Getting ready for the freeze-Winterize

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by JJTX

Very informative thread on here. I live in south TX so its not a big deal here, but my 19CB is going back to BUDA soon to sit for several weeks, so I decided to put a few gallons of antifreeze in the fresh tank.

I know some people say it takes a while to get it out, but I'm on a bit of a time crunch here and was really the only practical option vs trying to bypass the fresh tank.

I dumped in a couple gallons, than ran the pump to push it through the lines, into the drains as well and I'm going to leave it like that.

It will sit at BUDA for most of NOV and I dont trust the weather here. Next week they might get down to the low 30s and I have no reason to believe the dealer will go winterize my trailer for me while it sits.

So When I get it back sometime in the next several weeks, I will drain the fresh tank of all the antifreeze and fill the fresh tank several times to flush out the antifreeze.

IMO better safe than sorry. I believe they will be working on the fresh tank anyway at some point, as my sensors dont work.

Hi

It's not just the taste of the anti-freeze. It is a component in a number of medications. They all are aimed at "cleaning out" your system .... I have data that it works the same way on dogs as on people ....

Bob

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

It's not just the taste of the anti-freeze. It is a component in a number of medications. They all are aimed at "cleaning out" your system .... I have data that it works the same way on dogs as on people ....

Bob

HA! Ok.

Well, I planned on flushing with several tanks of water when I get it back.

I wouldnt have done it if it wasnt sitting near austin for two weeks. Its not like they would go outside and turn on the heater for me

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by JJTX

HA! Ok.

Well, I planned on flushing with several tanks of water when I get it back.

I wouldnt have done it if it wasnt sitting near austin for two weeks. Its not like they would go outside and turn on the heater for me

Hi

At least for us, running water continuously through the lines for over a day did not fully get rid of the "stuff". If we let things sit for a day, there still was noticeable antifreeze in the first water out of the faucet. Yes, I have a trailer and it's bigger. Who knows what the case would be with something smaller or with a MH.

Bob

[Gene]

I have used strange brand RV antifreeze—usually from Walmart—and never noticed a bad taste. Perhaps people aren't flushing with the right amount of chlorine and flushing that out 2 or 3 times? The chlorine should overwhelm any other odor or taste and the flushing will usually get the chlorine taste out too.

This thread has been around a very long time and I would suspect everything that can be said about winterizing has been said more than once.

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by Gene

I have used strange brand RV antifreeze—usually from Walmart—and never noticed a bad taste. Perhaps people aren't flushing with the right amount of chlorine and flushing that out 2 or 3 times? The chlorine should overwhelm any other odor or taste and the flushing will usually get the chlorine taste out too.

This thread has been around a very long time and I would suspect everything that can be said about winterizing has been said more than once.

I got the A-freeze from walmart in their RV section. So I assume some flushing will be needed. Hopefully I only have to do this once in a while.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by JJTX

Hopefully I only have to do this once in a while.

Best to go to the Florida Keys—you'll never have to winterize.

[GettinAway]

Originally Posted by Gene

Best to go to the Florida Keys—you'll never have to winterize.

I have never been to the Keys, but will camp there someday.

When I started reading your post, I thought you were going to say, go to the Keys, the water there tastes so bad you’ll never notice the taste of the antifreeze. (But I woke up in a weird mood, so I’ve got twisted thoughts this morning. )

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by Gene

Best to go to the Florida Keys—you'll never have to winterize.

Right but everything will fall apart from rust..........

[FishByFly]

After sanitizing and flushing, I put a little baking soda in the tank and system.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Gene

I have used strange brand RV antifreeze—usually from Walmart—and never noticed a bad taste. Perhaps people aren't flushing with the right amount of chlorine and flushing that out 2 or 3 times? The chlorine should overwhelm any other odor or taste and the flushing will usually get the chlorine taste out too.

This thread has been around a very long time and I would suspect everything that can be said about winterizing has been said more than once.

Hi

We did the "2 to 3 times" flush and got some of it out. Stop running the water and .... it's back in the first flow out of the tap. Run the water for a couple days (like faucet open for 48 hours) and more of it is gone. There's still some there though.

I suspect that some people simply notice the smell / taste of the stuff more than others. Polypropylene glycol (at least to me) has a very recognizable sweet taste and a distinct odor. If you put in enough bleach, you can mask both of them with the bleach taste / smell. That does nothing for the impact of the anti-freeze on your system ( = it cures constipation .... quickly .... ).

Indeed if you used an ethanol based anti-freeze the results might be different.

Bob

[Gene]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

I suspect that some people simply notice the smell / taste of the stuff more than others. Polypropylene glycol (at least to me) has a very recognizable sweet taste and a distinct odor. If you put in enough bleach, you can mask both of them with the bleach taste / smell. That does nothing for the impact of the anti-freeze on your system ( = it cures constipation .... quickly .... ).

Indeed if you used an ethanol based anti-freeze the results might be different.

Bob

I agree that different people taste different things differently. I think it is the glycol that has the sweet taste because regular, poisonous antifreeze (ethylene glycol) also is said to taste sweet. That's what makes it so dangerous to pets and children. There are efforts to make ethylene glycol take bitter and I don't know if it all has been changed. Not only do we not notice any taste from RV antifreeze, but have not experienced any other effects to our gastro-intestinal systems.

