Nothing like waiting to the last minute

[nomad297]

One thing to consider when winterizing is any SharkBite fittings you have used for repairs and modifications, especially those installed in a horizontal position. The hubs of SharkBite fittings (and other brands that use the same connection and sealing method) hold water (mainly) in the fitting side of the o-ring. This small amount of water can freeze, expand and shear the entire hub off of the fitting.

I know there are people who will say this has never happened to them, and I’m sure they’re right, because it doesn’t always happen, but it does happen, and it is something you should take into consideration when using them and when winterizing, just to be on the safe side.

If you have acces to the fittings, you need to tap on them at the hubs several times to disturb the captured water and break the vacuum holding it in place. If you don’t have access, the best way to deal with them is to use antifreeze to winterize your system.

I have never seen these fittings break from freezing where they were installed vertically, but every spring I see and repair loads of them that were installed horizontally on (seemingly) properly winterized and drained hosebib lines and pool house systems. I can only assume that the water drains out of the fitting’s hubs if they are vertical, but not so much if they are horizontal.

Something to think about.

Bruce

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Nope... you don't have to get every drop out... but those left behind in the right place CAN cause havoc whether anyone wants to believe it or not.

There have been far too many reports of freeze breaks from water droplets dribbling back into the toilet valve, into the shower valves or a plastic plumbing elbow for anyone to believe as long as there is room for expansion, nothing bad will happen.

Water has plenty of room to expand in the p-trap (no pressure or restrictions containing it within the trap) but everybody under the sun recommends pouring antifreeze in them. Wonder why...

Go Penguins!

15+ years of doing the blow-out method without a problem, and without propylene glycol in my freshwater system....

Yep, it's totally the wrong way to do it [\sarcasm]

And to be honest, I cannot recall a single post on this board where someone properly blew out there system and then came back and reported that they had an issue. I think I can remember 1 or 2 where they forgot to cycle the toilet, or outside shower and it froze, but not where they did it right.

Feel free to do whatever method you prefer, but please don't tell me the way I do it is wrong. It works, and works damn good. And for the record, the 'pink stuff' way works equally as well too.

Tim

[quicky06]

I had to go to my mother in laws storage lot down in the city last night to winterize her new aliner. Apparently she didn’t know she had to do it and could grasp the damage that can be done with one night in the 20s

Have to drive from Barnhart and back for a 15 minute job in the snow.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

15+ years of doing the blow-out method without a problem, and without propylene glycol in my freshwater system....

Yep, it's totally the wrong way to do it [\sarcasm]

And to be honest, I cannot recall a single post on this board where someone properly blew out there system and then came back and reported that they had an issue. I think I can remember 1 or 2 where they forgot to cycle the toilet, or outside shower and it froze, but not where they did it right.

Feel free to do whatever method you prefer, but please don't tell me the way I do it is wrong. It works, and works damn good. And for the record, the 'pink stuff' way works equally as well too.

Tim

What don’t you like about propylene glycol?

Bruce

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

15+ years of doing the blow-out method without a problem, and without propylene glycol in my freshwater system....

Yep, it's totally the wrong way to do it [\sarcasm]

And to be honest, I cannot recall a single post on this board where someone properly blew out there system and then came back and reported that they had an issue. I think I can remember 1 or 2 where they forgot to cycle the toilet, or outside shower and it froze, but not where they did it right.

Feel free to do whatever method you prefer, but please don't tell me the way I do it is wrong. It works, and works damn good. And for the record, the 'pink stuff' way works equally as well too.

Tim

Don't know where I called you out personally but you don't seem to have an issue chastising me by quoting my post. Read into it what ever you'd like. We certainly have no control over how others perceive things they read on an internet forum.

Thank you for finally saying using the pink stuff is OK.

These threads often go in the direction of facts dont matter but opinion does. The facts are... water in the system will freeze and bust things... antifreeze will not.

If anyone is willing to take the risk they got enough water out by blow out only, then fine.
Personally, I'm not willing to accept that possibility.

[quicky06]

Originally Posted by nomad297

What don’t you like about propylene glycol?

Bruce

I’m not the person you quoted but for me it’s because I take my camper out a dozen times a winter. Between hunting, fishing, and camping trips. I don’t want to have to flush all that crap out of my water system every time. And with me having a rear kitchen there is a long pipe run. It would use a lot of anitfreeze and a lot of water to flush it out. Water to flush it means water in my tanks that I don’t want when I’m boondocking.

I blow my lines out and Pour antifreeze in the p traps.

Any time I go camping I have a genny an air compressor and a blow out plug with me. So I leave the house with full water tank and all the air purged out of the lines. Before I leave camp if it’s below freezing or close to it I blow it all my lines and put some stuff in the drains after I get to where I’m dumping black and gray tanks.

Then I refill my fresh water and drive home.


If I were to fill the system with the pink stuff I would waste a lot of water and gray tank space flushing it out.

