Winterizing XL with Washer & Refrigerator Ice-Maker

[DieselBurn]

As the title says ... we have a XL 37RB here in Colorado and I am starting to think about what I need to do to winterize the beast. A bit puzzled on what to do about the washer and the refrigerator water line. Thoughts?

Also, being that I have never done this before, where can I find a good winterizing procedure for these units?

Thanks.

[Silver Arrow]

We had the same question a few years ago when we got our DX3, because nothing was in the manuals on what to do. I hooked up a small 12v on-demand water pump to the water inlet hose & pumped an antifreeze solution thru the entire system & then kept it pressurized while we ran the washer thru a complete cycle & then let the frig make ice cubes until pink ones came out. It was an all afternoon event, so after that we decided it was easier to purchase a 10lb bag of ice as we need it & keep it in the freezer compartment. We recently removed the washer because we never used it & that gave us extra storage space, so that was one less thing to winterize. You could also add an antifreeze solution to your main water tank & pump it thru the system w/ the on-board pump. Whatever method you use, it's a pain.

[bclemens]

On the ice, we just disconnect the lower section of water line and let that drain out. Then we keep the ice maker on until it does not make any more ice.

For the washer, I believe there use to be a "storage and moving" section on the old one. That was to drain the supply lines. There was also a drain plug I thought in the front...but we have changed over to the Splendide versions and I haven't had to do that one yet.

[DieselBurn]

Thanks BC - I will look under the front of the washer when I get a chance. How to I get AF into the system? - will the 12V onboard water pump pull water from the city water hose inlet in a AF container ? Will the AF also flow through the water side of the AQ system? yes, I am a newbie ....

[CHICKDOE]

i don't have a washer though our trailer is prepped for one.

we have a residential refrigerator with in door water and an ice maker. i have learned quite a bit about winterizing it.

1. remove the refrigerator water filter and store it. i bought what the manufacturer (fridgidaire) calls a 'dummy filter' which is just the cartridge with no filter media inside it. put this in the filter holder as it is needed to allow water to flow. i failed to do this the first year and discovered that the refrigerator water filter will filter out the pick color from the antifreeze and made it difficult to see when the antifreeze started to flow.

2. draw water through the in door dispenser until it is pink.

3. i found a tech sheet on the refrigerator that described a series of tests / functions that can be invoked from the operator panel on the door. one of these is to exercise the ice maker cycle including opening the solenoid valve that feeds water into the ice maker. invoke this test a few times from the operator panel until pink flows into the ice maker.

this was necessary as we store our trailer in a storage lot without electrical power being available so the option f letting the ice maker run until it start to make pink ice is not an option. but by using the manual process i get pick to flow out the ice maker supply tube.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by DieselBurn

Thanks BC - I will look under the front of the washer when I get a chance. How to I get AF into the system? - will the 12V onboard water pump pull water from the city water hose inlet in a AF container ? Will the AF also flow through the water side of the AQ system? yes, I am a newbie ....

Starting in 2019-ish I had them add a take up tube for antifreeze off the water pump. Should be coiled up near the pump.

So, no, don't use the city fill. Use the "take up tube" Put that in the AF container and use each faucet on COLD and HOT one at a time until you see pure AF flowing. Pulling from that tank it will get AF into any system that is on the fresh water system by using the 12V pump.

Make sure you blow out the black tank flush or pump AF into that...

[DieselBurn]

Thanks everyone and specially BC - great community for us newbies. Now for the $1MM (or was it just $300K?) question - where is the pump?

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by DieselBurn

Thanks everyone and specially BC - great community for us newbies. Now for the $1MM (or was it just $300K?) question - where is the pump?

normally near the water tank, which I think is still under the bed,

[DieselBurn]

My is a XL 37RB - water tank is in one of the compartments - nothing else in there.

[FOURWHL]

I run a cycle on warm til I see pink. Usually run a solid gallon in m there to be safe. Whole job ends up using about 6 gal.

I still haven't turned on the water to the ice maker. I don't trust those devil machines after replacing a wood floor at home. Ice in the bag is plenty easy

[CGK]

