Winterize!!!!!

["007"]

Have people looking to winterizeing I'm afraid, here it is, so sorry.

[Ocean bound]

Next week after trip I am on now

[JFXG]

Ha! "Winterize", for us, means moving our cool-weather clothes from under the bed. ;-)

[kidoo]

Do you use the pink stuff or is air pressure sufficient?

[nothermark]

Pink stuff in the blown out piping is good insurance against trapped water.

FWIW I will dump before heading home on out last trip out. Anything that goes down the toilet or sink after that will not be enough to be an issue. After I get home I will open the drain on the water tank and pull the plug out of the hot water tank. Then I will set up an air line to blow out the lines with. I don't use a lot of pressure but to be safe I open the water faucets first. Give it 5 minutes or so. Make sure all the faucets get opened.

After the compressor is done I have a shut off at the water tank output and a connection point for the pump input. I shut off all the valves, set the bypass on the HW tank. Turn off the pump and set up the tubing to draw antifreeze out of the jug. Then I turn on the pump and let the pump draw in as much of the jug as it will to pressurize the system. If it sucks in the whole jug I screwed up and it is probably going into the HW tank. (It goes in fast enough that it is hard to make a decision before the jug is gone.) When the pump stops because the lines are pressurized I open each valve in turn and let out the air and antifreeze mix. By the time I do both faucets at any sink I have a reasonable load in the trap for the sink. Ditto shower. Flush the toilet until the antifreeze runs out. I also crack the valve back into the fresh water tank to get a little antifreeze into the the valve body. I usually do the same with the two valves into the HW tank. It does not take a lot but it takes care of any pockets in the valve body that trap a bit of water. Don't forget the outside shower. That will take me about 2 gallons of pink stuff. If I have a bit left I dump it into the traps.

I am very fussy about what antifreeze I buy. There are 2 versions. The more expensive is straight glycol. It can be diluted. The cheaper stuff is a mix of water and glycol for a couple of dollars less. My thought is that most of the lines do not matter as long as they are reasonably empty. The problem is water trapped in valve bodies and traps. I would rather put in the good stuff and dilute the trapped water instead of putting in the cheap stuff and blowing a valve body (BTDT) with a mixture that has too much water in it.

The other thing I do is put a couple of pieces of styrofoam in the outside shower. one is cut to go around the valves and the other goes over it. On out unit there is no insulation over the outside shower but it shares under cupboard space with the water heater. If we take off for warmer climes I can water up the fresh water tank and head out. I dump the HW bypass before I put the plug back but I do not dump out the outside shower. Fill the HW tank and run the residual anti freeze into the waste tanks. That way I can use the water for everything but drinking the first day out and still have some protection on the outside shower. By the end of the second or third day out we are in weather warm enough to dump and flush the system to get rid of any residual antifreeze. It also pays to dump a gallon or two of water and some detergent down the toilet to liquify anything that has dried out in the bottom of the black tank.

[vsheetz]

Originally Posted by JFXG

Ha! "Winterize", for us, means moving our cool-weather clothes from under the bed. ;-)

Same here! (-:

[GoldWing2003]

This is going to be the first time I have had to winterized a rig with an Ice maker, washer/dryer and dishwasher. Curious how to do that, I guess i have to run the units with The anti freeze on the water lines? I think it's going to take a little longer this year.

[kidoo]

Originally Posted by nothermark

Pink stuff in the blown out piping is good insurance against trapped water.

FWIW I will dump before heading home on out last trip out. Anything that goes down the toilet or sink after that will not be enough to be an issue. After I get home I will open the drain on the water tank and pull the plug out of the hot water tank. Then I will set up an air line to blow out the lines with. I don't use a lot of pressure but to be safe I open the water faucets first. Give it 5 minutes or so. Make sure all the faucets get opened.

