Bounder: Winterizing

[gordonjmcc]

I am going to be winterizing my 2016 bounder 35 k for the first time. Everything I have read says put 5 gals. Anti freeze in fresh water tank. How is this done when you fill tank at same location as the inside water? Thanks for the help. Gordon

[Ajayabb]

You need to attach a hose attachment to water inlet valve and place end in antifreeze container. Turn selector to winterize and open each faucet one at a time with water pump on. This will allow antifreeze to be pumped through water line system

[mack73]

Is it better to use soo much antifreeze than to simply blow the lines out with air?

[PetesMH]

I don’t like the method of putting antifreeze in the fresh water tank because, 1) as you point out it’s tedious to put it there unless you have a gravity fill, 2) it requires quite a lot of antifreeze and 3) it takes a LOT of flushing in the spring to get the last bit of antifreeze out of the system. I’m not a fan of only blowing out the lines either because it’s pretty difficult to actually get all of the water out of every little nook and cranny. Also it takes a high volume tankless compressor - a tank can introduce oil into your system. So what’s left? Install a winterizing valve at your pump’s inlet. This lets you suck antifreeze directly out of the bottle. You’ll use a lot less antifreeze (I can do my 30 ft unit with1.5 gallons) and after you’ve done it once or twice you’ll be able to do the whole job in about 15 minutes. We “unwinterized” twice last winter to camp in warm places and I actually winterized again at an interstate rest stop on our way north to home. You can buy the valve kit online for about $10 and the one time installation only takes a couple of minutes. It works by turning one single lever to switch the pump pickup from your tank to the supplied pickup hose that you stick in the antifreeze bottle. Easy peasy.

[Jimg]

Good points. My owners manual for a 2018 Southwind says the same thing, pour 5 gallons anti freeze into the fresh water tank. I do what it says as there are lines from the tank to the ice maker in the fridge and also the washer that must have anti freeze run through them. In the spring I rinse out the fresh water tank well. There have been no problems, we normally do not drink water from the fresh water tank and it does not have a smell if the tanks is rinsed out well.

[hilgert]

As we are full timers we don't winterize, but when we had our Class C, which we did store in a location that would sometimes get below freezing, I would:

• Drain black and grey tanks.
• Remove the water filter (if you have a canister filter).
• Drain the fresh water tank.
• Open low point hot/cold drains, then close them once drained.
• Drain the water heater, and put into bypass (to keep tank empty).
• Pour 5 gallons of antifreeze into the tank.
• Run the pump through all the faucets, shower and toilets until I was sure there was antifreeze in all critical places (such as the dump valves and p-traps).

As there is no need to keep the lines full once the water has been displaced with antifreeze, to help with the aftertaste, I would then:

• Empty the fresh water tank.
• Empty black and grey tanks (optional).
• Open low point hot/cold drains, then close them once drained.
• Remove/empty the water filter canister as it will be full of antifreeze (if you have a canister filter).

When we would then take the motorhome out, I would:

• Put in 5-10 gallons fresh water in the tank.
• Run the pump/faucets/shower/toilet (extra time on the kitchen faucet).
• Repeat a couple of times until clear at the sinks.
• Put water filter back in canister (if you have a canister filter).
• Fill fresh tank with water.

[SomeDay]

In 20+ years of winterising we have never put antifreeze in our actual freshwater tank. It is always drained well before first signs of freezing anyway so no need and even hypothetically "if" a small amount of water dribble remained, the actual tank is way bigger than the ice would expand to cause any damage. Not that I'm a scientist by any means just made common sense to me??

We connect small piece of hose to the main hose outlet from that tank move the handle to BYPASS and then put the pump on to suck the antifreeze into the rig directly out of the container it's in. Hubby outside, I inside running all taps, shower, toilet sprayer and flush, small start on washer/dryer on board, outside shower and putting some in the pee trap of washer waste pipe. Never ever had any problems, since we started doing ourselves and not paying extortionate amount first couple of years to a dealership that failed miserably and we had leaks from them doing it each spring we restarted up! Doing it ourselves has saved us a ton of money and a lot of heartbreak from zero leaks!

