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Linetech · 12-04-2024, 08:44 AM

I appreciate the help with this.

I have a 97 Imperial and in the wet bay all the fresh water tubing seems to tie to one drain valve? I wish I had a picture of this but it seems this one valve will drain the tank and all the lines? Is this correct? (there are other valves on some vertical pipes down low but I think they may just be isolation valves and I hate to mess with them?)

Because I did that and then I pumped several gallons of antifreeze in the city water connection and gallons of clear water came out and finally a hint of pink. Then I borrowed a portable compressor and blew out about another gallon total from all the lines.

Do I need to connect to the 12v pump to run some antifreeze thru the lines also? As of now no antifreeze coming out of the spigots in the rv, with about 6gal in the city water line with a pump..?

Thanks for the help.

Jay

jacwjames · 12-04-2024, 09:08 AM

Here is a site that HR has manuals available. https://www.holidayrambler.com/owners-manuals/
Unfortunately they only have a 97 Endeavor listed BUT there should be some description of winterizing that would be close to yours.

FWIW.
I don't put the Pink antifreeze into the water system, wife did not like the idea so I simply blow the lines. But I live in E TN where temps don't get that cold. Been doing this for 27 years on two different RV and never had a problem.

I have an air adapter that I put into the water inlet that I can attach an air compressor to, set the pressure at ~35 psi. Larger compressor so it has volume.

I drain the water tank and put the anode back in.

I then start the compressor and open one faucet and let it blow until no water comes out and then go to another faucet/shower. Go around to all the faucets multiple times
Flush the toilet several time.

Blow the fridge water line
Run the washer/dryer through a cycle.

When I'm done blowing lines I pour ~quart of the pink stuff down each P trap and some down the toilet. At this point I've closed the black and gray water so the pink stuff goes to the tanks.
Finally drain the water heater again and then remove the screen from the water pump and make sure it is empty, then pull fuse on water pump.

I also drain the remaining water in the fresh water tank, there is a valve in the wet bay for this.
I open the low point drains that are in the same compartment as my water pump.

In your case since you've already put the pink stuff into the system you should go ahead and complete using it.
Did you drain the water tank. Behind the water tank you MAY have a bypass valve that is used when winterizing, this isolates the water heater tank so you don't put the pink stuff in it.
There may be a valve system to put the pink stuff into your water lines. You need to make sure you got the pink stuff through all the lines all the way to the faucets. Any water left in the pipes could freeze.
If you live in a really cold area the pink stuff is the way to go.

Linetech · 12-04-2024, 10:01 AM

Thanks for the help. I have the manual and I tested very well on reading comprehension.. But opening the book and actually reading it seemd to have been one of the problems here.. For one thing I thought I was going to have help but it started getting cold so I have to do something on my own (nothing good usually comes of that). That being said i didn't have the air fitting to blow out the air lines so I started with the juice after draining..

So the path was my buddy said... and well here I am..

Now I am in the book and yes it says blow it out with air, nothing about running the juice thru the lines. And it talks about low point drains and shows a picture of the one drain valve (which is what I used). I think the one valve might everything? But I have been getting a lot of water out of the spots with pushing the juice in the city water line and doing the air last which now I know is the backwards way of doing it..

Yeah, if air is sufficient that is great (I am in the communist state of Maryland).. Thanks Oh, yeah the hot water heater that all seemed straight forward.. This is my first RV anything so I really don't know what is sufficient and what isn't.. Maybe at this point I am pretty good with the lines?

Thanks again

Jay

Flyer15015 · 12-04-2024, 10:11 AM

Jay,
With all the drains open you really should drive her around the block and let the residual water to slosh out.
Also it would be good to disconnect the water lines from both sides of the pump to let it drain. Ask me how I know to do this.

Mike in Colorado

jacwjames · 12-04-2024, 10:49 AM

Ya, Maryland can get cold so better safe then sorry.

If you are pumping the pink stuff in you really need to make sure you get some out of each faucet to make sure all the low points are full. You can capture and reuse it.

You may have a water heater bypass valve on the back of the water heater. The valve basically isolates the water heater so you don't have to fill it with the pink stuff

But you still need to make sure it's empty.