After the compressor is done I have a shut off at the water tank output and a connection point for the pump input. I shut off all the valves, set the bypass on the HW tank. Turn off the pump and set up the tubing to draw antifreeze out of the jug. Then I turn on the pump and let the pump draw in as much of the jug as it will to pressurize the system. If it sucks in the whole jug I screwed up and it is probably going into the HW tank. (It goes in fast enough that it is hard to make a decision before the jug is gone.) When the pump stops because the lines are pressurized I open each valve in turn and let out the air and antifreeze mix. By the time I do both faucets at any sink I have a reasonable load in the trap for the sink. Ditto shower. Flush the toilet until the antifreeze runs out. I also crack the valve back into the fresh water tank to get a little antifreeze into the the valve body. I usually do the same with the two valves into the HW tank. It does not take a lot but it takes care of any pockets in the valve body that trap a bit of water. Don't forget the outside shower. That will take me about 2 gallons of pink stuff. If I have a bit left I dump it into the traps.

I am very fussy about what antifreeze I buy. There are 2 versions. The more expensive is straight glycol. It can be diluted. The cheaper stuff is a mix of water and glycol for a couple of dollars less. My thought is that most of the lines do not matter as long as they are reasonably empty. The problem is water trapped in valve bodies and traps. I would rather put in the good stuff and dilute the trapped water instead of putting in the cheap stuff and blowing a valve body (BTDT) with a mixture that has too much water in it.

The other thing I do is put a couple of pieces of styrofoam in the outside shower. one is cut to go around the valves and the other goes over it. On out unit there is no insulation over the outside shower but it shares under cupboard space with the water heater. If we take off for warmer climes I can water up the fresh water tank and head out. I dump the HW bypass before I put the plug back but I do not dump out the outside shower. Fill the HW tank and run the residual anti freeze into the waste tanks. That way I can use the water for everything but drinking the first day out and still have some protection on the outside shower. By the end of the second or third day out we are in weather warm enough to dump and flush the system to get rid of any residual antifreeze. It also pays to dump a gallon or two of water and some detergent down the toilet to liquify anything that has dried out in the bottom of the black tank.

This sounds like a good plan, especially to let the faucet closed then charge it with antifreeze, I will try this.

Thanks

[RayJr]

40+ years and never used the pink stuff only air and some pink stuff in all the traps. If it ain't broke why use it.

["007"]

I never have blown out lines on my coach, have low point drains, open drain for HWH, operate the by-pass valves turn opposite from summer operation, open all faucets, remove filters, drain ice maker by removing hoses feeding the water valve in back of fridge and the one up to ice maker. What water left in ice maker remove with paper towels or sponge. No anti in ice maker.
Once all drained pump in the pink stuff using the water pump siphon hose and collect the water at each faucet that's left in lines than some pink in a bottle.
ADD anti in all traps and extra to feed to back of drain valves of black and gray tanks.
If you have a whole house filter push in the tab of check valve of city water hose inlet so the short pipe from filter to city water inlet has the pink stuff all so.
If you have a washer dryer check the link in first post its all covered there.
Next spring De-winterizing is there also plus sanitizing your water system.

[kidoo]

Originally Posted by RayJr

40+ years and never used the pink stuff only air and some pink stuff in all the traps. If it ain't broke why use it.

Actually, in my MH instruction book, they describe the two methods, one with air pressure, the other with the pink stuff, no preference mentionned, it says the method choosen is up to the owner. You still have to get some pink stuff in all the drains.

It says the MH will use 5 gallons of pink stuff if you use the pink method. Sometimes I winterize 2 or 3 times a year, period before going south, before comming back and sometimes boonducking in the cold. I would prefer not to use the pink but I am also afraid of some water left in the lines.

I would think that the water left in the lines would freeze up but since it is so little it would have enough space to expand in the line itself without braking the lines. These are PEX lines and I would think it can take some epansion without braking.

[RWeigant]

What about your residential fridge? Last year I didn't think about and my filter inside the fridge froze and broke. The valve also broke apart. Easy replacement, but I'm going to heat tape them and take out the filter this time. I also don't like the inside of the RV going below freezing. Concerns are the three TV's and washer dryer.

[Beeper]

Can you leave the batteries in through the Wisconsin winter? Thanks

[nothermark]

The problem with the air method is not the PEX lines. It turns out to be water trapped in the valve bodies. Learned it the hard way the second or third year we had a MH and one of the HW tank bypass valves cracked. That's why I use the good stuff and run it through the valves that are normally off. It only takes a little to push any water out or at least dilute it with antifreeze.