Draining the fresh water tank

[firehart2]

Sent: 10/5/2007

How do you drain the water tank on a 73 Brave. I did not see a petcock anywhere. Do I have to pump it into the grey water tank first?

[Slantsixness]

Sent: 10/5/2007

The valve is under the tank, under the winnie, if you have the 1 or 2 steel tanks...

Some owners modified the valve and drain system to be under the rear dining seats or gaucho (depends on what you have!)
It looks pretty much like a garden hose valve... mine had red knob....rusty, but it was red once!

Depending on what's been done to the rig before you bought it, keep in mind that the old copper plumbing systems in these winnies are very prone to failures, and not just from freezing. The tanks could come loose from the floor, and fracture the copper pipes, resulting in a small leak, which would eventually rot out the floor, breaking the pipes even further.... so the drain tube and spigot could be missing entirely, and it wouldn't be unusual, but certainly they did install a drain of some kind...!

And no... you don't have to pump it through the water system and out the gray tank / drain...

A last note of caution.... the little petcock on the top of the tank? it's to bleed off air pressure to drain the tank(s) with gravity... not a drain... but if the tank is pressurized, and full of water, you bet it'll spew out of the petcock like a geyser if you open it!!!

Tom

[firehart2]

Sent: 10/6/2007

It now has a plastic water tank. I looked underneath and did not see a petcock. I'll look around more tomorrow. Would it work if I just put a bunch of RV anti freeze in it and mixed it up good and then ran it through to the holding tank?

[firehart2]

Sent: 10/7/2007

This morning I looked under the rear bed and found the valve system the PO installed the plastic water tank. Its now draining. I;ll check it tomorrow to see if most of the water has drained out. Then I;ll put in some RV anti-freeze and pump it through the system.

[tatkin]

Sent: 11/7/2007

They make a little device that screws onto the rear of the rig where you would fill the tank. That little device has an air valve like a tire. Close all the taps in the house , hook up your electric air pump and let it put some pressure in the tank. Then 1 at a time open taps. This worked for me.. On my rig at least , I also had to do this same procedure and then open the spigot on the hot water heater outside ...

[The_Handier_Man1]

Sent: 11/7/2007

If you blow the water out of the lines don't forget that the P traps under the sinks and shower hold water.  You can dump some anti-freeze down the drains to protect them,

Les