Winterizing-Adding Antifreeze

[JaceBeck]

When I winterize, I drain all water, blow out the lines with compressed air, drain the water heater, close the WH bypass valves etc. and then add RV anti-freeze for an extra margin of protection (gets cold here in MN in January).

My wardrobe is fitted with custom-made drawers and the water pump is not easy to get to unless absolutely necessary, so I add the anti-freeze to the water tank and run the pump as normal to fill the lines, but this method uses a lot of anti-freeze.

So...here is the question:

Has anyone installed/developed/used a method of adding anti-freeze to the lines using the existing pump without needing direct access to the water pump each time?

Thanks for the help.

JC

[Gordon Watt]

My Ever Flo Pump has quick release connections. I have a connector on a piece of hose. I connect it to the pump and draw the anti freeze direct from the container.

It takes less than one and a half gallons this way.

My trailer is stored way up north in Thompson Manitoba. We're talking minus 54 degrees at times. The trailer came through unscathed.

[john hd]

jace

go get yourself a 3 foot piece of clear silicone tubing from your hardware store.

size it to fit snugly over the threads of the intake side of your water pump.

turn the pump on and insert the other end of the tubing into a gallon of antifreeze. two or three gallons should do your whole trailer with the water heater by passed.

one inch i.d. hose fits my water pump nicely.

hint: if the hose is a little too tight, heat the end with a lighter until it becomes soft, it will slip right on!

you won't need to put all that antifreeze in your fresh water tank.

john

[yukionna]

I don't understand why the antifreeze is needed if all the water is blown out of the lines??? No water = Nothing to freeze!

And, I would think, even if a few drops of water are left in the lines here and there, that wouldn't be enough to do any damage.

[john hd]

yukionna,

antifreeze is just added protection.

even with blowing the lines out you can never be sure all the water is gone.

it doesn't take more than a couple of drops of water to destroy things like the sprinkler head on the toilet or the vaccum breaker on the shower.

been there done that!

i can walk past my trailer on my way to my truck in january, with my breath freezing in mid air, knowing i won't be buying a whole lotta pex tubing in april!

john

[yukionna]

If you by-pass your water heater with antifreeze, what keeps the hot water heater from getting damaged?

[markdoane]

How come none of are southern brothers and sisters are joining this thread?
But seriously, folks: I think one of the advantages of pex is that it can expand slightly if water freezes in it. I'M NOT RECOMMENDING YOU TRY THIS. But I think a few drops of water, if it has some airspace to expand into, will not burst pex tubing. I do now that a little water in the bonnet of a gate valve will split it wide open. I would leave any valves half open so that there isn't any water trapped in the bonnet area.
And don't forget to add a little antifreeze to the pump on your pressure washer if you store them in an unheated garage.

[Edie]

How come none of are southern brothers and sisters are joining this thread?

Because we know the only real way to "winterize" is to spend the winter in the sun belt.

Seriously, our best traveling weather here in FL is just ahead of us.

[Chas]

Winterizing already? Are ya'll nuts or what?

I will probably winterize mine the first time for winter around New Years, maybe a few times more after that in-between camping trips. Camping season has just begun for us!!

Chas

[B25guy]

Don't forget to add about a cup of RV anti-freeze to each of your drain traps (shower, lav and kitchen). You'll want to keep those full through the winter so that you don't get some really funky smells in the spring...

[markdoane]

Chas, Edie:
Thanks for your warm regards. We'll take your comments with a dose of ROAD salt. If you're not careful, we'll come down there for a visit.
-Northerners, we chill

[wb13798]

dont belive the south doesnt have to winterize. it is no fun fixing split pipe and i have had to do it. end of jan / feb it gets cold and freezes here. maybe not in tampa but in northern alabama .
i blow the water out of the lines and drain the heater. and put a shot of anti freexe in the heater. not all of the water will drain out.
i also drain the fresh water tank. that works for me.lol
al

[bryanl]

see
http://sierranevadaairstreams.org/ow...nterizing.html
for some ideas and links and pictures

The problem with water and blowing out the system isn't the lines so much as it is residual water left in the valves, especially complex valves such as the single handle valves or the toilet rinse valve. Also watch out for accumulator tanks, sink spray hoses, shower head hoses and lines, and water filters.

The water heater is drained by removing its drain plug which is usually available just behind where the gas supply line goes to the control valve. A X type lug wrench usually works good on this plug as it is (usually) a standard half inch pipe thread plug.

[Poor Royal]

I just had my trailer winterized at my local SOB Dealership. Although I usually have (most of) my work done in Jackson Center, I thought this was a simple procedure. What a nightmare!

I decided to stop by yesterday while they were working on it, and they had the whole cupboard under the sink ripped apart, and under the stove all torn out, looking for the water pump.

He “then” ask me if I knew where it was. (he had my phone number, why didn’t he call me FIRST?) I said, I think I read it was under the wardrobe closet. He said that is where is was going to look next...

He then proceeded to rip the closet apart, doors and all. Anyway when I went to pick up the trailer, the kitchen sink doors didn’t open or shut properly like before, screws weren’t screwed back in the whole way on the furnace vents, and a host of other things.

Then they denied they had anything to do with the doors no longer closing properly, saying they never touched the doors. That is bull, because I practically lived in the trailer this summer and KNOW the doors worked properly. He then proceeded to give a few snide remarks about Airstream Trailers… He said the doors do not close properly because the kitchen sink does not have enough support to hold it up, and he took ahold of it and pulled it back and forth with all his might, Practically rippping it out from the wall!

MY QUESTION IS: I ask him if they put any antifreeze in the black and grey water tanks. He said they didn’t because they holding tanks are supposed to be drained for the winter and they don’t need antifreeze. He said I should empty them out before storing it. They both have a few gallons of clean water in them.

I always read never to let the tanks sit dry. Are you supposed to empty them out, and do I need to add antifreeze in them? Also, do they really have to rip my closet apart every year to have it winterized?

I have a feeling there is going to be all kinds of problems next spring when I go to use it.

Sorry so Long....... Grrrrr