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nrg2brn · 11-26-2018, 09:26 AM

Hello, from fla, so winterizing is new to me. im now in nc where our winters are relatively mild, but it will get into the 20's so I have to do it....

bought a blowout plug, and blew out the lines as much as possible at 35psi. then I sucked several of gallons of rv antifreeze until all faucets and toilet ran pink. my pump luckily had a winterizing valve and hose on it. that was nice. the trailer is a 2017 winnebago winnie drop if that is important.

I learned that if you turn ON the pump with all faucets closed, you get pressure of course. Id imagine this will blow up a pipe? I have a little pressure in there now, curious as to if I should leave it slightly pressurized or not. but then again, im sure the pressure would slowly release in a few hours or days, so It probably does not matter.

I feel like there may be a little bit of water mixed with the antifreeze in the back sink, its such a long hose. its light pink. should I go out and get even more? Ive now put 3.5 gallons through this thing!

lastly, I did pour some in the sink trap, the toilet and shower drain, also put some in the water storage tank and let that get sucked up into the pump.

water heater, not sure what to do. there is a plastic cap where Im used to seeing that annodizing rod. maybe should take that out, as it is probably the low point, and just air compressor dry it out?

thanks for any tips/help you may be able to give!

nrg

tuffr2 · 11-26-2018, 09:50 AM

Yes, take the plug out of your hot water heater. 6 gallons or so should pour out. Let that water drain, when done draining put the plug back in. Then I think you are done. Sounds like you did everything right enough.

You kind of lost me about the pressurized worry. If the water pump is off open the faucets one last time to release any pressure.

The pink anti freeze looks light pink until it hits the sink. If it is nice and pink in the bottom of the sink, that is good. Especially since you blew out the lines 1st.

I would say good job !!!

60sumtin · 11-26-2018, 09:58 AM

You shouldn't need to buy more than 2 gallons of antifreeze. Mine only takes about 1½ gallons total. The hot water tank has winterizing by pass valves to isolate it while putting in the AF so you don't need to fill it, just drain the water out and you're good. There are lots of how to videos on how that works so I won't get into that here. Its ok to simply blow the water out but make sure its ALL out especially at the pump. I blow mine out then follow it up with the AF that way I know for sure its fully winterized and no water remains hidden away. As far a leaving it pressurized just turn the pump off and open a tap somewhere to release the pressure. Where you plan on spending the winter a bit of water mixed with AF shouldn't be a problem. Where I live it might be.

nrg2brn · 11-26-2018, 10:51 AM

I guess this is a good topic to be ocd about, thanks for verifying. one last question, though - about that hot water tank. its got a plastic plug in it. what does that mean? normally I see a brass one, that connects to the rod that is designed to take the abuse from the water, and slowly corrode. does this tank not use that type of protection? im digging up my books now, but they seem to be stored away :-( also, im about to strip the plastic bolt its so tight. guess Ill drill it out and buy a new one. hmth.

Thanks~

nrg

60sumtin · 11-26-2018, 11:54 AM

What brand is the hot water tank? Some HWTs will have an anode rod some do not depending on how the tank was constructed. It shouldn't be that tight that the plastic one will strip but I guess it's possible. I don't know what you're using but its best to use a 6 point socket rather than an open end wrench.

tuffr2 · 11-26-2018, 12:37 PM

That plastic plug will screw out. Best to try to find a socket that fits. I have a plastic plug in mine. I have used channel locks, a socket, vise grips in the past years. The plug is starting to get chewed up. Might mean more use of the vise grips.

Bill 3rd · 11-26-2018, 06:00 PM

Atwood water heaters have a plastic drain plug, they do not use an anode rod.

Kickstand · 11-27-2018, 12:25 AM

I find releasing the pressure in the Atwood by flipping the overflow open makes removing the plug easier.

Persistent · 11-27-2018, 09:01 AM

Hopefully you used the bypass valves on the water heater before putting the antifreeze in, otherwise the hot water lines and valves may be at risk.

Forkyfork · 11-27-2018, 09:59 AM

Im in NC on lake Hickory. Last year we went camping in the middle of Nov. This year it got cold early. I put my MH in climate controlled storage this year. Hate the thought of it being out in the rain and sun all winter. So nice not to worry about winterizing. Added 1oz bleach per 30 gal to keep it fresh. Its safe to use the water with that small amount of bleach. My water filter removes it easily.

