on winterizing my 2016 31sa open road. My other motorhome (not Tiffin) did not have a water filter in line and this one does, I'm not seeing any bypass around the filter canister so I
am wondering if you have to fill the canister with anti-freeze to get it thru the lines (seems like a waste of anti-freeze) or is there a different way to it.
ALSO
It will be sitting outside during the winter without a cover, should both vents be cracked open to allow air movement or should the vents be closed. (I have vent covers over both vents

Thank you

[TiffinUser]

I remove the filter from the inside and store it in a zip lock bag inside my house. I leave the antifreeze in the canister. I don't leave any vents open in the winter but I do in the summer (fearing the heat will damage the upholstery).

[BobGed]

I remove the filter and throw it away as I always install a new one when I de-winterize. After I'm done running the anti freeze through the coach I pour the anti freeze in the filter canister back into one of the empty bottles for reuse.

I don't leave any vents open.

[vettenuts]

I first blew my system out with air, including the water heater line (anode in, tank empty, bypass valve in normal use position) to ensure the check valve on the hot water side is free of water. Also blew out the water fill line, etc. I removed the water filter before starting and after blowing out the lines the filter canister was full of water. So it will fill with anti-freeze as well. My plan is to pump the antifreeze through the system, then removed the canister and pour that in some of the drains rather the. Let it sit in there all winter where it isn’t doing anything.

Like you, this is my first year winterizing my Tiffin. I previously had a Newmar and there are some differences on how things are done. It’s also getting harder to fine RV antifreeze without alcohol in it. My standby, which I bought at Home Depot, is no longer made.

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by vettenuts

I first blew my system out with air, including the water heater line (anode in, tank empty, bypass valve in normal use position) to ensure the check valve on the hot water side is free of water. Also blew out the water fill line, etc. I removed the water filter before starting and after blowing out the lines the filter canister was full of water. So it will fill with anti-freeze as well. My plan is to pump the antifreeze through the system, then removed the canister and pour that in some of the drains rather the. Let it sit in there all winter where it isn’t doing anything.

Like you, this is my first year winterizing my Tiffin. I previously had a Newmar and there are some differences on how things are done. It’s also getting harder to fine RV antifreeze without alcohol in it. My standby, which I bought at Home Depot, is no longer made.

I just bought 6 gal of propylene glycol AF at Home Depot. It was right next to the alcohol based stuff.

[alank]

Two thoughts here you might try to see what works:

My pump and filter canister is side by side on the same wall. The output line from the pump is the input line to the filter. Take it off the pump and put the output line form the filter on the pump, eliminating the canister from the water circuit.

Another thing some do is to put a water bottle (upside down) in the canister in place of the filter to displace most of the volume inside the canister.

[NLOVNIT]

Originally Posted by alank

...Another thing some do is to put a water bottle (upside down) in the canister in place of the filter to displace most of the volume inside the canister.

Caveat to that: Drink the water then put in an EMPTY bottle. It'll crinkle some due to the pressure, but it'll take up some of the space.

Where we are it's dry in the winter. I don't leave any vents open. YMMV.

Lori-

[SimRacer]

Check this item out. I tried the water bottle trick but still wound up losing a lot of antifreeze. With this plate no antifreeze goes into the filter housing. I've used this for the past two years.

https://www.amazon.com/Watts-FP-WP10.../dp/B001QY1LA2

[Dave P.]

Originally Posted by Leadbottom

Getting close to that time of year so I have a question on winterizing my 2016 31sa open road. My other motorhome (not Tiffin) did not have a water filter in line and this one does, I'm not seeing any bypass around the filter canister so I
am wondering if you have to fill the canister with anti-freeze to get it thru the lines (seems like a waste of anti-freeze) or is there a different way to it.
ALSO
It will be sitting outside during the winter without a cover, should both vents be cracked open to allow air movement or should the vents be closed. (I have vent covers over both vents

Thank you

I read on one of these threads that you could take an empty water bottle, place it in the canister to use up space so your not using that much antifreeze. But does it really matter, the gallons of antifreeze are under $3.00 at Walmart. 5 Gallons under a $20- . That should be more than enough.
Me personally, I keep the vents closed. I never had a problem.

[vettenuts]

Originally Posted by Winemaker2

I just bought 6 gal of propylene glycol AF at Home Depot. It was right next to the alcohol based stuff.

The South/Win Ltd (photo below) antifreeze was the one I bought.



Home Depot now carries Primeguard RV, which except for the blue -100 version that they don’t carry, has alcohol.

http://southwinltd.com/ingredient-disclosures/

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by vettenuts

The South/Win Ltd (photo below) antifreeze was the one I bought.

Attachment 301875

Home Depot now carries Primeguard RV, which except for the blue -100 version that they don’t carry, has alcohol.

http://southwinltd.com/ingredient-disclosures/

Interesting...
The SouthWin stuff I bought looks like the picture, marked -50*F and label lists propylene glycol, water and corrosion inhibitors. No ethanol, or glycerine as listed in the Prime Guard -50*F products.
The other pink AF on the shelf did list ethanol but don't recall the branding or rating.
I usually just read labels and didn't look up ingredients online.

[alank]

Originally Posted by SimRacer

Check this item out. I tried the water bottle trick but still wound up losing a lot of antifreeze. With this plate no antifreeze goes into the filter housing. I've used this for the past two years.

https://www.amazon.com/Watts-FP-WP10.../dp/B001QY1LA2

Great find, I was trying to come up with a cap to screw on, eliminating the canister, but after seeing this, I went out to the shop and cut a 3 5/8" disc and rubber seal, which eliminates filling the canister, perfect fit, thank you for posting.

[Ddjay]

https://tiffinmotorhomes.com/videos/...your-motorhome

Do as Tiffin instructs. Used this as my template last year and it really helped.

[vettenuts]

Originally Posted by Winemaker2

Interesting...
The SouthWin stuff I bought looks like the picture, marked -50*F and label lists propylene glycol, water and corrosion inhibitors. No ethanol, or glycerine as listed in the Prime Guard -50*F products.
The other pink AF on the shelf did list ethanol but don't recall the branding or rating.
I usually just read labels and didn't look up ingredients online.

Yes, the South/Win stuff was great and good ingredients. The link I provided for Primeguard shows all but the -100 version has alcohol. Conveniently, they don’t provide full ingredient list on the label so you can evaluate it before buying. I looked at a few other brands when I couldn’t find the South/Win (had to drive to another Home Depot) and finding a replacement without alcohol wasn’t going well. The ones I did find without alcohol had a lot of complaints about freezing hard at temperatures in the mid teens and cracking components even though they advertised protection from bursting to -50. Haven’t decided what to do next year.