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Old 11-01-2011, 08:51 PM   #21
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A somewhat related question: I'm reading that some people use the compressed air blow-out method and some use the AF method, and some use both. For those who use AF, either with the blow-out or without: do you leave the AF in all the lines, or do you blow that out as well? Reason I ask is, my dealer winterized my unit before I picked it up, they blow out first then hook up a small auxiliary (external) pump to the city water connection and pump AF through the lines. Problem is, this doesn't winterize the pump with AF. So when I brought the unit home and started poking around, I made the fortuitous discovery that the prior owner had installed a "T" (with tubing attached) with a valve between the pump and the FW tank, so I turned the valve, put the tubing in a jug of AF, and turned on the pump. So my pump and the lines downstream of it now have AF in them, but should I leave it there or drain/blow it out? Thanks!
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Old 11-01-2011, 08:52 PM   #22
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AF In water heater

I just winterized my Rockwood mini lite 1809s for the first time and I also filled the fresh water tank and i didn't turn all the right valves off for the HW heater so i DO have AF in the hot water heater. I have read the other replies and it looks like I want to get it out of the HW heater, can I just drain the water heater without any AF leaving the water lines?? Also, we have a water filter in our RV and by the time we got the camper backed into the garage and unhooked I didn't have enough room to open the side door to get the water filter out ( ugh! stupid on our part) I am going to put a new one in once I de-winterize anyway so other than a waste of AF is there any danger in having AF sit in the water filter or water heater?? I guess this is an example of live and learn, I think next year it is just going to the dealership for the winterization process!!
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Old 11-01-2011, 09:03 PM   #23
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Taps left 'on' or 'off'?

Does it matter?
Leave open just in case you did not get all the water out and line freezes there will be room for ice to expand rather than damage pipe or taps
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Old 11-01-2011, 09:19 PM   #24
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Do not forget to prop a stick in the toilet to hold the flush valve open. Even though you have blown out the water or pumped water through the lines a small amount of water can remain behind the ball or flush valve in the toilet... It can freeze and create a huge headache to repair
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Old 11-01-2011, 10:41 PM   #25
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so other than a waste of AF is there any danger in having AF sit in the water filter or water heater??
no danger at all, just that you'll have to do a lot of rinsing to get the taste out.
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Old 11-02-2011, 09:01 AM   #26
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I think next year it is just going to the dealership for the winterization process!!
I took mine to a dealer (not FR) and I had to redo the whole winterization myself afterwards.
If you do decide to take it somewhere next year, feel free to ask them exactly how they do their winterizations step by step.
This way you can feel confident that they did not miss anything or use a process that they kind of 'made up' themselves and is not correct.
You never know who they have in the 'back' working on your trailer and it just might be someone who has no idea what they are doing.

Just another case of ~ Buyer Beware ~
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Old 11-02-2011, 10:32 AM   #27
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So my pump and the lines downstream of it now have AF in them, but should I leave it there or drain/blow it out? Thanks!
The goal is to keep the lines from bursting due to frozen water in the lines and any of these various methods (blowing-only, AF-only, blowing plus AF, or blowing plus AF plus blowing again) should achieve that goal.

FWIW, I leave the AF in the lines.

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I have read the other replies and it looks like I want to get it out of the HW heater, can I just drain the water heater without any AF leaving the water lines??
Yes, you should just be able to drain the HWH. Make sure that the WH is bypassed before you start to drain so that the AF stays in the lines.

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Originally Posted by dnm1987 View Post
I am going to put a new one in once I de-winterize anyway so other than a waste of AF is there any danger in having AF sit in the water filter or water heater?? I guess this is an example of live and learn, I think next year it is just going to the dealership for the winterization process!!
I would have recommended that you discard the filter before running AF through the lines. But, you will replace the water filter each year anyway, so don't worry that its sitting there surrounded by AF. I will leave the AF in my filter canister (sans filter). Its easy to rinse out the canister come springtime.

As mentioned, there is no danger from putting AF in your WH, but its unnecessary, expensive and can require a lot of rinses in the spring to get rid of the taste.

You can have the dealer do it, but you will find its easy enough to do it yourself. Plus, that way you make sure its done right. As Labzy experienced, just because they are a dealer doesn't mean they know what they are doing.

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Do not forget to prop a stick in the toilet to hold the flush valve open. Even though you have blown out the water or pumped water through the lines a small amount of water can remain behind the ball or flush valve in the toilet... It can freeze and create a huge headache to repair
I don't get this. I leave my toilet closed and add AF to the bowl to keep the seal from drying out.
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Old 11-02-2011, 10:49 AM   #28
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The goal is to keep the lines from bursting due to frozen water in the lines and any of these various methods (blowing-only, AF-only, blowing plus AF, or blowing plus AF plus blowing again) should achieve that goal.

FWIW, I leave the AF in the lines.



Yes, you should just be able to drain the HWH. Make sure that the WH is bypassed before you start to drain so that the AF stays in the lines.



I would have recommended that you discard the filter before running AF through the lines. But, you will replace the water filter each year anyway, so don't worry that its sitting there surrounded by AF. I will leave the AF in my filter canister (sans filter). Its easy to rinse out the canister come springtime.

As mentioned, there is no danger from putting AF in your WH, but its unnecessary, expensive and can require a lot of rinses in the spring to get rid of the taste.

