Worried about my water lines

Capt America · 12-07-2018, 04:13 PM

2019 HW276

This is my first year with a camper and I attempted while out in the wild on my last day of camping to use an air compressor to remove all water from the lines. I did get quite a bit of water out, but I'm concerned that I didn't get it all out because my technique was a bit flawed.

When we got home, I decided it was probably enough. Now that the temperatures are getting down in the teens, in my unheated garage, now I'm a bit worried about water lines. Other than opening it up and trying again, I'm not sure what else I can do.

I was thinking of possibly getting a radiator type of heater to put in the closed up camper and letting that run, hopefully keeping it warm enough inside to keep things from freezing. I'm not sure that's really enough or if there are reasons I shouldn't do that, and wondering if anybody else has done something like this.

NJKris · 12-07-2018, 04:30 PM

You do know about RV antifreeze, right? Available at any Walmart and there are a million threads here on how get it into your plumbing (do not dump it into your fresh water tank), probably even your particular model.

Capt America · 12-07-2018, 04:51 PM

Yep, sure do. Even bought some. But was out of town and could not find the right stuff to load it in to the camper. I admit I should have opened it up when I got home, just thought I had it covered (and maybe I do).

GalsofEscape · 12-07-2018, 04:53 PM

if you want piece of mind, fill the water lines with RV antifreeze. my 2010 hw277 did not have an antifreeze inlet, so i always filled the water lines with a little hand pump connected to the city water inlet and the tubing down in the jug of antifreeze.

works better with two people, one to pump and one to open/close the faucets. be sure the hot water tank is in bypass, empty the onboard water filter, (put the empty bowl back on), pump in the antifreeze while opening each faucet, shower and toilet until pink antifreeze comes out and some out the low point drains.

just goggle rv hand pump for rv antifreeze - amazon, camping world, walmart all have it.

formerFR · 12-07-2018, 05:18 PM

if you have electricity for heating, then you won't need to winterize it...

NJKris · 12-07-2018, 05:49 PM

Warming up the inside won't necessarily keep plumbing on underside and in walls from freezing though.

formerFR · 12-07-2018, 06:17 PM

He’s in a garage, and can easily set a small electric heater in the wet bay, especially since he’s ALREADY blown the lines

BarabooBob · 12-07-2018, 06:31 PM

Do the job correctly and run antifreeze through the lines. They may already be frozen and broke. I would never try to heat my garage to keep my water lines from freezing, it would cost me a fortune here in Wisconsin. My garage is 28 by 40 and uninsulated. You will have to set the camper up to get it done correctly but you will know right away if you have serious issues already. My last pop-up had the water lines under the camper, if this is the same with yours, how will how heat that area? I now have a TT and totally winterize in the fall. I double check just to make sure I got antifreeze through the entire system. If you have an outside shower, don't forget to flush it also.

Timtation · 12-07-2018, 06:34 PM

1. Did you open the low point drains with the various water taps open?
2. Did you drain the hot water tank?
If you did you probably will be okay. PEX lines have a little forgiveness unlike Cu or galvanized lines of the past.
Wwyp

FollowTheSun · 12-07-2018, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt America

2019 HW276
This is my first year with a camper and I attempted while out in the wild on my last day of camping to use an air compressor to remove all water from the lines. ... ... ...

We lived in our 25-ft Prism during the Idaho winter of 16/17. I winterized 17/18 by draining and then blowing out the water. It worked great so I did it again this winter. It is a lot easier to do than adding chemical antifreeze, and come spring -- just add water and go. There a several good videos on this topic on YouTube that cover all the details. I use a small air compressor from Harbor Freight and keep the pressure low (under 20psi). The problem with water is that it expands when freezing. Without room to expand, it will break things in the process. Small amounts of water or moisture where there is a lot of relative room for expansion is not going to hurt anything --- it's not necessary to dry your system, but you do want to blow out each line and the hot-water heater so that they no longer sputter. If your temperatures are still above freezing, then you might simply try to drain and then blow out again, taking a little more care this time. I do add some antifreeze to the waste water system to flush the sink traps and protect the drain valves.

Capt America · 12-07-2018, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timtation

1. Did you open the low point drains with the various water taps open?
2. Did you drain the hot water tank?
If you did you probably will be okay. PEX lines have a little forgiveness unlike Cu or galvanized lines of the past.
Wwyp

Yes, I drained the hot water completely and opened both the low point valves and outdoor shower, which is also kind of a low drain. Did the sink. I tried to do the toilet and indoor shower, but nothing came out. I am hoping that means all the water had drained out already

Larry-NC · 12-08-2018, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capt America

Yes, I drained the hot water completely and opened both the low point valves and outdoor shower, which is also kind of a low drain. Did the sink. I tried to do the toilet and indoor shower, but nothing came out. I am hoping that means all the water had drained out already

One of the weak links in RVs is the Dometic toilet valve. If you don't get it dry, it WILL crack. I've seen a situation (not mine), where it weeped down the line, didn't wet the floor surface (Owner had covered with Pergo) but flooded and ruined the subfloor)

Larry

Capt America · 12-16-2018, 01:25 PM

Thanks for all the replies. Today it was unusually warm day (high of 49) so I pulled it out, set it up, and did it right. There was definitely more water in there. Not a ton, but maybe enough to eventually cause a problem. No leaks with air in the lines so I think I'm good. And the toilet had no more water come out so that must have been good enough. Looking forward to spring camping.

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