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03-18-2007, 08:21 AM
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#1
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1 Rivet Member
1972 27' Overlander
Belgrade
, Montana
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 18
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De-winterizing
Well, the time is just about here to fire up the old AS and start camping again. This will be our first real use of the shiney bubble since we bought it just before winter. I winterized it myself and wonder what I should look for when we turn the water on the first time. Are there any common leak points I should watch for? If I did the winterization wrong, what is most likely to fail?
__________________
Steve
Belgrade, MT.
steven@potratz.net
'72 International Overlander - 27' of happiness
WBICC #4453
Member-at-Large cause I don't know any better
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03-18-2007, 08:28 AM
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#2
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Rivet Monster
1975 31' Sovereign
1980 31' Excella II
Sprung Leak
, North Carolina
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 7,172
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snpotratz
Well, the time is just about here to fire up the old AS and start camping again. This will be our first real use of the shiney bubble since we bought it just before winter. I winterized it myself and wonder what I should look for when we turn the water on the first time. Are there any common leak points I should watch for? If I did the winterization wrong, what is most likely to fail?
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Steve,
The pipes in the hardest place to reach Murphy's Law All you can do is bring the pressure up slowly and watch and listen for leaks, I have to do it every year and some years I win and there are no leaks and other years Murphy strikes and I get a leak. This is especially true of the older trailers with original plumbing in them.
Aaron
__________________
....so many Airstreams....so little time...
WBCCI #XXXX AIR #2495
Why are we in this basket...and where are we going
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03-18-2007, 08:35 AM
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#3
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Naysayer
1968 24' Tradewind
Russellville
, earth
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,954
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Put a few gallons in your fresh tank. Flush all the air out of the lines and then leave the pump on with all the fixtures off. If you have any occult leaks, the pump will cycle to restore the lost pressure caused by the escaping water. If you go 30-40 min without the pump kicking in you are probally ok.
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03-18-2007, 08:35 AM
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#4
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The Hawk's Lair
1985 34.5' Airstream 345
BACK WOODS
, Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 922
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De-winterizing my rig can be fun. Each fall I pump the lines full of the cheapest vodka I can get. In the spring I suppose one could drink it right out of the faucet, but I don't. Oh yeah, there's those folks that will say it will weaken all the pipe joints. Ten years and not a leak yet.
__________________
AKA THE GUNNER
There is no "I" in the word "team," but there are four in "Platitude Quoting Idiot!"
AIRSTREAM 345 TURBO-DIESEL
VFW, LEGION, NRA
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03-19-2007, 11:39 AM
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#5
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4 Rivet Member
1981 25' Excella II
Dillon
, Colorado
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 397
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This will by my first time de-winterizing as well. I used compressed air on a low setting, also blowing out the hot water heater as best I could. Then I bypassed it, and pumped antifreeze through the system using the pump.
I'll be going back through the winterizing thread to try to not miss anything. I do have the original plumbing, so I'm hoping for the best. The old excella spent it's life in the dessert of NM before I brought her up here to the mountains, and it has been a very cold sub 0 winter. We have a huge summer planned for camping. I'm taking it down to Denver to have a rock guard installed on April the 12th, so I'll wait until then to de-winterize.
Wish me luck.
Wahoonc: Do you have any pics posted of your excella 2? I don't think I've ever seen a pic of another, and I'm not sure if there are any differences between the excella, and excella 2.
Charlie
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03-19-2007, 12:21 PM
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#6
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Retired Moderator
1992 29' Excella
madison
, Wisconsin
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 4,644
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Quote:
any common leak points I should watch for?
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toilet hand sprayer.
been there, got sprayed by that! luckily they are inexpensive.
also another common failure is the moen faucet cartriges. i went through a number of them until i got my act together and used air and antifreeze.
john
__________________
you call them ferrets, i call them weasels.
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03-19-2007, 12:37 PM
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#7
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Aluminut
2004 25' Safari
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, Illinois
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,477
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Pipes, tanks, etc. Mainly pipes though......
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03-19-2007, 12:48 PM
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#8
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Rivet Monster
1975 31' Sovereign
1980 31' Excella II
Sprung Leak
, North Carolina
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 7,172
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pacerized
Wahoonc: Do you have any pics posted of your excella 2? I don't think I've ever seen a pic of another, and I'm not sure if there are any differences between the excella, and excella 2.
Charlie
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Charlie,
I think there are a couple...try here these are pictures the PO took. I need to get mine updated I don't think there is much difference between an Excella and an Excella II other than possibly model years.
Aaron
__________________
....so many Airstreams....so little time...
WBCCI #XXXX AIR #2495
Why are we in this basket...and where are we going
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