This maybe a dumb question but when running antifreeze through rv seems to be easier just to drain all water & pour antifreeze in water tank & run it through lines. This is my 1st time winterizing rv I did get an DVD on doing it I know it's not the way to do it but would so much easier.
It would require too much anti-freeze if you were to put it in the tank. Plus you would be forever flushing the fresh water system. Just hook a short piece of hose to the pump and put the other end in a jug of anti-freeze. 2-3 gallons is all the you should need. Make sure you pour enough in the traps to displace any water and dilute any that remains in the trap.
Actually, I too put about 4-6 gallons of RV antifreeze into the fresh water tank and then pump it through the system. (of course, I drain the hot water tank and bypass it first). Might be over-kill but then I'm sure it's touched all areas water could hide and freeze out. If there is any left over in the tank after winterizing, I drain this back into a bottle and use it the next year. Never had a problem after 15 years and 3 different RV's.
It depends on what part of the country you live in. Here in central Texas, I drain all the water lines and then add just enough antifreeze to "pool" in the p traps. That's all. Some also blow out their lines. Either is very easy. By the time the freezes come - if they do - I've finished camping for at least three months and any residual water in the tanks or water heater have already evaporated.
If you don't have the hose and valve by your pump, as suggested earlier, you can use a hand pump. It is available at RV shops and sometimes Walmart. It attaches to your city water in and the other end in the gallon of antifreeze. It looks like a bicycle pump. Pump away and open the faucets starting with the closest. It doesn't take long, but you will need an extra hand in the camper to open and close the faucets. Don't forget p traps, toilet and outside shower. It will save a lot of the pink stuff. I also put a gallon or two of windshield washer fluid in the grey and black tanks, so they don't dry out. It's good down to -50 and cheaper. You can also blow the lines out with air. They make an adapter that goes on your water hose connection. Put a air compressor on it and open the faucets like the antifreeze method, an extra hand comes in handy here too. When by myself, I open a faucet before putting in the air, then go inside and close and open the faucets till water stops coming out. I leave the last faucet open, till I turn the pump off, then close it. If you put to much air in you might blow a line. My little pump has to go like h.. to do that though, but I still don't take the chance. I do both. The air first then the antifreeze. I open my low point drains and save the pink stuff. Might be overkill, but it's my trailer and my time. I'd just be watching TV anyway. :lol:
This will be my first year using compressed air to blow out the lines instead of using the pink stuff. I became the proud owner of an air compressor (long sad story but it was free!) and I figure the $10 cost of the adapter is good from now on, saving the cost of the 3-4 gallons of the RV antifreeze every year :lol: About the only thing I know to do with this method is to limit the air pressure to 45psi so as not to damage the lines. Any other pointers?
Don't forget your low point drains, John. Some have plugs some have valves. You need to blow or drain the water out of them as well. If you have the plug type,the water will sit behind them and freeze. Spring time you'll have a leak.
QUOTE(dog bone @ Sep 30 2011, 11:20 AM) [snapback]27758[/snapback] Don't forget your low point drains, John. Some have plugs some have valves. You need to blow or drain the water out of them as well. If you have the plug type,the water will sit behind them and freeze. Spring time you'll have a leak. Thanks Dog Bone. That is one spot that I have never forgotten, yet. I did forget the exterior shower once. Replacing it was neither very hard nor very expensive. A lesson learned. Once I finish winterizing, I just remove the low point drain plugs and throw them in the kitchen sink so I know where to find them next spring.
