Antifreeze Inlet Valve Location Sigature Ultra 8301WS

[MontanaMike]

I know it's the wrong time of year but I just got the RV and want to figure things out before we load it and go. Hopefully someone with a similar RV model can answer this and I thought I'd post this here before I started pulling panels off. Maybe save me some time.

Question: Where is the valve that turns the pump from drawing from the fresh water tank to the antifreeze inlet?

I think it's somewhere behind the panel in passthrough but checkout where the positioned the water filter holder as well as the installed the furnace.

Any help would be appreciated!

[MontanaMike]

nobody? The tech said the valve will be somewhere near the water pump but didn't say where the pump would be.

[Kaadk]

Well, given everything else you've got in that area, it seems reasonable it would be back there somewhere. But since I don't have your unit I don't know for certain. On my Flagstaff TT, all that stuff was under one of the bunks in the back bunkhouse. Here's the rat's nest of plumbing on ours:



Yours obviously isn't like this. Based on the picture of the furnace, I'm thinking the blue and red lines go to the outside shower. Can you find where the other lines are running? May have to reach your phone in to take a blind shot on the other side of the furnace. To see if they go down or if they turn somewhere else.

[Brhehr]

Originally Posted by MontanaMike

nobody? The tech said the valve will be somewhere near the water pump but didn't say where the pump would be.

I just pick up a 8295WS and the tech that I talk to said the valve were behind a panel in the mid bunk room (below the shower). But on your floor plan that place would make it behind the fireplace. I don't know if I'm right about this. or if you have take out the fireplace to access the valves.

[JohnD10]

Locate your water pump and there should be a hose connected with a shutoff valve and the other end just open and not connected to anything.

That would be your AF in.

See it laying there (half circle white hose) lower left.

Excuse the mess...that is how these things come from the factory!

Since straightened and vacuumed up!

[Kaadk]

Ok, looking at some online images, it looks like the fresh water fill and water heater are both under the kitchen. Maybe try looking in the cabinets there for the water pump and the valves?

[MontanaMike]

Thanks guys! I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to pull the panel in the pass-through off the drivers side and it will be somewhere in there by the furnace. Our hot water heater is on the passenger side of the RV under the sink with no easy access either so I'm going to pull a panel or two off near it to verify the water heater bypass valves are easy to get to.

Speaking of that, the panel I'm going to have to remove to look near the furnace....yeah, it's blocked by the water filter canister as well as some of the ducting from the furnace. Wonder what was going through their heads when they came up with that idea?

We just picked the unit up and it's been too cold up here for me to finish prepping and loading it but we're excited to get it out and break it in.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by MontanaMike

Thanks guys! I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to pull the panel in the pass-through off the drivers side and it will be somewhere in there by the furnace. Our hot water heater is on the passenger side of the RV under the sink with no easy access either so I'm going to pull a panel or two off near it to verify the water heater bypass valves are easy to get to.

Speaking of that, the panel I'm going to have to remove to look near the furnace....yeah, it's blocked by the water filter canister as well as some of the ducting from the furnace. Wonder what was going through their heads when they came up with that idea?

We just picked the unit up and it's been too cold up here for me to finish prepping and loading it but we're excited to get it out and break it in.

Yup...

On most 5'vers you'll usually find this stuff behind that basement wall.

[Kimber45]

3 feet of an old garden hose and a funnel and pour it in.

[DeeWayne]

mine has an antifreeze inlet- but never took time to trace it out--- maybe I do it wrong, but I drain fresh water tank, take cathode out of water heater tank ,drain it and plug it, then shut off valve and open bypass, pour in 5 gallons of antifreeze into fresh water tank, turn pump on, open one faucet at a time until pink stuff flows out of them. If i'm messing up someone tell me. thanks /DeeWayne

[Capt. Mike]

Originally Posted by DeeWayne

mine has an antifreeze inlet- but never took time to trace it out--- maybe I do it wrong, but I drain fresh water tank, take cathode out of water heater tank ,drain it and plug it, then shut off valve and open bypass, pour in 5 gallons of antifreeze into fresh water tank, turn pump on, open one faucet at a time until pink stuff flows out of them. If i'm messing up someone tell me. thanks /DeeWayne

Couple of comments:

1. Once you get the pink stuff through the entire system, do you drain the rest out of your fresh water tank, or do you let it sit in there all winter?