You can have the dealer do it, but you will find its easy enough to do it yourself. Plus, that way you make sure its done right. As Labzy experienced, just because they are a dealer doesn't mean they know what they are doing.



I don't get this. I leave my toilet closed and add AF to the bowl to keep the seal from drying out.
My point is most valves will hold a small amount of liquid behind the seals- I have seen many ball valves fail because of this- After you flush with air or AF you should prop a stick in the flush valve to hold it slightly open- so any residual liquid behind the seal has a way to expand when it freeze's
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Old 11-02-2011, 10:55 AM   #29
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My point is most valves will hold a small amount of liquid behind the seals- I have seen many ball valves fail because of this- After you flush with air or AF you should prop a stick in the flush valve to hold it slightly open- so any residual liquid behind the seal has a way to expand when it freeze's
I my self have never heard of this?

I've never had RESIDUAL water anywhere with antifreeze method.
whats the point of holding the valve open even so?
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Old 11-02-2011, 11:08 AM   #30
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My point is most valves will hold a small amount of liquid behind the seals- I have seen many ball valves fail because of this- After you flush with air or AF you should prop a stick in the flush valve to hold it slightly open- so any residual liquid behind the seal has a way to expand when it freeze's
Hi bhill,

I've never heard of this either. Not saying that it isn't a possibility, but I just don't see it happening with any of the toilets I've had in campers. As F1100 said, wouldn't the AF take care of the residual water?
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Old 11-02-2011, 12:02 PM   #31
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Also, we have a water filter in our RV and by the time we got the camper backed into the garage and unhooked I didn't have enough room to open the side door to get the water filter out ( ugh! stupid on our part) I am going to put a new one in once I de-winterize anyway so other than a waste of AF is there any danger in having AF sit in the water filter or water heater?? I guess this is an example of live and learn, I think next year it is just going to the dealership for the winterization process!!
You should really pull it back out of the garage! If water freezes in your water filter it could crack the housing and you'd have to replace the whole thing, not just the filter. The water heater should also be drained. Take the access panel off the outside of the camper. There should either be a drain plug (see pic) or I think some models have a heating element to remove to drain tank.
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Old 11-02-2011, 12:30 PM   #32
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All this talk about residual water has gotten me curious.

For an experiment I am going to make several different concentrations of AF mixed with water and put it in my freezer (set the lowest at -5 F).
I wonder what amount of water needs to be present in the AF to cause any freezing and/or volume increase.......???
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Old 11-02-2011, 12:31 PM   #33
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I would like to see those results.
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Old 11-02-2011, 12:44 PM   #34
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All this talk about residual water has gotten me curious.

For an experiment I am going to make several different concentrations of AF mixed with water and put it in my freezer (set the lowest at -5 F).
I wonder what amount of water needs to be present in the AF to cause any freezing and/or volume increase.......???
Perfect!
Let us know
I bet 1 cup of water and one cup of antifreeze won't freeze!
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Old 11-02-2011, 12:51 PM   #35
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it will just make a slushy......
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Old 11-02-2011, 01:20 PM   #36
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All this talk about residual water has gotten me curious.

For an experiment I am going to make several different concentrations of AF mixed with water and put it in my freezer (set the lowest at -5 F).
I wonder what amount of water needs to be present in the AF to cause any freezing and/or volume increase.......???
Great idea and practical. It will depend what AF you use, too. The different types of Camco RV antifreezes have different amounts of Propylene Glycol I believe.

I'd like to see your results, too.
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Old 11-02-2011, 01:21 PM   #37
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I just got back from the TT and drained my hot water heater that was full of AF. I happened to take a bath in it as it was under pressure. Anyway, it drained for about 3-4 mins. When it finished I re-installed the anode and selected the valves as the diagram in this thread suggested. It worked great with no problem. The diagram really made sense.
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Old 11-02-2011, 01:33 PM   #38
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You should really pull it back out of the garage! If water freezes in your water filter it could crack the housing and you'd have to replace the whole thing, not just the filter. The water heater should also be drained. Take the access panel off the outside of the camper. There should either be a drain plug (see pic) or I think some models have a heating element to remove to drain tank.
Didn't think about you running AF through water heater. I never run antifreeze through water heater, just drain it. Your filter housing will be fine too. Brain Fart!
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Old 11-02-2011, 01:58 PM   #39
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I just got back from the TT and drained my hot water heater that was full of AF. I happened to take a bath in it as it was under pressure. Anyway, it drained for about 3-4 mins. When it finished I re-installed the anode and selected the valves as the diagram in this thread suggested. It worked great with no problem. The diagram really made sense.
Next time release the pressure relief valve on hw heater. It at the top and has a little lever on it!
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Old 11-02-2011, 01:58 PM   #40
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Hi bhill,

I've never heard of this either. Not saying that it isn't a possibility, but I just don't see it happening with any of the toilets I've had in campers. As F1100 said, wouldn't the AF take care of the residual water?

if it hasn't happened to you then great- I personally blow out my lines and then add the pink stuff- just cuz = sticks are almost always free and I don't have to worry about

A co- worker of mine did the same thing and froze his foot valve on the toilet-- major pain to replace--

Also just so you know there is also a oneway valve on the city water fill that you should stick a toothpick in to hold the valve open- A camper manufacture told me this- again- toothpicks are almost always free--
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