Fresh water tank draining

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Seawway

Thanks everyone for all of your ideas. I finally got out to work on it this weekend. And once I put the water pump into action I discovered why it will not drain. There were four holes in the water lines from inappropriate winterization. I can’t tell if the freshwater tank has a hole in it but it seems like it does as well. But for sure it looks like PEX here I come. Thanks again for everyone’s ideas. I’m sure I’ll have to start a new thread for a plumbing problem that I will encounter installing the PEX. When re-plumbing I intend to install winterization drains for the water system to prevent this type of damage in the future.

Please see my last post about the water tank drain.

Sorry for your discovery of leaks in the the plumbing! To be expected with an older trailer IMO, unfortunately.



As you re-plumb, it still remains important that you find the water tank drain valve and consider replacing it, along with all your other new work and low-point drains, just to be clear. You should be able to see where this tank drain exits the belly pan, more or less under the fill spout for the tank.

Are you going to have to remove the belly pan [at least in sections] to re-plumb?

Your Airstream probably had sufficient drain valves, if they had been used correctly, to avoid freeze damage to the trailer IMO. After draining all the lines, a final blow-out with compressed air should be the only insurance you need, not antifreeze. The older Airstreams had much simpler plumbing systems, and AS was pretty good about making sure that their winterizing process worked well. We had a 1985 25' Sovereign which was simple to winterize.

See p. 20 [PDF p. 24] in the manual linked in the last post, where there are very detailed and specific winterizing instructions. Even if this is not your exact manual, the same steps would apply to yours IMO.

Good luck!

Peter

[Farmer Dan]

I re-plumbed my '89 Excella 25'. I used PEX and the SharkBite fittings. They are more expensive but ever so much easier. And if you make a mistake, SharkBites are removable and reusable.


Dan

[TG Twinkie]

I used Flait It fittings. You can buy them on line.
No special tools. Less expensive than SB.
I believe Camping World carries them. But the price is probably higher than from Flair It.
I put all new PEX in my '74 Argosy 26' nine years ago. I winterize using RV anti freeze. There are no drain valves in my system. We live where it gets down to 40 below. Haven't had any problems.
Make sure what ever fittings you use that you have relatively easy access. For example. All of the valves in my system are under the vanity. Just open the door and their they are. The pump is located under the dinette seat. There are a few el fittings to get things wound thru the coach. They are also easily accessed.

[Seawway]

Thanks for all your advice. I finally got back to the airstream. I dropped the entire pan and removed all the plumbing. I’m going to replace it with PEX. As long as I was there I decided to install a grey tank. The freshwater tank had no leaks. So that was a relief. The black tank and good integrity as well. Does anyone have any ideas as far as reusing the pressure device to protect the plumbing for the street hook up. There appears to be a large brass valve looking devise that looks like a safety valve. I can’t tell if that has been compromised during the freeze-thaw event. Is there anyway to test it? Is it better to just buy a new version of it? Also how many check valves do I need in the plumbing system and where should I put them. It appears the new Stayflo pump will have a check valve integrated into it. Is that correct? Thanks again for everybody’s help.

[Seawway]

I reprinted this from another post.

Thanks for all your advice. I finally got back to the airstream. I dropped the entire pan and removed all the plumbing. I’m going to replace it with PEX. As long as I was there I decided to install a grey tank. The freshwater tank had no leaks. So that was a relief. The black tank and good integrity as well. Does anyone have any ideas as far as reusing the pressure device to protect the plumbing for the street hook up. There appears to be a large brass valve looking devise that looks like a safety valve. I can’t tell if that has been compromised during the freeze-thaw event. Is there anyway to test it? Is it better to just buy a new version of it? Also how many check valves do I need in the plumbing system and where should I put them. It appears the new Stayflo pump will have a check valve integrated into it. Is that correct? Thanks again for everybody’s help.