[JohnD10]

When I lived in Colorado (my old house was at 6000 feet above sea level) and winterized in plenty of time before the freeze came I'd go with the blow out with air only and pink stuff in the P-traps and toilet as I'd leave all of the faucets, low point drains and outside shower opened and the anode rod to the water heater out for a couple of weeks to allow whatever remaining water in there to evaporate out.

But if I had to do the winterization quick to CMRE (Cover My Rear End) because the cold front was blasting through...then the pink stuff in the whole system (except the water heater and fresh water tank, of course).

One other thing I found (just my opinion), but when I was going to run pink through the whole system I didn't bother to blow out the lines with the air compressor or even drain out the water through the low point drains, but would just start the pump and open the low point drains first (closest to the water pump) until pink came out...then go to the back of the trailer and open the outside shower until pink...then I would work my way up to the top from faucet to faucet (and toilet) until pink.

I found that the pink stuff pushing the water out was a much faster (half the time) and a more thorough way to get the pink into the water lines.

And it seemed to use less pink this way.

But...for me all of that is in a previous life!

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by quicky06

I’m not the person you quoted but for me it’s because I take my camper out a dozen times a winter. Between hunting, fishing, and camping trips. I don’t want to have to flush all that crap out of my water system every time. And with me having a rear kitchen there is a long pipe run. It would use a lot of anitfreeze and a lot of water to flush it out. Water to flush it means water in my tanks that I don’t want when I’m boondocking.

I blow my lines out and Pour antifreeze in the p traps.

Any time I go camping I have a genny an air compressor and a blow out plug with me. So I leave the house with full water tank and all the air purged out of the lines. Before I leave camp if it’s below freezing or close to it I blow it all my lines and put some stuff in the drains after I get to where I’m dumping black and gray tanks.

Then I refill my fresh water and drive home.


If I were to fill the system with the pink stuff I would waste a lot of water and gray tank space flushing it out.

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I understand these reasons for not wanting to use it, but my question to Cowracer was asking why he doesn’t like propylene glycol — not why he doesn’t like the process of using it to winterize. He has posted a couple of times about propylene glycol as if it is some sort of a toxin, like ethylene glycol. I’m wondering if he is confusing the two or if there is some valid reason, that we should all be concerned with, and don’t know about. I’m not throwing bait out there. I really am interested.

Bruce

[JohnD10]

Just like me wondering why so many are afraid to drink the tap water from their camper.

Nowadayz most new houses have the same plumbing that is put in today's RV's!

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/stud...story?id=87558

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by nomad297

What don’t you like about propylene glycol?

Bruce

Call me hypersensitive to the taste or whatever, but my first camper's prior owner thought winterizing was dumping about 10 or so gallons of pink in the freshwater tank and then pumping out the faucets. No matter how many times i tried the flush/sanitize/rinse thing, that unit had a bad taste in the freshwater till the day I sold it. It especially did not work well with coffee. Now you could say that I could use bottled water, but whats the point of having fresh water if you cannot use it for regular consumption.

And while I'm not a nervous nancy about such things, why introduce a chemical into your water system when you don't really have to. I know that pink stuff is non-toxic and all that, but technically neither is the 3% Hydrogen Peroxide in you medicine cabinet. I bet nobody is willing to pump that around in their water system.

Finally, despite being "non-toxic" Propylene Glycol had a very high oxygen demand when as it breaks down. Introduction into marginal environments like ponds can consume so much available oxygen that marine and plant life can be adversely affected. It can also wreak havoc on the microbes in a septic systems. Most people either dispose of it by running it out on the ground, or by putting it a septic system via draining their tanks.

My personal feelings is this is totally unnecessary, however I don't disparage anyone who does so. I understand that for some, Pink Stuff is the preferred way to go. That's fine. It's just not for me.

Tim

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

Call me hypersensitive to the taste or whatever, but my first camper's prior owner thought winterizing was dumping about 10 or so gallons of pink in the freshwater tank and then pumping out the faucets. No matter how many times i tried the flush/sanitize/rinse thing, that unit had a bad taste in the freshwater till the day I sold it. It especially did not work well with coffee. Now you could say that I could use bottled water, but whats the point of having fresh water if you cannot use it for regular consumption.

And while I'm not a nervous nancy about such things, why introduce a chemical into your water system when you don't really have to. I know that pink stuff is non-toxic and all that, but technically neither is the 3% Hydrogen Peroxide in you medicine cabinet. I bet nobody is willing to pump that around in their water system.

Finally, despite being "non-toxic" Propylene Glycol had a very high oxygen demand when as it breaks down. Introduction into marginal environments like ponds can consume so much available oxygen that marine and plant life can be adversely affected. It can also wreak havoc on the microbes in a septic systems. Most people either dispose of it by running it out on the ground, or by putting it a septic system via draining their tanks.

My personal feelings is this is totally unnecessary, however I don't disparage anyone who does so. I understand that for some, Pink Stuff is the preferred way to go. That's fine. It's just not for me.

Tim

Makes sense to me.

Bruce