If you decide to move to the Keys so you'll never have to winterize, be prepared to be underwater in several decades and may have to move fast if a hurricane comes. We did stay near Key West for a couple of days some years ago. Camping in Key West are very, very expensive, so we stayed 20 miles away and it was only very expensive (around $100 vs. $120, probably more now).

Summerizing takes much longer than winterizing. It takes a while to fill the fresh water tank and on an Airstream, the tank's drain is very small and hard to turn. I eventually replaced it with a hose bib which was much easier to turn, but it still drained slowly. Waiting for the chlorine to work, then flushing a couple of times consumes much of a day. I try to do other things at the same time. Running the water pump helps drain everything. Our present trailer has a knife valve about 2 1/2" in diameter at the bottom of the fresh water tank and it drains very fast. All the drain valves are relatively easy to access instead of behind the wheels. That saves a lot of time. It would be good for Airstream to relocate the vales and use a knife valve on the water tank, but Airstream is extremely slow in changing anything.

[Silvr_Bullet]

do you have some sort of water filter that the RV Antifreeze has accumulated in?

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Silvr_Bullet

do you have some sort of water filter that the RV Antifreeze has accumulated in?

Good point. I always removed the undersink filter before winterizing and only put it back in after summerizing. I have a very vague memory of someone saying antifreeze could ruin the undersink filter—maybe I am imagining that, and maybe it is not true that it would, but maybe.... Also, removing the filter and bringing it inside means no ice in it—ice will not do the filter material any good.

Also removing the shower fixture and hose and the sink sprayer and bringing them inside makes it hard for ice to damage them. I have learned that from experience. Sometimes the obvious only becomes obvious after you have to buy a new part. And, make sure the toilet valve is clear of water and has antifreeze in it. The toilet valve is hard to replace, making sure it is winterized is relatively easy.

[9tda1dr]

Great job! Good information.

Not an AS owner (yet), but want to learn all I can before I make the plunge. Info like this is very helpful.

Thanks,

Jack

[KBAR]

Almost made the bad decision and pumped antifreeze into the holding tanks. I stopped and thought of a few threads here about the taste lasting for months and thought to myself, NO!. Went back and got the bypass kit and don't regret it one bit. With hope most of the taste will begone after running a good amount of water back into the system when we leave for camp. Made one silly error and forgot the Hot Water tank by pass was still in line. Man did it suck a half a jug fast.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Silvr_Bullet

do you have some sort of water filter that the RV Antifreeze has accumulated in?

Hi

Nope, tossed it out and put in the bypass. Once the first round of flushing was done, we put in a brand new filter. Indeed it took out the anti-freeze on that side of that faucet. Everything else stayed a problem for quite a while.

Just for reference, if you can't find anti-freeze in stock, here's another way to buy polypropylene glycol: (yes, the concentration is *way* lower so don't ....)

https://www.target.com/p/miralax-lax...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Bob

[Rfriebele]

This looks like a very busy thread so I'll ask here regarding "the pink stuff". I was a resin chemist that routinely used glycol ethers, meaning food grade propylene glycol also used as RV anti freeze. It was always necessary to add a biocide to prevent bacteria from turning it "sour". Usually a tiny amount of tin or other metal was used. I don't know what the anti freeze makers use but I won't put it in my plumbing (except for traps and waste tanks) because more than once I've opened a new jug and been hit with that horrible rotten egg sulpher smell meaning the biocide either got left out or didn't work. SO, has anyone who routinely winterizes their plumbing with antifreeze had problems with that smell? Or come across a rotten jug?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by Rfriebele

This looks like a very busy thread so I'll ask here regarding "the pink stuff". I was a resin chemist that routinely used glycol ethers, meaning food grade propylene glycol also used as RV anti freeze. It was always necessary to add a biocide to prevent bacteria from turning it "sour". Usually a tiny amount of tin or other metal was used. I don't know what the anti freeze makers use but I won't put it in my plumbing (except for traps and waste tanks) because more than once I've opened a new jug and been hit with that horrible rotten egg sulpher smell meaning the biocide either got left out or didn't work. SO, has anyone who routinely winterizes their plumbing with antifreeze had problems with that smell? Or come across a rotten jug?

Hi

In order to work properly with aluminum and coper pipes, most RV anti-freeze has more than a little "this and that" in it. So far I've never run into a stinky jug. I've stored the stuff for quite a while so it's not all so fresh it hasn't had a chance to go bad.

Bob

[Rfriebele]

Stinky antifreeze. Must have been my luck. I had a partial jug left over from last year and it stunck so I went and bought a new one....it was sour too! I recall a post I read here the first time I winterized from someone who couldn't get the egg smell out of their camper but I attributed it to maybe "fermenting" in the tanks but then came across a new jug smelling bad, I figure on sticking to blowing the lines..but then I live where winters are mild.

[OTRA15]

My goodness . . . all this fuss about a product which is absolutely unnecessary for winterization of the supply lines . . .