Winterizing the Water system

[MSN Member]

From: Gizmostail1  (Original Message)
Sent: 11/7/2004 10:44 PM

Ok..  I need to get the water out to make sure I don't have problems with freezing water in the lines and traps..  Hummm  is it good enought to just drain the water?
Please let me know some secrets to keeping things working... 
Thanks




From: cooneytunes
Sent: 11/7/2004 10:58 PM

Hey Gizmo...Just Drain the water, be sure to open pet cock on Water heater too. let the pump run dry for about a minute, shut it off close all valves and faucets, Go to Wal-mat get 6 gallons or so of RV Anti-Freeze and put 5 gallons in Portable water tank. Turn on pump and one faucet at a time until you see some anti-freeze (pink in color) come out of faucet, repete for bath, and flush toilet, once you see the pink stuff all lines are full and that should surfice for our winter....also pour a little anti freeze from the sixth gallon down all the sink drains, kitchen, bath, and shower...this will keep the traps from freezing, also plug up all drains so Anti freeze does not evaporate.
You can use a rag or something of the sort. Other wise if anti-freeze evaporates, you might get some bad smells inside....
Timmy




From: LJ-TJ
Sent: 11/8/2004 1:36 AM

OK Here Goes
      This is how I winterize my rig up here in Canada. 1) After closeing all the taps in the rig I take a plug with a tire valve stem and attach it to the water hose conection on the outside of the Winny where you hook up your city water when your in the camp ground. 2) I then open the drain cock on the hot water heater (tank). 3) I attach the hose from my portable aircompresser to the plug with tire valve stem ,this forces air through the intire system. Stand back from the hot water tank because once you put the air to her she'll look like old faithful coming outa there. As the water becomes less it will become amist.4) Once this happens go inside and open one of the taps inside the motorhome. Have an eye it will spit water, out you just want to crack it enough so as not to allow pressure to build up while you go out side and close off the hot water tank valve. Once the hot water valve is turned off. go back in the rig and turn off the tap you open and waite "A FEW SECONDS" to allow the pressure to rebuild in the system. 5) Then crack open each tap one at a time,water should spurt out of each tap. Once it blows clear or almost clear close it and crack the next tape including the tolit and shower head.Once you are sastisfied you have all the water out of your system, leave a tap open and go outside and take the air hose off. Go back inside and open a tape to be sure you have know air still in your system.When your done be sure to leave one tape open so know air can pressurize the system. 6) Now buy one of those empellor pumps that you attach to your drill, you can usually pick one up for $5.00 or $10.00. now I use 2 Gals of RV antifreeze. Pump 1 and 3/4 gallons of antifreeze into your system.Now remember that tape you left open inside?? go close it and then crack it just a bit so when you put the air to your system again you don't get an excessive amount of airpressure build up, you want some pressure put not alot and "DON'T DALLY". 7) Put the air to here again and go inside and close the tap you cracked open, waite a few seconds for pressure to build again.Crack the tap open again and air should blow out and then a few seconds later pink antiefreeze should come out. you now have antiefreeze through that part of your system. Do each tap as well as your shower head and toilet. Once you see pink you know you have antifreeze through your system. Once you are satisfied you have antifreeze through your system leave one tap slightly open so you can go out side and remove the air. Come back around crack a tap to be sure you have know air on your system. 8) Take some antifreeze and pour it down your traps don't forget your shower and a little in your holding tanks.




From: denison
Sent: 11/8/2004 7:48 AM

Ive got to mention my scheme........
    When I replace the antifreeze in my cars, I keep enough of the old to pour into the sink P traps, and into the two holding tanks.  Then I operate the tank drain valves, to get antifreeze into their little grooves and crannies.
    I leave all the faucet valves slightly open whenever we arent using it, because I think it extends the life of the rubber washers inside. 
  Over the winter we leave the fridge door open about an inch - so odors and mildew wont collect.
   We also park the RV tilted about 3 degrees, and nose high, so water and snowmelt will run off the roof, instead of collecting in the center-sag, which is 5/8ths inch on my roof.

     Before our summer use, I flush the fresh water tank with a vinegar solution, followed by a solution of baking soda.   

    When I got my RV it had about 8 places where short sections of the copper water pipe had been cut out and a foot of rubber heater hose clamped over it.   This seemed to be in all of the low places.   





From: LJ-TJ
Sent: 11/8/2004 1:01 PM

Denison, you are correct. In the older motorhomes they used copper tubing and as a rule where they bent it to go around a corner it created a low spot. So if you didn't get all the water out of the system it would drain back to the lowest point which was usually at a bend. You could get away with a few years of freezing because the copper would strech to some degree but then one spring when you put the water to her she'd leek all over the place.So put lots and lots of antifreeze in her or use air like I do then your sure you've gotten all the water out.




