think non-pink

[nephi007]

Hello. I am winterizing a 2016 Shasta Oasis 25rs by hooking up my shop vac to the 2 low point drains located in the drivers side right rear. I have drained the Atwood water heater, fresh water tank and black and geay tanks. All faucets are open during this process and the step down lever on the toilet is being held down as well. Q: Do I have to mess with the by-pass valve
to the water heater or can I leave it like it is. I will use some pink stuff in the p traps as is recommended. Advise please

[Flybob]

I do not think you will get enough water out with a shop vac for a cold climate. I would definitely add pink stuff after the vac.

[Wattsworld]

I agree with Flybob. I don't think you will get all the water out using a shop vac. I have a pretty good shop vac. and know that it wouldn't get all the water out of my MH. Years ago I use to dump 6 to 8 gallons of the pink stuff in my water tank and pump it through my system before I learned to use a by pass on the hot water heater and take the pink stuff right out of the bottle by using a hose, bypassing the water tank and the heater. Then I found how to use air to blow out the lines. I have never went back. Just use pink stuff for the traps, toilets, and holding tanks. when my old MH was at the storage lot, I would take a 100 pound storage bottle full of air and used it to blow out the lines. More then enough air for what I needed.
With the newer MH I have a small compressor that will do the job.
Good luck!

[Jeff_and_Abby]

We previously had our hand forced when 20-degree weather hit early and we did not have a blow-out plug ... so made the shop-vac method work:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1318189

There are lots of opinions and lots of approaches; as long as you think it through. Gawd knows, lots of recent threads started on this very topic.

We did not get burned on the water heater bypass ... with a winter that made it into the minus twenties ... but that was the only detail that bugged us.

Will decide "exactly" how we are doing it this weekend.

The "RIGHT" method would be going where it don't freeze !!!

[merrykalia]

We normally use ours for the week of Thanksgiving somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic or SE US. On Sunday before breaking camp, we drain the hot water heater, open the low- point drains the spigots in shower, bathroom sink and kitchen sink and let it drain out. Traveling don the highway at 65 mph blows it out and in 10 years and 2 different trailers, we have never had a problem. We do get cold, it's not unusual to have several days that are sub-zero. We do put some pink stuff in the p-traps and in the commode.

[nephi007]

Hey guys thanks for the info. I wanted dealer to winterize with the pink but they wanted $80.00! No way. A neighbor told me about the shop vac technique
and it sounded low impact. So my questions is whether I have to fiddle with the by-pass valve if I stay "non-pink" except for the p traps.

[Jeff_and_Abby]

Originally Posted by nephi007

So my questions is whether I have to fiddle with the by-pass valve if I stay "non-pink" except for the p traps.

We had success with vacuum technique (previous post) ...
open the bypass valve, that will let you get whatever is caught in the valve itself, and the short stub of pipe directly above it. Leave the others open (since you are NOT going pink.)

If you have tank flusher, there is most likely a vacuum breaker on it. So it needs to be blown out, or pink'ed.