Winterizing

[Guitarman3]

Hello, I’m a Uk owner of a stratus r-vision Chevrolet on a workhorse chassis , I have spent 2 winters in her, and now I rented apartment so I’m worried about the engine block freezing, and got further worried when I read about all the other stuff, ie/water tanks/toilet/black/grey etc. But I’m more worried about the radiator and the block cracking , can anybody advise me how to go about this? Do I drain off my existing water and add pure anti freeze? (do you guys call it coolant)? I’m hoping somebody can advise me, I’m in the Ukraine, and everywhere I take the van garage wise, they seem to be afraid of it, even the oil change was a drama. Thanks in advance also is there any other precautions I can take for winter?

[Skip426]

Welcome to iRV2.

I have to ask , you said " existing water " ; has someone drained the coolant and added straight water into the engine cooling system ?
Yes we call the radiator and what's in it ; cooling system and coolant.
Does the liquid in the radiator have any color to it ? Pink ? Green ?

The factory fill of the engine cooling system would have been , antifreeze in a concentration to provide protection to approx -30 .
Is there no shop around that can sample what's in the radiator and tell you what level of protection you have?

As far as winterizing the fresh water system in the rest of the RV .
The fresh water holding tank has to be drained , the water heater by-passed and drained , and all the water lines , either blown out with compressed air and the 12 volt pump run dry OR, a NON-TOXIC RV anti-freeze pumped through the RV water system using the 12 volt pump and a pick up hose into jugs of the RV anti freeze.

Did you get any manuals with the coach , that might provide specific winterizing information ?
If you could provide the year of the R-Vision perhaps we can round a manual up.

[Guitarman3]

Thanks for your help, I have had it 2 years, and I never have put anything in there other than water, I’ll check abiut the colour, what I want to know is, do I drain whatever is in there now, and begin again with new anti freeze?

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by Guitarman3

Thanks for your help, I have had it 2 years, and I never have put anything in there other than water, I’ll check abiut the colour, what I want to know is, do I drain whatever is in there now, and begin again with new anti freeze?

Probably the safe route .

If you have any information on the engine size maybe we can track down the amount of A/F you'll need .

BUT if your constantly having to add water to the cooling system , then tracing the leak and repairing it is in order .

[Guitarman3]

No I don’t have a leak in my radiator, my van is a stratus r-vision on a workhorse chassis , 8.1 vortex engine , can I put 50% water 50% anti freeze in?

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Guitarman3

No I don’t have a leak in my radiator, my van is a stratus r-vision on a workhorse chassis , 8.1 vortex engine , can I put 50% water 50% anti freeze in?

It is easier to buy premix 50/50. Drain your system and fill it with 50/50.

https://rvmentor.com/2019/11/23/wint...on-101-part-1/

[knightstorm]

The reason that we call it coolant rather than water is that we haven’t put straight water in engines for decades. Unlike plain water, the coolant protects against corrosion, freezing, raises the boiling point, and acts as a water pump lubricant.

These two links are from a very brief google search, but provide more information.

https://www.valvoline.com/our-produc...engine-coolant

https://www.hyperlube.com/blog/coola...-for-your-car/

[KanzKran]

What cavie said about buying the pre-mixed coolant. You don’t want to use tap water due to the presence of minerals and other impurities. You do want to use coolant year-round due to the presence of anti corrosive agents and lubricants, plus it elevates the boiling point, as already stated.

Pre-mixed coolant is good to -34F [-37C] or thereabouts. Just get the right type as specified by the engine manufacturer.

A cheap coolant hygrometer is less than $10, if you want to check it yourself. Being in cold country, I’m sure any auto parts store will have them on the shelf.

https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Deluxe-An...&tag=cb-osp-20

I would also think non-toxic boat/RV antifreeze for the water system is also readily available. This stuff is NOT the same as what goes in the engine cooling system, which is highly toxic to humans and animals. It’s also much cheaper than engine coolant.

[Guitarman3]

I never thought of that, I don’t even know how to ‘drain ‘ the system,

[Guitarman3]

Originally Posted by KanzKran

What cavie said about buying the pre-mixed coolant. You don’t want to use tap water due to the presence of minerals and other impurities. You do want to use coolant year-round due to the presence of anti corrosive agents and lubricants, plus it elevates the boiling point, as already stated.

Pre-mixed coolant is good to -34F [-37C] or thereabouts. Just get the right type as specified by the engine manufacturer.

A cheap coolant hygrometer is less than $10, if you want to check it yourself. Being in cold country, I’m sure any auto parts store will have them on the shelf.

https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Deluxe-An...&tag=cb-osp-20

I would also think non-toxic boat/RV antifreeze for the water system is also readily available. This stuff is NOT the same as what goes in the engine cooling system, which is highly toxic to humans and animals. It’s also much cheaper than engine coolant.

Thanks for all this, I’ll buy a ready mixed coolant here, it’s just choosing the correct one, the ones mentioned dexcool etc, won’t be available here, but from memory, I think what’s in my van now is pink. Have you any idea how many litres of this ready mixed coolant I should buy?
And, can you tell me where the drain off is for my radiator system?

[JCM]

Originally Posted by Guitarman3

Hello, I’m a Uk owner of a stratus r-vision Chevrolet on a workhorse chassis , I have spent 2 winters in her, and now I rented apartment so I’m worried about the engine block freezing, and got further worried when I read about all the other stuff, ie/water tanks/toilet/black/grey etc. But I’m more worried about the radiator and the block cracking , can anybody advise me how to go about this? Do I drain off my existing water and add pure anti freeze? (do you guys call it coolant)? I’m hoping somebody can advise me, I’m in the Ukraine, and everywhere I take the van garage wise, they seem to be afraid of it, even the oil change was a drama. Thanks in advance also is there any other precautions I can take for winter?

It sounds like you should take it to someone -RV shop_ who knows how to winterize as all you need to do is miss one little thing to cost a lot in the spring. Maybe they will show you what they are doing - you can write it down for next year. It is not hard but must be done right. Have fun.