2. Do you flush the fresh water tank out in the spring and sanitize it to get the anti-freeze taste out?

3, If you can easily get to your pump, you would be better off to install a winterizing by-pass valve on the inlet side of the pump. Install once and leave it there. Sucks the pink juice directly out of the bottle without having to pour it into your water tank. Probably also means you use less anti-freeze.

https://www.campingworld.com/pump-co...BEgKSD_D_BwE##

[Kimber45]

Originally Posted by DeeWayne

mine has an antifreeze inlet- but never took time to trace it out--- maybe I do it wrong, but I drain fresh water tank, take cathode out of water heater tank ,drain it and plug it, then shut off valve and open bypass, pour in 5 gallons of antifreeze into fresh water tank, turn pump on, open one faucet at a time until pink stuff flows out of them. If i'm messing up someone tell me. thanks /DeeWayne

Sounds right to me. I don't use 5 gallons maybe 3. I also blow out my lines on the city water connection first with my air compressor and dump a little pink juice down the toilet and in all the sink traps.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by DeeWayne

mine has an antifreeze inlet- but never took time to trace it out--- maybe I do it wrong, but I drain fresh water tank, take cathode out of water heater tank ,drain it and plug it, then shut off valve and open bypass, pour in 5 gallons of antifreeze into fresh water tank, turn pump on, open one faucet at a time until pink stuff flows out of them. If i'm messing up someone tell me. thanks /DeeWayne

That's a common practice for folks who always connect to fresh water and never dry camp. Just keep a few gallons in the fresh water tank all the time and each fall bypass and drain hot water, energize the pump, and run each faucet until pink. Each spring reconnect the fresh water and run each faucet until clear. Then reverse the hot water heater, un-bypass, plug, and fill. That's what we do with the Cherokee which never leaves the site at our resort.

DW wants to take the little trailer dry-camping from time to time. We've been just draining the hot water heater and low-point drains, but if we were to use potable anti-freeze, we would use the scheme where we tap into the water pump inlet and draw directly from the anti-freeze bottle. That way we would never introduce anti-freeze into the fresh water tank.

Larry

[Kaadk]

I blow out the lines first, and I built a bypass around the onboard water filter. With that in place, I only use a gallon for all my taps, traps and toilet.

[bplantcjf]

mine is under the entertainment center, behind the bass speaker. My model isn't exactly like yours but looking at a floor plan of your model it is similar. if the bottom left door under the tv is screwed shut your bass speaker is behind it. After removing the speaker the valve and pump are behind it.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by DeeWayne

mine has an antifreeze inlet- but never took time to trace it out--- maybe I do it wrong, but I drain fresh water tank, take cathode out of water heater tank ,drain it and plug it, then shut off valve and open bypass, pour in 5 gallons of antifreeze into fresh water tank, turn pump on, open one faucet at a time until pink stuff flows out of them. If i'm messing up someone tell me. thanks /DeeWayne

If it works...it works!

But you may be wasting antifreeze!

My 34-foot 5th-wheel uses about 1 & 2/3rds gallons of the pink stuff to fill all the lines, including the outside shower and dumping some in all of the sink and shower drains/p-traps!

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by DeeWayne

mine has an antifreeze inlet- but never took time to trace it out--- maybe I do it wrong, but I drain fresh water tank, take cathode out of water heater tank ,drain it and plug it, then shut off valve and open bypass, pour in 5 gallons of antifreeze into fresh water tank, turn pump on, open one faucet at a time until pink stuff flows out of them. If i'm messing up someone tell me. thanks /DeeWayne

Originally Posted by JohnD10

If it works...it works!

But you may be wasting antifreeze!

My 34-foot 5th-wheel uses about 1 & 2/3rds gallons of the pink stuff to fill all the lines, including the outside shower and dumping some in all of the sink and shower drains/p-traps!

Now you've also got to rinse the antifreeze out of your FW tank.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Now you've also got to rinse the antifreeze out of your FW tank.

That's not a problem as the fresh water tank should be flushed and sanitized at the beginning of every camping season.

Or at least every six months (minimum if full-timing).

More often if you keep water in it but don't use it a lot...

[Triple SS]

We have a Rockwood 8301ws and there is a pump or something we have to turn valves on when we start camping every season located behind the drawers under the sink. If you have an outside kitchen and no water running to it you must remove the drawer under the oven and those valves are against the outside wall. I hope this helps

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

That's not a problem as the fresh water tank should be flushed and sanitized at the beginning of every camping season.

Or at least every six months (minimum if full-timing).

More often if you keep water in it but don't use it a lot...

True, but harder to flush AF than a little Chlorox.