I have a different RV, but the winterization steps are pretty similar from one to the next - at least all mine were similar. I'll assume you have already flushed the hot water tank to prevent any buildup of crud from going through your fresh water system, and that you have returned the valves to the positions allowing use of the hot water tank. I'll also assume your black and gray water tanks have been completely drained. First I open the low point drains to let out any water collected there, and then close them. Next, I open the fresh water tank valve and drain any water in that. Then I attach a compressor hose to the city water inlet and blow out all the lines. I'm careful to set the compressor to no more than 50 psi so I don't damage any pipes. And the air hose connection I use is one that screws directly into the city water inlet so I can open and close each faucet (hot and cold), flush the toilet, run the inside and outside showers, etc. For the faucets and shower, I catch the water being blown out of the pipes with a small bucket to keep the gray and black tanks as free of water as possible. I also open the anode drain (I have the one with a petcock that allows the user to drain it through the anode) in the hot water heater and blow the water out of that via the pipes. I then move the compressor hose to the black water flush inlet and give that a shot of air. If the RV has an internal water filter, you'll want to remove that, as well. One more trip to the low point drains will let me drain any water blown into those pipes by the previous steps. Now it's time to bypass the hot water tank and put the demand pump into service. My TT has the kit that has a flexible tube to put into the RV antifreeze container, and there is a valve that allows me to select that source for the pump liquid (versus water in the fresh water tank). I put the tube into the antifreeze and turn on the pump. It will pressurize after a while, and then I go from faucet to faucet, opening each (hot and cold) until pink comes out of the faucet. Repeat that step for every faucet, shower, and toilet. I have a hand pump that allows me to manually pump RV antifreeze into the TT, and I use that to put a squirt or two of the pink stuff into the black water flush system. And unless I've forgotten a step or two, that will bring me to the ice maker in the residential refrigerator - and that is new to me. I asked during our walkthrough, and was told the dealer runs the ice maker with the water lines pressurized with RV antifreeze until the "ice" comes out pink. Sounds simple enough, but since the water line was disconnected behind the fridge (accessible via an exterior door), it appears they also drained the water. I finish by pouring RV antifreeze into each trap. I then reopen the water heater valves so I can run water through the system when we take the first trip the following year. I feel certain I've missed something, but I'm confident those with more expertise than I will fill in any blanks. Good luck!

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Starting in 2019-ish I had them add a take up tube for antifreeze off the water pump. Should be coiled up near the pump.

So, no, don't use the city fill. Use the "take up tube" Put that in the AF container and use each faucet on COLD and HOT one at a time until you see pure AF flowing. Pulling from that tank it will get AF into any system that is on the fresh water system by using the 12V pump.

Make sure you blow out the black tank flush or pump AF into that...

Incorrect advice deleted

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Probably ought to stress that you should drain and bypass the water heater before you use the "take up tube" and fill the lines with AntiFreeze.

The XL doesn't have a tank style water heater Larry. No bypass needed.

[jkoenig24]

After the residential fridge in my 2015 DX3-37RB sprung a leak in the water line to the ice maker, a fellow at the Dynamax factory actually told me that my use of the pink RV safe antifreeze weakened said water line and, that's why it developed a leak! This past March, at the FMCA "Peachy in Perry" event, I was sitting next to Gary Bunzer (aka The RV Doctor). I told him what the Dynamax guy had said and, asked Gary if he had ever heard of such a problem. He told me he had NEVER heard of that happening (Gary has been in the RV industry for about 40 years). BEFORE using the pink RV antifreeze, I DID use compressed air to blow out as much water as possible BUT, I was still concerned that there might be just enough water in a nook or cranny to cause a problem (whether in the fridge, washing machine, macerating toilet or some other place) hence the extra step of using RV antifreeze. It took three years for said water line leak to manifest. I offered to PAY for a new fridge but Dynamax wouldn't go for it. I still have the OEM fridge but, the water line to the ice maker has been capped off.

[bzac1954]

Locate pump. There should be a small section (about a foot) of hose with a diverter vave (dv). Place tube in AF bottle turn dv inline with tube and turn on pump, turn on each faucet until you see pink AD. Done!

[hook47]

Pop the wood vented panel under the frig and look under there. I spliced a two-way valve into the water in the outside compartment which holds the water tank. When I want to winterize I just turn the valve and put the extra hose into a bottle of antifreeze and turn the water pump on works great.

[DieselBurn]

Thanks everyone .... found the pump, the divert valve and hose (thanks BC) - sweet. The panel under the fridge needs some quick-connects instead of wood screws - those are not going to last! Maybe i will just move the valve and connection closer to the water tank in the more easily accessible compartment, as suggested.

[Jeff Foster]

So it sounds like you got the winterization figured out.....I am getting ready to dig into my new rig next weekend. Pump was under bed? Did you have to do anything special for the AquaHot? For the fridge, did you just run the antifreeze thru the water dispenser then turn the ice maker on? Any quick tips would be appreciated.

[Vansteenburg]

If you drain and fill your fresh water lines (hot and cold) with AF, then theres nothing special for the aqua hot. It needs to have water or AF in the water lines if you run it in the winter.

Don't forget to run a bit into the grey tank to dump into the macerator.

Also, dont forget to take the water filter out too before you start.

I use air to get the water out first, set to 40lbs on the regulator and connect to the water hose. I then pump from a second pump the entire system back full. Takes 7 gals with the fridge, washer and macerator.

[Jeff Foster]

Sounds like you have it down to a couple hours or less?? I am hoping to get to that range so we can take it out of winterized mode once or twice over the winter for trips to warmer climates, knowing it will only take me a couple of hours to redo the work.