Antifreeze inlet

[Maineman]

New to me 2012 xlr 30v12 5th wheel toy hauler .
I need the procedure for using the exterior antifreeze inlet .
I dont have a manual .
Do i
Turn water tank off ( putting it in city water mode)
And turn pump on after attaching hose to antifreeze inlet and hose in rv antifreeze jug ?

[Skip12]

Another member on another thread suggested starting with this page to understand the basic concepts:
Winterizing Your Camper’s Water System | Learn To RV

If this doesnt answer all of hour questions, please ask more specific questions with pictures of possible.

For example, I dont follow what "putting it in city water mode" means. If you are using antifreeze you do need to divert the pump inlet from fresh water tank to antifreeze inlet.

Hope that helps.

[CHICKDOE]

i'd be concerned about putting it in city water mode. to me that means you are connected to a city water supply that supplies both water and pressure and that you are not using your water pump and tank.

basically you want to be set up to use the water pump. but instead of having the pump draw water from the tank there will be some form of valve on the input side of the pump to switch the pump to draw water from the antifreeze input line. think of the antifreeze jug as a small water tank that the pump will draw from. i can't tell you which valves to change to which positions as there are so many configurations. also i don't know how you fill your fresh water tank. some have a separate fill port. some use the city water input port with a valve to divert city water into the tank. you do not want to put antifreeze into the fresh water tank.

also, there is most probably some way to bypass the water heater. if you do not you will start to pump antifreeze into the water heater and this will take gallons of antifreeze. by bypassing the water heater you will pump antifreeze up to the water heater, across the bypass line without entering the water heater, and then continue out the water heater output line. again i can't tell you what valves to set as there are many valve configurations to do this.

one final comment. remove any water filters you may have before you start to pump the antifreeze. some filters remove the dye in the antifreeze making it hard to tell when the antifreeze starts to come out the faucets. plus you probably don't want to reuse a filter that has had anti freeze run through it.

it's doable!

[Maineman]

I am going to connect a hose to the antifreeze inlet under the city water connection on the outside .
Put the hose into a gallon jug of rv antifreeze.
Turn on the fresh water pump and it should suck the antifreeze through the system.
Open the sink valve until pink stuff comes out .
Toilet ,shower sinks.
Dump a half gallon down the toilet for the black tank and a quart down the sink traps and all is well .if this doesnt work i have a pump to pump it through .
I am in nevada and need to do this before i get to idaho in a couple of days .
Thanks

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by Maineman

I am going to connect a hose to the antifreeze inlet under the city water connection on the outside .
Put the hose into a gallon jug of rv antifreeze.
Turn on the fresh water pump and it should suck the antifreeze through the system.
Open the sink valve until pink stuff comes out .
Toilet ,shower sinks.
Dump a half gallon down the toilet for the black tank and a quart down the sink traps and all is well .if this doesnt work i have a pump to pump it through .
I am in nevada and need to do this before i get to idaho in a couple of days .
Thanks

My procedure is similar to the above BUT - first I isolate the water heater - put it in bypass mode and drain it. No sense pumping 6 gallons of antifreeze into it.

If you see a lot of scale in the water heater, it is worth doing a vinegar treatment. With the water heater in normal mode, drain the water heater, put the drain plug/anode back in. Using the Anti-freeze port, suck in 6 gallons of a 50/50 mixture of common vinegar and water. Let sit overnight, or energize the heater (gas or electric) and let sit for an hour. Release pressure on the water heater then drain and rinse. Then winterize the system.

[Maineman]

I forgot to mention that i would bypass the wh and pull the anode .
Thanks for the reply. Puts me a little bit at ease as i don't want to freeze anything.
I will also open low point drains
Thanks

[CHICKDOE]

pretty much ok but i am still concerned about switching the input to the water pump. it normally sucks water from the fresh water tank. there has to be a valve in this input line to shut off the pump sucking from the fresh water tank and divert it to the antifreeze input line. so it will suck anitfreeze. you did not mention this. you may have it covered. also, do not open the low point drains when you are pushing antifeeze through the system. you can open them before to drain any water in the lines but you will have to close them again when you pump antifreeze or all you will do is suck antifreeze in and then pump it right out the low point drains. you want it to get to the faucets. don't forget the shower and bathroom sink traps.

[Maineman]

I found the valve next to the pump that will switch it from water tank to antifreeze inlet .
I believe i am good to go .
Thanks to everyones responses.

[Scrapper]

Be sure to close the low point drains after draining out the water and a little AF. You don't want to leave them open when pumping AF in the plumbing. Otherwise the AF will just run out on the ground and not go to the other valves.

[Maineman]

Originally Posted by Scrapper

Be sure to close the low point drains after draining out the water and a little AF. You don't want to leave them open when pumping AF in the plumbing. Otherwise the AF will just run out on the ground and not go to the other valves.

Thanks, I believe all went well .Won't know until springtime . fingers crossed !
I did open the low point drains until anti freeze came out.
Oh Yea,,,,,,,,,,,,,, don't forget the outside shower also .