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Old 03-11-2019, 09:18 AM   #1
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Dewinterizing

We bought a 2019 flagstaff micro lite, last year. Took it to Restless Wheels in Virginia to winterize. Went to flush the system this week and found antifreeze in the hot water heater! I will attach images of the anode and the debris that came out of the hot water heater. My question is can this be fixed? I am afraid of all the junk in the heater and if I really can flush out the system, replacing the anode. I have learned my lesson and will winterize myself next time but want to do what I can to salvage the system now. Thank you!
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Old 03-11-2019, 09:24 AM   #2
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Most people don't put anti freeze in the hot water heater, but it wont hurt anything.

Your Anode Rod looks normal. Its what I would expect after a year. And the stuff in your Hot water heater looks normal. its the stuff that came off your Rod.
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Old 03-11-2019, 09:27 AM   #3
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forgot to say, the junk is normal, they make a small wand to spray out your hot water heater to remove these debris.



I understand your concern but you have nothing to be alarmed about
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Old 03-11-2019, 09:37 AM   #4
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Thank you! Do you know what the wand is called?
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Old 03-11-2019, 09:41 AM   #5
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You can just leave the plug out and allow water to run through to flush the anti freeze. I had my HW tank fill on our old TT when the bypass valve failed and allowed anti freeze to enter the tank. No big deal.
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Old 03-11-2019, 09:41 AM   #6
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That's exactly how my Anode looks every fall when I flush and winterize. I intentionally let a little anti-freeze run to my WH, as there is a small section of line that traps water on the other side of the valve when I winterize and it doesn't drain. When my system is full of AF, I crack open each valve for a second and let AF backflow into the WH. Probably a 1/3 of a cup ends up in the WH and it flushes out in the spring.
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Old 03-11-2019, 09:51 AM   #7
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Thank you!
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Old 03-11-2019, 09:56 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by long_kristin View Post
Thank you! Do you know what the wand is called?
You can get them at any RV dealership, Walmart, Camping World, Ace Hardware, Tractor Supply...just about any store that has an RV supply section.

Here is one at Camping World:

https://www.campingworld.com/water-h...ts-accessories
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Old 03-11-2019, 09:59 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by JohnD10 View Post
You can get them at any RV dealership, Walmart, Camping World, Ace Hardware, Tractor Supply...just about any store that has an RV supply section.

Here is one at Camping World:

https://www.campingworld.com/water-h...ts-accessories
I made mine out of an old attachment for the garden hose that's used for watering hanging plants. The head was broke, so I cut the head off and the pipe was small enough to fit through the hole for the Anode.
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Old 03-11-2019, 04:18 PM   #10
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No big deal, I run the pink stuff through my residential refrigerator ice maker. Just flush it out good
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Old 03-11-2019, 04:47 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by long_kristin View Post
We bought a 2019 flagstaff micro lite, last year. Took it to Restless Wheels in Virginia to winterize. Went to flush the system this week and found antifreeze in the hot water heater! I will attach images of the anode and the debris that came out of the hot water heater. My question is can this be fixed? I am afraid of all the junk in the heater and if I really can flush out the system, replacing the anode. I have learned my lesson and will winterize myself next time but want to do what I can to salvage the system now. Thank you!
There’s no damage done.....just flush thoroughly like others have said. The place you took it to for winterizing just did it as fast as possible without bypassing your heater. They probably charged you more for the antifreeze they used in the tank, as opposed to the lesser amount that would be used if they did it the right way. Not sure what size tank you’ve got, but it just uses more antifreeze than needed.
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Old 03-11-2019, 06:38 PM   #12
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If you don't want to buy a wand to flush out the heater you can just leave the anode/plug out then turn on City Water. There will be a lot of turbulence from the incoming cold water and it will flush a lot of crud out of the tank and right out the large hole. Since the crud settles most, if not all, will be sitting on the bottom of the tank anyway and incoming water will flush it quite well. Just let the water run a while and if you are on a paved pad or driveway you'll notice that no more crud will be landing on it's surface when you're done.
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Old 03-12-2019, 10:57 AM   #13
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I washed it out with the hose! Thank you all!
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