From: Gizmostail1
Sent: 11/8/2004 5:01 PM

Thanks for all the advice.. I'm not sure the Air Pressure Idea will work on my system being as old as it is.. I"m libable to blow out a pipe or two..
Buy I have filled everything with antifreeze and the P traps are full too..
But I still need to look at the water heater more I think..

If The hot water side of the sinks and shower flow Pink.. Is the Hot water tank full?

Maybe I'll go over it again in the morning..




From: Sea Hag
Sent: 11/9/2004 8:44 AM

I have a connector fitting I use to by pass the hot water heater , by removeing the ines and connecting them together , after I have drained the heater tank .  I also darain my fresh water tanks and remove the pump intake line from the tanks , slide a peice of neopreme tubbing over the Plex line and pump RV anti freeze directly out of the jug to fill the lines and traps , this also winterizes the pump . I also make sure the tiolet flush system gets filled too . only takes two gallons this way . I recover about 1-1/2 gallons in the spring when I flush the system and use it the following winter to manually flush the toilet during winter use .  Sea Hag 




From: Gizmostail1
Sent: 11/9/2004 5:56 PM

Ok..  silly question time.. I flushed the system and water heater, filled it with antifreeze...   The water ran PINK from all sources .. Sinks, toilet, shower etc..  Now its clear again..  Did I miss somthing or will the antifreeze change colors and still be effective..?  Guess My freezer in the house will get a cup full and see..  Just wondering if  I didn't follow all of your very helpful advice correctly.   




From: denison
Sent: 11/9/2004 6:30 PM

I run the antifreeze into the system until I see the first pinkish water at a faucet, then I shut off that valve, go to the next valve, and work around the 3 handles, doing the toilet last. So the pink antifreeze remains in the piping.




From: cooneytunes
Sent: 11/9/2004 7:50 PM

Gizmo, Looks like you still have some water in the water heater....That's why they make a bi-pass conection like Sea Hag uses. I don't have one either. I just let my pump run it out with only the hot water faucets on. I drained my heater at the pet-cock and it still took about 7 minutes to get all the clear water out of my heater, Very important the other thing I forgot. I have one of those small drill pumps. Got it at the hardware store in Henryvile (forgot the name of the place) but they have another one there, Scott Hardware will have it to, it was 5 bucks. With it I uses 2 female ends on the outlet side and 1 female end on the inlet side. You'll have to make a hose from a piece of scrap. Leave the female connection on one end,  this will screw into the pump, put a female on the other end, then use another small piece of hose with a female on it. Screw one end into the city water hook-up, and put the end without a connection in the jug and pump some anti freeze into the city line, That is a separate line and the portable water will not get into it, because it has a one way valve in it. So that is also where some of your clear water might be comming from. A gallon should do it, I don't even think it'll hold that much. It's just a short line that tee's somewhere near the pump, but it makes one system almost like 2 seperate systems.....Will do mine on Thursday, because Sat. it's supposed to be in the 20's...If you can't find the pump. I e-mail you with my phone # and you can borrow mine.
Timmy




From: Sea Hag
Sent: 11/11/2004 10:21 AM

The main reason I bypass the hot water tank is that it holds at least three gallons in the tank .If properly drained it has nowhere to hold water that will damage the heater or tank . The same is true for the fresh water tanks . I only fill the lines and traps directly with my ondemand water pump , it was orriginally a compressed air water system  , but has been converted by a PO , still some bugs to work out .
    Make sure to dump your waste holding tanks when finished fushing out water filling the system with RV antifreeze .and like Denison posted get a little antifreese in the dump valves Sea Hag 




Sent: 11/14/2004 11:18 AM

Just a little tip:  If you are putting the antifreeze into your water lines through your fresh water tank and pump, just take of the inlet line to the pump and put it directly into your bottle of antifreeze.  This keeps the antifreeze out of your tank and will likely save you some antifreeze.

[JDxeper]

To winterize the fresh water tank, DO YOU add the pink stuff (RV antifreeze) to the tank or DO YOU NOT add it to the fresh water tank?  I have seen debate both ways

[LJ-TJ]

Well it's up to the individual but I put the pink in and in the spring I flush it for a while with fresh water. Done it that way for 40 years and never had a problem.

[JDxeper]

That's what I have also done in the past.    Have water heater, bypas but no 3 way at pump, gona hafta to add one.

[jkilbert]

for both my shasta and my winnie i have the hot water tank bypasses and the 3 way valve on the intake side of my water pumps. turn both valves to bypass the hot water tank then drain it. turn 3way valve on fresh water tank and put suction hose into anti-freeze jug. turn on the pump, open valves 1 by 1 until they run pink. takes me around a gallon to do each

[Oz]

Never used it.  I drain the tank then open the water heater tank drain valve and purge the lines by running the on-demand pump.  Never had a problem.