Just got done winterizing

[urocav2001]

I read the book on winterizing, just got done, hopefully its done right. Blew all lines out with air compressor, flushed black water holding tank, then even sprayed that out with air, opened low point drains to get extra water out, drained both holding tanks, and holding tank, Pumped antifreeze through camper using antifreeze inlet, turned on each side of each faucet one and a time till antifreeze was steady pink, poured some antifreeze in each of the traps and toilet. I then opened up the low point drains again as someone mentioned and left them open, some anti freeze came outy put not a ton. Hopefully leaving them open is the right move? Just have to wait to close it up as its rainy here in NY

[Ford Idaho]

I would reinstall the low point caps to prevent any possible invasion of things that crawl on more than four legs.

[Black]

What's the point of pumping AF in the lines if you drop it on the ground by removing the low point drains ?
Also have you done the outside shower ? You don't mentioned it in your post.

[Canadiancrew]

Yes I would put the drain plug back on after the pink stuff flow for the reason stated above and they won't get misplaced.

[urocav2001]

I just put them back in, thought the same thing about critters, Someone mentioned in another post to leave them off in case the antifreeze in the lines become slushy ? I don't know much this is my first year winterizing , should I Repump antifreeze in again?


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[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by urocav2001

I just put them back in, thought the same thing about critters, Someone mentioned in another post to leave them off in case the antifreeze in the lines become slushy ? I don't know much this is my first year winterizing , should I Repump antifreeze in again?


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It would not take much to make sure everything is full, better to top it all off.

[urocav2001]

I did the outside shower as well already


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[Black]

I would put them back and pump the lines full again...the AF is rated -45 Celcius, no way it's gonna freeze !
Don't forget to drain the HWT by removing the anode and rince the white powder off.
You should be OK

[urocav2001]

Yup hot water heater is empty and cleaned out as well as anode rod, everything is pumped back full of antifreeze, it actually seems way to easy for what dealers like to charge


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[Black]

100% agree with you...always did it myself .

[dogevans]

I've read a few posts on winterizing, and no one has mentioned removing
the water filter housing and dumping the liquid. I've removed the filters
permanently in my last three campers, so have not had to deal with them
during winterizing. Is this not an issue?

Also, having worked around air compressors most of my life, the thought
of pumping contaminated (usually oil, condensation, dust particles) air through
the lines serves no purpose if you are going to pump antifreeze through
the lines. When antifreeze is pumped through the lines, there is no real,
measurable mixing of it and water in the lines. Just open all faucets until
you see a good flow of pink color. Buy RV antifreeze when it is on sale, and
get several to keep on hand. Don't be afraid that you may be using too much
when winterizing. It is cheap insurance.

[dogevans]

After winterizing, as much antifreeze as possible should be drained from all
of the lines. Leaving antifreeze "topped off" in the system is a bad idea.
When all liquids are cooled, they expand. You should always give liquids
a needed space for expansion. Antifreeze flushing purpose is just to remove
all of the water from the system. Once done, there is no need for antifreeze
to remain in the system.

[ColoradoRick]

Originally Posted by urocav2001

Yup hot water heater is empty and cleaned out as well as anode rod, everything is pumped back full of antifreeze, it actually seems way to easy for what dealers like to charge


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Yep, my friend here pays $95 every year to have his winterized...he's nuts!!

[Mtelkman]

Did you push the check valve for the city water inlet while pumping the antifreeze in? My city water hook up is above the pump and makes a nice trapped area for water to freeze. Pushing the check valve at the hook up connection forces the pink stuff back up that tube. Be careful you don't get sprayed when you do it.

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by dogevans

After winterizing, as much antifreeze as possible should be drained from all
of the lines. Leaving antifreeze "topped off" in the system is a bad idea.
When all liquids are cooled, they expand. You should always give liquids
a needed space for expansion. Antifreeze flushing purpose is just to remove
all of the water from the system. Once done, there is no need for antifreeze
to remain in the system.

The whole point of the AF is that it doesn't expand. Leaving it in the lines all winter doesn't hurt anything and in fact, it's recommended to leave some in your toilet to keep the seal from drying out.

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by dogevans

I've read a few posts on winterizing, and no one has mentioned removing
the water filter housing and dumping the liquid. I've removed the filters
permanently in my last three campers, so have not had to deal with them
during winterizing. Is this not an issue?

Also, having worked around air compressors most of my life, the thought
of pumping contaminated (usually oil, condensation, dust particles) air through
the lines serves no purpose if you are going to pump antifreeze through
the lines. When antifreeze is pumped through the lines, there is no real,
measurable mixing of it and water in the lines. Just open all faucets until
you see a good flow of pink color. Buy RV antifreeze when it is on sale, and
get several to keep on hand. Don't be afraid that you may be using too much
when winterizing. It is cheap insurance.

Blowing the air through allows you to open all your drains and get as much water out of the system as possible first. I was surprised at how much water came out when I did it. If you just dump AF through your system without blowing the water out then you are severely diluting the AF and raising the freeze point.

If it doesn't mix with it, then you just have a bunch of water in your lines that could possibly freeze. Neither is a good situation.

[Oakman]

Originally Posted by Iwritecode

The whole point of the AF is that it doesn't expand. Leaving it in the lines all winter doesn't hurt anything and in fact, it's recommended to leave some in your toilet to keep the seal from drying out.

X2 on this. I leave the anti-freeze in all the lines over the winter and this is our 12th season doing so. I also dump some anti-freeze in the kitchen and bathroom drains and also the drain for the washer/dryer hookup.

Don't forget to run anti-freeze to the washer faucets regardless of whether you use it or not and for those with an ice maker in their fridge anti-freeze should be run through that too.

[urocav2001]

Originally Posted by Mtelkman

Did you push the check valve for the city water inlet while pumping the antifreeze in? My city water hook up is above the pump and makes a nice trapped area for water to freeze. Pushing the check valve at the hook up connection forces the pink stuff back up that tube. Be careful you don't get sprayed when you do it.

No , but I blew that out with air so should be clear , I may put some antifreeze in there though just in case


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[johng4706]

Another question. ..Do you have a sprayer on toilet? Shower sprayer hose?

[Ham Camper]

If you have never used the outside shower do you still need to winterize it?