Help! Epic fail trying to winterize 21SS

AMarrs · 11-10-2013, 06:53 PM

Tried to winterize my 21SS this afternoon with no success. I followed all the instructions in the owner's manual & the separate winterizing instructions, plus all the hints here. Opened the low point drain & drained the lines, then closed the drains. Turned the valves to bypass the HW heater. Connected a piece of hose to the antifreeze input & put the other end of the hose in the jug of antifreeze. Made sure the valve to the antifreeze input was open & the valve to the fresh water tank was closed. Turned the pump on & opened the cold water faucets. Nothing happened.

The instructions said it would take several minutes for the antifreeze to start flowing through the lines since the pump had to prime so we waited. Nothing happened.

Thought maybe it would help to prime the pump so I stuck a funnel in the end of the line going into the antifreeze inlet & poured about a cup or so of antifreeze in. That amount eventually drained. Poured about the same amount in a second time. It never drained.

Stuck the line back in the jug of antifreeze, checked the valves, turned the pump on, opened the faucets, and waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing happened.

Decided I'd do it the "old fashioned way" like I did with the PUP. Poured 2
gallons of AF into the fresh water tank. Switched the valves around. (Antifreeze inlet closed, fresh water tank open.) Turned the pump on. Opened the faucets. Nothing happened.

Added 2 more gallons of AF to the fresh water tank just in case there wasn't enough for the pump to work. Still nothing.

When I turned the pump on, I could hear it running but the tone never changed. When I opened the faucets, I would have expected the tone to change since it was getting a demand but it didn't.

I turned the pump on when we had the low point drains open & that did send a little more water out the lines so it appeared to be working.

I'm stumped. Unless the pump isn't working properly, I don't know what was wrong. Really hate to have to take it to the dealer to get it winterized. That's about a 2-hour drive & not sure what they will charge.

Any suggestions?

Ford Idaho · 11-10-2013, 06:59 PM

Are you sure there is no AF in the water heater?

Water filter?

raspivey · 11-10-2013, 07:32 PM

Unless the pump is shot (and I'd think you'd hear it making some unusual noises) it's almost certainly a blocked suction line on the pump. Since neither the tank nor the antifreeze inlets will work, it would have to be between the diverter valve and the inlet of the pump. Operate the diverter valve between the antifreeze and water tank lines while the pump is running. It's possible something is stuck in it or it's damaged and not letting the pump pull liquid. If that doesn't work, the next thing I'd do is unscrew the fitting from the discharge side of the pump and check for obstructions. After that, I'd pull that diverter valve off and blow through it in both positions to see if that's the problem. If you still can't find the problem, THEN I'd start worrying about the pump.

AMarrs · 11-10-2013, 08:42 PM

Hot water heater was bypassed. None of the AF was pulled out of the jug. As for the valves (AF inlet & fresh water), I turned both of them back & forth several times. Nothing seemed to make a difference. Water filter - there's a place for a water filter, but apparently the previous owners never installed it. There was an unused filter in one of the drawers. I would have installed it but I can't get the plastic container for it unscrewed. So the filter was never installed.

The pump hums nicely when turned on and you can feel the pump & the hoses vibrating but nothing seems to be happening.

I winterized my PUP every year for 10 years with no problem so I'm not a complete newbie at winterizing. Just can't figure out why I can seem to get the AF into the system here.

**Herk7769** · 11-10-2013, 08:47 PM

You have an air leak in the line to the pump.
Perhaps when you opened the valve the pipe rotated and caused the leak.

Tighten all fittings and try again. The clue is it will not suck from the fresh tank either.

AMarrs · 11-10-2013, 09:34 PM

Thanks folks. I'll check the fittings & see what happens.

raspivey · 11-10-2013, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herk7769

You have an air leak in the line to the pump.
Perhaps when you opened the valve the pipe rotated and caused the leak.

Didn't even think about that one...probably the most likely issue.

TURBS · 11-11-2013, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herk7769

You have an air leak in the line to the pump.
Perhaps when you opened the valve the pipe rotated and caused the leak.

Tighten all fittings and try again. The clue is it will not suck from the fresh tank either.

My winterizing line some times does not fully "click" in sometimes. ...
Creating an air leak.
"Push loc fitting"

I concur.

Turbs

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