Winterizing

[Rfriebele]

Originally Posted by lynnsr

Rfriebele;
You're doing everything right except on an airstream , running the pump when you are only using air and blowing out the system does not get the water out of that line, in fact any air pressure is blowing against the pump while it runs. Through my many years of camping one of the areas that I have seen cracked by ice during the winter is the filter,/pump.

Check my pictures on this thread to see how to get air to that area. Then you'll never have any troubles.

Protagonist is right, water expands very little when it freezes but in small cracks and crevices it takes very little to break something.

When winterizing I put:
Air on the hot water heater vent.
Air on the freshwater input (city water)
Air on the black tank flush.
I have inserted a loop between the freshwater tank in the pump and I put air going both directions.
The pink stuff goes in all the traps, the stool, with a little extra in the gray and black tanks.

Lynnsr

Thanks for the tip...but I didn't blow air while running the pump, I followed the book first, run pump, drain everything, THEN I blew lines but I'm still not clear on one thing...I never used my pump or fresh water tank this season. Only city water but do the city lines share the fresh holding tank lines? Does city water also go through the pump? I'm thinking yes but when I examined my pump filter, it looked dry.

[CruizinDux]

As part of winterization I disconnect the outflow and run the pump until it stops producing water. Still some very slight gurgling but hasn't posed a problem. I also disconnect the inflow and blow back (with a male adapter and some tubing to make it easier) any water back into the FW tank.

Also check the lines around the WH. I found that our 2014 FC20 was actual plumbed uphill gong to the LP drains. Also when the built the TT they put the LP drains under the WH which essentially made it inaccessible and almost impossible to close the LP. It doesn't show in the top pic but the LP drain handle on the right was hard against the WH bottom.

I requested the the dealer approve a re-plumb to move the P drains. I also had them re-plumb the approach so it self drained. Before I had to disconnect and drain to a rag to get all the moisture out.

Also pumping the LP seemed to realy help With the compressor running cap the drain with your finger for a 5 count the release....repeat repeat repeat until only air on the exhale. Don't forget the nose up/down the unit to the LP drains.

bob

[Rfriebele]

Great..thanks and one more question..is it better to leave the dump valves open all winter or close them with a little antifreeze in the tanks?

[CruizinDux]

I leave mine closed, but I can see arguments both ways. The BW/GW tanks get the excess AF from the trap & toilet fills.


B

[thiel]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

No, it's not. water expands by 9% in all directions when it turns to ice. As long as there's room for it to expand by at least 10% in all directions, nothing will break when the residual water freezes.

This is true ... except that if water is trapped at a low point, the edges of that trapped water could/will freeze first, and then when then center mass of the water goes to freeze, it's trapped and has to burst the pipe/fitting/etc. during expansion.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by thiel

This is true ... except that if water is trapped at a low point, the edges of that trapped water could/will freeze first, and then when then center mass of the water goes to freeze, it's trapped and has to burst the pipe/fitting/etc. during expansion.

Still not going to happen if there's at least 10% room for expansion— in ALL directions.

The scenario you described is a case where there is not at least 10% room for expansion horizontally.