SafariBen · 12-04-2024, 01:12 PM

It should not take that much antifreeze to fill the lines and come out the faucets. That makes me think you have a bunch of water in the system still, either the fresh water tank or the water heater. A bunch of water takes a bunch of antifreeze, but if you can drain it all and blow out the lines, well you won't need any antifreeze, but to be safe blowing one gallon through will dilute any water into a lot of antifreeze and leave nearly pure antifreeze behind to protect.

If you blow it out well enough to not crack at 30, then it won't crack at -30 either. But it's easier to add some antifreeze and know the system is protected.

Cj D · 12-04-2024, 07:22 PM

Oh My. It sounds like you couldn't decide which technique to use. There are 2 options.

Option 1 is to drain the tanks and add anti freeze...and "no" it takes more than one drain to do that. There should be a very large PVC valve in the water bay that empties the main fresh water tank. It will only drain the tank if you use the jacks to tilt the rig to the left and rear. You still must drain the heater and bypass the input to it in a panel in the closet. Finally, add antifreeze into the system and let the pump circulate it as you run all the faucets and drains to circulate it.

Option 2 is to use air pressure in the city water input. You still drain the fresh water tank and water heater, and bypass the heater input in the closet. Then drain all the lines using the drains in and under the water panel...do not forget to drain the line to the refrigerator too. Then, go through each and every faucet and open them one at a time until only air comes out. Finally, add a small amount of antifreeze (a half gallon total does it) into all the drains and toilet. Finally drain your grey and black water tanks.

Of the 2 options, the second requires less work to put the rig into service again. the first option requires you to purge the antifreeze out of the water lines.

Linetech · 12-05-2024, 04:24 PM

Hi everyone, thanks for the help. So I did the air and got about a gallon out of one of the spigots. Then bled all the air thru.. I still was hoping to put a few gallons of antifreeze through it and get it but it just seems to be going in someplace now that I have now idea..? I have about 12gallon of antifreeze in the lines and yet to get pink fluid coming out of a spigot.? I have attached some pictures of the drain valves and plumbing, feel free to comment. Thanks Jay

jacwjames · 12-05-2024, 06:43 PM

Is the pink stuff going into the fresh water tank. What about the water heater?

SafariBen · 12-05-2024, 07:35 PM

If it's not going in the water heater, and not going in the fresh water tank, the only other places it can go are the grey tank and black tank, or on the ground.

Linetech · 12-06-2024, 08:16 AM

Thanks. The water heater is bypassed and drained, that was straightforward. In the picture looks like there is a valve I can turn to make sure no fluid will go back into the tank? I tried it with that closed also and when I run the pump I am still not picking antifreeze up out of the tank?

If blowing the lines with air is good, I am good. Seems to me there still may be water laying in the lines in low places and dips that could just get moved around and drain back to a low place with air? It "seems" like these lines inside the RV potentially hold a lot of fluid? Or it has to be going someplace? Fumbling around with this thing is driving me nuts..

Thanks again for all the replies, input and suggestions. And just plain letting me know what practices you use.

SafariBen · 12-06-2024, 01:55 PM

Not 12 gallons of water in the lines, it has to be going someplace. Blowing the lines out is fine if that's what you're accomplishing, but if you blow the lines out, then add a cup of antifreeze, that cup will blow out the other end the same shade of pink, or you have more water somewhere.

Cj D · 12-06-2024, 04:30 PM

12 gallons of antifreeze is an obscene amount. If you fully blow out the lines, you need none...zero...nada in the lines. Only a small amount in the drain P-traps...less than 1/2 gallon!

If you choose to go the antifreeze route...(in which case your water will forever and a day taste like anti freeze)...then 2 gallons is ample...if you do it right.

I recommend you read the manual closely and choose which method to use next season.

Linetech · 12-08-2024, 09:36 AM

Thanks to everyone for their help. I bought a portable air compressor off of Facebook for $40.00 and my RV guy was scheduled to come over anyway and we put on the slide topper and he looked over a few things. He has made a living servicing RVs and he also schooled me up. He saw all my empty antifreeze jugs and was as confused as I am about where all that stuff has been going. But we blew the lines and left the drains open and sounds like we are good.

Cant thank everyone enough for their help.

Jay