Fred,
Note Hiker's point on the line disconnect for the pump to drain it. I did that as well and access was not that bad. I do plan on making an access panel as described by some in the closet, and yeah, it a noisy unit...
Good luck again and yes, Doug is getting it done up there.
We're off to AZ in the morning, see ya sometime.
__________________
Bob U-
Pine Valley, CA.
The " TinDen "
2007 25' International FB Charter Member 4 Corners Unit
Bob,
Ya i caught hikers point, am going to let Doug do his thing on winterizing the rig as it will be part of my PDI/final pick up. Will try and watch them do it to see if it coincides with manual.
Have a great time in AZ.
Fred
Wouldn't pumping antifreeze through the pump from the fresh water tank force water out of the pump? The water would dilute the antifreeze, but a half cup out of a couple of gallons shouldn't be a big deal, should it?
I ordered the "pump converter winterizer kit" and will work on this problem in the spring. I'll have to move the pump so I can get to the filter so I can clean it in the future, add tubing, put some rubber pieces under the pump to reduce vibration traveling into the hard parts of the trailer, and will probably do a lot of cursing.
I am unsure how the tubing connects to the pump. There's a slide next to the inlet and outlet sides. Does that lock against the tubing providing a leak proof connection? Just pull it out or push it in and then lock or unlock the slide?
Wouldn't pumping antifreeze through the pump from the fresh water tank force water out of the pump? The water would dilute the antifreeze, but a half cup out of a couple of gallons shouldn't be a big deal, should it?
Gene
Hey gene,
If you read some of the prior posts what you wll find is that most everyone does not place antifreeze into the fresh water tank as it takes many tank refils to flush it all out. Our AS manual does not say to do it.
Since my last post i have talked to AS hq. customer service and my local AS service dept in Reno,NV and this is what they said about winterizing.
Neither of them disconnect inlet or outlet hoses from the pump, when they winterize rigs. After the water tank is empty(pumped/drained) they just run the pump again to purge out the remaining water through the pump. Then AS hq. just blows out the lines through the city water connection using 60psi,with all fixtures open. My local dealer does not use air but instead pumps antifreeze through the city water connection (same fashion) until it reaches all plumb fixtures. Because their is some type of gate on the outlet side of the pump, then air or antifreeze cannot be forced back into the pump.
Thats it in a nutshell so far. So what am i going to do, when i pick up my unit ? ( in about a week ) Well I'll see what my pick up dealer also suggests but probably go with just blowing out the lines as AS hq. suggested. Frankly i would rather have a quiter Sure-flow pump than the Aquajet pump,so if it freezes thats OK !!!
Fred
Because their is some type of gate on the outlet side of the pump, then air or antifreeze cannot be forced back into the pump.
Thats it in a nutshell so far. So what am i going to do, when i pick up my unit ? ( in about a week ) Well I'll see what my pick up dealer also suggests but probably go with just blowing out the lines as AS hq. suggested. Frankly i would rather have a quiter Sure-flow pump than the Aquajet pump,so if it freezes thats OK !!!
Fred
Interesting because the question is will the pump sucking air displace enough water on the intake side of the pump? I guess the folks at JC feel that any residule water left is not enough to cause any damage. Maybe they know a lot more about the innards of the input side of the pump than we do. I know I'd be fearful, but then again I error to the cautious side. My guess is that if the pump is damaged due to freeze, no one at JC will admit to telling you this, and probably they will not replace it under warranty.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
...My local dealer does not use air but instead pumps antifreeze through the city water connection (same fashion) until it reaches all plumb fixtures....
sure fred but they winterize many units and HAVE a pump setup that will fill from the freshwater port.
most of us do not have an electric pump outside that can be used to push antifreeze into the lines...
a hand pump would work too but again not many have this contraption and the proper fittings.
that's why we use the nifty bypass kit.
once installed, it's always available and takes 3 minutes tops to flood the lines, fixtures and traps.
cheers
2air'
__________________ all of the true things that i am about to tell you are shameless lies. l.b.johnson
we are here on earth to fart around. don't let anybody tell you any different. k.v.
I know what A/S says over the phone as I asked the same question Fred. But they are the guys who designed this and now they are covering their tracks, so I tend not to believe what they say. What they write in the manual is different, so erring on the side of more rather than less (sort of 2erring, that being human), I put antifreeze in the fresh water tank and I will eventually install the kit. I know in the spring I will be flushing lots of water through the fresh water tank, but better than repairing anything.
I thought of letting the pump freeze so I could get a quieter one, but that made as much sense to me as running the tires at low pressure so I could get better ones sooner. Not the best analogy, I admit.