[hilgert]

SomeDay, I used to not put it in the fresh tank, but I did have an issue one time with a crack (which I believe to have been from freezing) in the fitting going into the tank (it was a hard 90% turn with a bit of a downward loop, due to the stupid way the tank was installed). That is when I started pouring 5 gallons in the tank (I ran a lot through the system to make sure no water remained), and it has the benefit of being in the water line between the tank and the pump (and since the pump is higher than the tank there will be water in that line).

I should note that I did run it through until it was empty, and that I would make sure the drain side of the coach was a bit lower (so that helped with keeping the antifreeze on the drain end).

The propylene glycol in RV antifreeze is food safe, and it is in fact used in many food and drink products, as well in some hand sanitizers. While I would certainly not drink a glass of it, we had no aftertaste effects. I'm sure an important component of my method is having a canister filter that is inline with the water system (tank/pump or park water).

If there were no inline canister filter, and the only filter (if used) is external, then my method may have an aftertaste, and I'd likely have gone the route you went (which I used to use in a prior travel trailer).

[wayno347]

Originally Posted by gordonjmcc

I am going to be winterizing my 2016 bounder 35 k for the first time. Everything I have read says put 5 gals. Anti freeze in fresh water tank. How is this done when you fill tank at same location as the inside water? Thanks for the help. Gordon

Absolutely no reason to fill the water tank with RV anti-freeze. Take out the in-line water filter and reattach the screw-in filter housing. Turn the 4-way Anderson valve to "winterize" setting, dip water hose into RV fluid and turn on water pump at the sewer compartment. It will send pink to all faucets and shower. Don't forget to get the fluid into the useless outside shower fixture. Drain the fresh water tank so it won't freeze. Make sure both hot and cold low point water valves in sewer compartment have pink flowing out of them. You're done!

[PetesMH]

Originally Posted by wayno347

Absolutely no reason to fill the water tank with RV anti-freeze. Take out the in-line water filter and reattach the screw-in filter housing. Turn the 4-way Anderson valve to "winterize" setting, dip water hose into RV fluid and turn on water pump at the sewer compartment. It will send pink to all faucets and shower. Don't forget to get the fluid into the useless outside shower fixture. Drain the fresh water tank so it won't freeze. Make sure both hot and cold low point water valves in sewer compartment have pink flowing out of them. You're done!

Well, also drain the water heater and put it in bypass mode and make sure the drain traps have antifreeze and be sure to open the tank drain gate valves and either leave them open or make sure there is antifreeze in the hard plastic waste lines and against the gate valve.

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by gordonjmcc

I am going to be winterizing my 2016 bounder 35 k for the first time. Everything I have read says put 5 gals. Anti freeze in fresh water tank. How is this done when you fill tank at same location as the inside water? Thanks for the help. Gordon

Do you not have a little door on side of Rv water fill?

[rarebear.nm]

Like others have said do not put antifreeze in your fresh water tank. Drain it as well as the water heater tank. There are many different plumbing layouts for RVs and no one solution works well for everyone.

I'm attaching my own winterization procedure with several comments. It is very detailed, but many major points can work for other RVs.

Winterization Procedure for 2007 Excel 5th Wheeler

These procedures are tailored to my 5th wheeler, adjust as required for other applications. This rig has a gravity fill for the fresh water tank as well as a fill line from the city water side which is operated by a remote valve. There is a black water tank rinse that needs antifreeze run through it. There is a residential style water pressure regulator built into the system just inside of the city water connection.

I would not advocate any particular winterization process for all RVs. Each make and model year may be unique in some ways. How you need to winterize depends on your rig, how cold it gets where it’s stored, if it’s indoors or not, etc. For some opening the low level drains and draining the water heater is enough, or compressed air will do the trick. Of course if you winter where there’s palm trees you may not have much of an issue. My 5th has had many custom modifications not frequently found on other RVs. So some details will not apply to your rig.

As I understand some RV toilet valves can retain small enough amounts of water when compressed air is used to permit ice build up and freeze damage. Thus the recommendation for full flushing followed with antifreeze first. This may also be true for some other valves, but just guessing.

When blowing water lines with compressed air, air volume is more important than is the air pressure. A small tire inflator compressor can’t produce the required air volume. Amount air volume required is a function of your RV’s plumbing system.

We also have a motor home and the winterization procedure for it is different.

