Winterization

[Zarleno]

This will be my first winter as the owner of an Itasca Spirit motor home, and I'm wondering about how to best protect the water system. It's parked in a somewhat moderate climate, but the temperature will drop below freezing several nights during the course of the winter months. My understanding is that I should drain the fresh water tank and lines, and put some fresh water antifreeze into the tank and run faucets until the output is pink.

Here is what I'm not sure about:

• How many gallons of antifreeze will I need?
• Do I need to additionally pour some into the drains?
• Do I need to put antifreeze into my black or gray tanks (otherwise empty at the moment)?
• Do I need to do anything to drain the water heater?
• Do I need to do something with the city water hose attachment to drain it?

Thanks for any advice!

[WME]

Get a heater bypass winterization kit and a pump converter kit. Then all you will need it 2 gallon of rv antifreeze. With out these then you may need as much 10 gallons of antifreeze.

Google rv winterization and follow the steps.

In a mild climate you may try just using a air compressor to blow out the lines and drain the heater.

[Zarleno]

Thanks, WME.

I think a water heater bypass is already installed (see photo below), and I'm guessing I need to turn both the upper and lower valves to bypass the tank. Is that correct?

If I drain all the water lines and use a blow out plug, do I still need to pump antifreeze into the system?

Thanks again!

[WME]

Well do some more checking and see if there is a fitting on the line from the water tank to the pump. If there is that is were you add the antifreeze into the system.

[jmowrey]

Put the pink antifreeze into the fresh water tank and use the pump to run it through the system. You are going to want antifreeze in that tank anyway. And yes, you will want to dump some into the drains to be sure the traps don't freeze. Also some into the grey and black water tanks to keep the seals on the external drains from drying out and/or freezing.

If you are only dealing with a few mild cold nights below freezing over the course of the winter none of this is going to be super critical. As WME said, you probably could get away with just blowing out the water lines and skip the pink stuff. But it can't hurt to be overly cautious.

Joe

[whyverne14]

Every time I think of winterizing, I think of the hundreds of plastic bottles that I've frozen over the years for my camping trips. I take the caps off, dump some out and put them in the freezer. I never bought ice. How many of them cheap plastic bottles ever broke and leaked? Almost none. That's the catch; almost. Water does expand when it freezes but that doesn't mean it always bursts it's container. It only does that when it has no place else to go or if there is a weak spot. Otherwise ice is like me, it takes the path of least resistance. Your house pipes will freeze and burst because they are under constant pressure and the force of the expansion has no place to go. This is why the Dolphin owner's manual says just drain it and it'll be fine. And it should be except that these rigs are getting old and ice might find a weak spot.

The smallest leak or almost a leak might have a teensy bit of water trapped in a crack where it can't expand without breaking a pipe or elbow. That's what gets you, the little things. A holding tank with a couple of inches of water in it can freeze with no problems. Why would the ice put pressure on the sides and bottom when it can easily just push up?

IMHO this is the physics of our situation. The same physics that causes potholes and big rocks to break off a hillside. It's the teeny little cracks that get you. So most important, drain the water out. Then to be sure, pump some antifreeze through the system. The pink stuff should displace any water that is trapped. Antifreeze is heavier than water.

I like to at least think I know why I'm doing something.

[5Toyota]

my dolphin sets outside in eastern Washington I blow it out first. and by the way I highly recemend a water heater bypass kit. comes with two valves to bypass the water heater I drain that. then dump RV antifreeze in the the tank pump a little in the water heater then switch too bypass a nd flood all the plumbing . and run a bunch down the drains. never had any breaks or leak . but I have seen damage in other rvs broken tolits blown up water heaters etc.

[Totem]

I forgot to winterize my cabin's hot water heater, outside hose, sink and well pump last year in northern michigan. in short it burst the pipes in the heater, the trap filter to the well pump and burst the hot water line of the sink faucet (copper). I fixed them with jbweld's metal mighty putty stick, but wish i would have AV freezed it like i do my sunrader.

tyhe only thing unscathed from the freeze last year in my cabin was the garden hoses. they were just fine.