Don't worry so much about how many jugs of pink stuff it takes based on what other people tell you. They most likely have a different rig. It takes what it takes. It's cheap enough, do it till its done. Also keep some on hand to refill the traps and toilet bowl because they will evaporate.

Dont forget your toilet sprayer if you have one. I forgot last time, fortunately no damage. Dont forget ice maker and washer lines.

Your water heater is an Attwood. It has to have the nylon plug, its not plastic. If you use a metal plug it can damage the tank or fitting. It does not use an anode at all, the internal tank is different from the suburban and does not require an anode.

On winnebagos they use a one way valve on the back of the WH. They can fail and let pink stuff into the WH when winterizing. This happened to me. Its not a problem if you have pink stuff in the WH, just make sure you drain all the water from it first. You need to pick up a rinsing wand to rinse the sediment out in the spring. Any pink stuff left gets rinsed out then. When I dewinterized last spring I rinsed the WH first.

Next year avoid putting the pink stuff in the fresh water tank. You will find out why in the spring because its a PITA to get out. It tastes nasty. If you have cats don't let them drink the water til you are sure its gone. The glycol they use in the pink stuff is also toxic to cats. Not supposed to bother dogs...better safe than sorry.

There is no water in the pump. Once you have run pink stuff through it there is pink stuff in the pump. You need to make sure the line from the water tank gets drained. Most modern rigs will have a valve that drains all the lines. it also drains the one to the water tank. I left my tank drain open and drove around a bit to get the water out of that then closed the drain.

tuffr2 · 11-27-2018, 11:12 AM

Forkyfork is correct, the plug is tough nylon. I agree with his post 100%. Use what ever it takes.

Now the problem I have. In the spring I always forget how the valves need turned. My 1st shower this year was hot, cold , hot cold, hot cold. Yep, you guessed it, I have two valves to turn to winterize and I only turned one back for use.

Advice I give but do not follow. Remember what valves you turn to winterize so you know what valves to turn back in the spring. Lol - this spring I turned valves until I got a 100% hot shower with no cold water mixing in...

Edit to add about my friend.

He took his trailer to the dealer to have it winterized. In the spring he gets it and tries to use it. He tells me his shower is hot, cold, hot cold etc. I tell him for sure his valves are not correct. He double checks and tells they are correct. We go back and forth via text messages. I am several states away. He ends up taking it to the dealer. The dealer shows him the valve that is not correct and flips it. Now he has all hot water for his shower.

I have had two trailers that had multiple (2) valves to turn to winterize. My 5th wheel had one semi hiden behind a panal I had to remove. My current trailer is as confusing as hell...ugh.

charliez · 11-27-2018, 11:40 AM

In the spring I always forget how the valves need turned.

Take a picture before turning the valves. Also make a diagram on paper. Draw in use before doing anything, then draw winterized position. Keep that paper at the w/h. Or save the pics to your cloud folder. Make a camper folder to keep them in.

Forkyfork · 11-27-2018, 08:59 PM

I regularly get hung up on the direction of the city fill valve. If its the wrong direction water just pumps right back into the tank.

nrg2brn · 11-28-2018, 08:10 AM

thanks for all the replies, Ive copy and pasted a lot into my note file, hopefully I wont be so unsure next year. or ill move to fla......

never saw a hw tank bypass. now I realize Id have to remove a housing to find it. do I need to do this?

nor did I ever find the low point water drains. I do see a red pipe and a blue pipe pointing down outside the trailer..there is no valves....thats why i ordered the blowout plug..hopefully that got it.

so my pump has 2 inputs, one output. one input is holding tank, the other a hose to stick in the antifreeze jug. nice that winnebago included that. too bad I ordered the kit. anyway..

so I opened the jug valve, closed the tank valve, and opened each water device..sink. other sink...ran toilet..shower...outside shower until all ran pink. drained the ATWOOD heater. wow lot of water....unfort. some was pinkish. Ill deal with that later. destroyed the plug. ordered one.
put a gallon of pink in the holding tank, opened valve, let it get sucked into the pump. not sure if that was wise. seemed smart at the time.

nrg..