1. Drain fresh water, black and gray water tanks
2. Darin water heater, open bottom drain and high-pressure relief valve, replace bottom plug and close relief valve.
3. Open low level water drains, leave open for now
4. Set bypass valves on water heater
5. Set the bypass valves on the whole house water filter
6. Drain the whole house water filter
7. Close valve between the fresh water tank and the pump, don’t want antifreeze in the fresh water tank
8. Use the pump for transfer from the water bladder to force antifreeze through the city water connection until it comes out the cold low level drain. Plug pump into the 12-volt outlet in the driver’s side basement.
9. Close both low level drains
10. Use second pump to force antifreeze through the black water flush system
11. Open the siphon valve
12. Dump 2 – 3 gallons of antifreeze into larger bucket, makes the process simpler than changing one gallon jugs in the process
13. Place the built-in siphon hose in the antifreeze bucket
14. Start the main pump
15. Starting at the nearest facet, open hot and cold until a good pink stream is observed
16. Work through all facets and valves, kitchen, bath, shower, toilet, outside shower, outside hose bib and water pressure gauge line.
17. Close the siphon hose feed valve
18. Run the pump with an empty fresh water tank to make sure the antifreeze is purged from the pump.
19. Remove and drain the little filter on the input side of the pump.
20. Attach airline adapter and blow the antifreeze out of all the lines, same procedure as flushing with antifreeze. No need to blow out the black water tank flush. Use between 30 and 50 PSI air pressure
21. Open the city water to fresh water tank cross fill valve to purge any fluid trapped in this line.
22. What water plus antifreeze is now in the holding tanks should be fine for the winter. As long as those tanks are not close to full.
23. Pour about pint plus of antifreeze into each drain trap, sinks, shower, etc.
24. Pour about a quart or more of antifreeze into the toilet bowl to keep the seals moist for the winter.
De-winterization

1. Water system
a. Attach hose to city water connection
b. Open each valve in turn, closet to farthest to refill the lines and flush remaining antifreeze out of system
c. Add about five gallons water to fresh water tank
d. Run pump opening each hot and cold facet starting with those nearest the pump. Needed to flush the pipe segment between where the city water and pump line Tee together.
e. Open the bottom drain on the water heater and use rinse wand to flush water around the tank. Allow to drain and reinsert the drain plug. If it has an anode rod replace it now if needed.
f. Reset the bypass valve on the back of the water heater and fill water heater tank and flush though kitchen hot facet
g. Add two cups of house hold bleach to a gallon of water and add to fresh water tank.
h. Fill fresh water tank
i. Run pump to get the chlorinated water through out the system
j. Using the same second external pump as used in the winterization procedure pump some chlorinated water into the city water connection
k. Allow to stand for about two to four hours
l. Drain all water from the fresh water tank
m. Add fresh water to the tank and run pump to get the chlorinated water flushed out.
n. Flush the city water connection with a hose
o. To remove the after taste of the RV antifreeze and chlorine add about 1 cup of baking soda to a gallon of fresh water and add this to the fresh water tank. Add enough water to fill the fresh water to about 20 gallons. Then pump this through the entire system. Let sit for a few hours and then drain the tank and flush entire system to remove remaining tastes.
p. Dump gray water holding tank in a proper fashion


Note:
At least in this rig I do not totally trust just blowing out the water with compressed air and do not like the after taste of antifreeze in the spring. Thus development of this hybrid system to solve both issues.

I have remote water pump switches located near the siphon hose and another switch in the wet bay.

There is a residential Watts water pressure regulator just inboard of the city water connection that needs to be winterized.

To pump antifreeze through the city intake and the black water tank sprayer I use a second RV water pump I carry sometimes to transfer water from a portable water bladder into my fresh water tank. This also winterizes this pump.

Icemakers, washing machines, dishwashers, and external pressure regulators in some cases, etc may have specialized winterization procedures.

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by mack73

Is it better to use soo much antifreeze than to simply blow the lines out with air?

I do both for insurance, all you need is a pocket of water sitting in a elbow or somewhere and freeze a bad day.

[NLOVNIT]

Originally Posted by Ajayabb

You need to attach a hose attachment to water inlet valve and place end in antifreeze container....

What this member is referring to is an RV winterization kit.

This is what makes it possible to get the RV antifreeze from the jug into your lines without putting the antifreeze in your fresh tank.

Our prior 36Z Bounder with a fridge & washer to do took just shy of 6 gallons. That included ~4 cups I poured into the toilet bowl.

Lori-