winterizing. suck in the red stuff...or blow out?

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nrg2brn

nrg2brn

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Joined
Dec 1, 2017
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got my winterizing kit today from amazon. as I was storing it in my rv shelf in my garage...I came across a blowout plug. then I thought to myself...maybe I should just blowout all the water...and not worry about going to walmart every year to get a couple gallons of that pink stuff. I live in nc, we do freeze, but not hard or for longer than 2 days at a time. seems better to blow out? dont know. thoughts?
 
I've only ever blown out the lines and we get a bit colder than you do, being a few degrees farther north.  I take a couple trips in the freezing months so I wind up winterizing two or three times a year.  I've taken the valve core out of my blowout plug and I hook up the blowgun attachment to it and Velcro the trigger shut.  After turning on the compressor and setting the regulator to 40psi (give or take), I turn the bypass switch on the water heater, take the plug out of it to drain it, then go around to each faucet and open them up one-by-one until they run dry.  Don't forget the toilet and the outdoor shower.  Once I've done them all, I go back and start from the beginning and do it all again until they don't have more than a bit of spittle to give.  I shut off the compressor, and pour about a cup of RV antifreeze down each drain, and that's it.  So far, not a single problem and one jug of antifreeze will last me at least two winterizings.  Trying to suck antifreeze through the lines and then having to flush them clean over and over again each year just seems really tedious.
 
Very common question, although not always discussed in the summer months. ;)  There's really no wrong answer, and everyone has their own preferences. After starting my first several RV ownership winters using all pink antifreeze (my first motorhome had an easy bypass to use), I eventually switched to compressed air and just used a bit of pink stuff poured down the drains to protect the traps and in the toilet to keep the seals from wearing out. In my current trailer, compressed air is much more convenient because the water pump doesn't have a bypass pre-installed. I could add one, but it just doesn't seem necessary with the compressed air option.
 
We will stay below freezing for three or four days in a row maybe once every winter, sometimes our lows are in the lower teens. I've never winterized our Horizon but we are plugged in and I run a small electric heater in the plumbing bay and one inside the coach.
 
As a fulltimer I don?t have to winterize but I?ve often wondered about how one winterizes a Spledide washer/dryer. I assume by using antifreeze but since you can?t see the wash water until it?s nearly drawn the full amount it seems like it might take a couple gallons until one could be certain. Then, since it hasn?t gone through the drain cycle how do you really know all internal lines are cleared of water?
 
I'm a north Florida resident and used the blow-out method.  Either method works fine as long as you are thorough about it. You still need pink stuff for drain traps, but a gallon probably lasts two seasons.


As for the Splendide question, it's not difficult and Splendide even covers it in their user guide. A brief run through of the wash cycle opens the water inlet valves so air (or pink stuff) pushes through.  Then pour a cup of pink stuff in the drum and a drain cycle so that it gets into the pump and P-trap.  Takes all of about 3 minutes.
 
We lived in North Texas (40 mi from OK) and still have a home there. I not only use air to do the motorhome, but do the house as well. Just connect the air hose (40psi) and work through all faucets, and toilets after draining the water heater. We then pour a little pink anti freeze and the olive oil in each toilet and trap to prevent evaporation.  This has worked well for the past seven or more year's (we usually come back to mow/clean up).

Ernie
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
As for the Splendide question, it's not difficult and Splendide even covers it in their user guide. A brief run through of the wash cycle opens the water inlet valves so air (or pink stuff) pushes through.  Then pour a cup of pink stuff in the drum and a drain cycle so that it gets into the pump and P-trap.  Takes all of about 3 minutes.
Click to expand...

Perhaps another look at the user guide  :-[
 
NC mountains here.

For the past twenty years I have used the pink stuff on three different trailers.
When we bought our first one at Tom Johnson Camper Center in Marion, they gave me a handout describing how they did it with the pink stuff, so that is how I got started on it.
It takes me all of five or ten minutes, and that way it not only gets in the traps, but also some in the tanks, the shower head, and the toilet valve.
It take mine just a tad over a gallon

Don't forget a spoon full in the city water inlet, or that check valve will freeze and break.

Ohers swear by the blow out method, so I guess one is as good as the other

Jack L
 
The guide that came with my Splendide 2100XC had a separate addendum that covered owner maintenance and winterizing. Apparently was not part of the early editions. There are also slight differences across models (controls are slightly different, but the process is the same).

Here's the instructions for some models:

http://www.splendide.com/WD2_AW122_Winterize.pdf
http://www.splendide.com/ARWXF129W_Winterize-1.pdf
http://www.splendide.com/service/TRAINMAN_TechTips.pdf
 
We used antifreeze for years then I switched to air. I have switched back to antifreeze since we have a washing machine and residential fridge. Either way works just your preference.
 
I open my low ports, completely drain system.  Then blow air, for a while, all faucets open.  Then close everything, run pink antifreeze through everything, all faucets, down the drains, work the gray and black valves to get pink in the mechanism as well.  Make sure you drain fresh water tank too.

An overkill, definitely.  Any issues, Never.
 
We did both one year (newbies) and were surprised that clean clear water came out after blowing out the lines and before the potable antifreeze.  We do the pink stuff now.
 
KandT said:
We did both one year (newbies) and were surprised that clean clear water came out after blowing out the lines and before the potable antifreeze.  We do the pink stuff now.
Click to expand...

  I agree with your method. Yes, it takes a little longer ( winterizing and de-winterizing) and a few extra bucks ( rv?ing is not cheap entertainment), but safe rather than sorry. All it takes is a little water in the wrong place and a ?hard? freeze lasting a few days....and it could get expensive! Just last winter we had record setting temperatures in much of the lower 48.
 
I open the tank drain valves and blow out the P traps in the sinks and shower after blowing out all the lines and the water heater.  Never have had an issue and have never bought the first bit of antifreeze.
 
I drain, blow out, and then fill our system with anti-freeze and have had no issues in over a dozen years of northern New England winters.  The process takes less than an hour.  That and $10 worth of anti-freeze buys peace of mind that's hard to put a price on.
 
Three ways to winterize
First winter I used Pink Stuff... Not happy at all come spring. Seems it was a witch of a job to get rid o fit all.

Next two years I blew the lines out. No problems period.Very happy. ONe difference between the directions is I made several bows. My Compressor is a 6 Gallon job or so I think and when it ran out of air, i'd shut down, let it refill and blow again like 5 or 10 times.

Now days I use the "S" method.. Drive South for the winter.
 
What I use to do on our way home for the last time that season, I would open all the faucets, the low point drains, fresh water tank drain and remove the water heater drain plug. Then just drive home. It's amazing how little water there is in the system when it has a chance to slosh around and eventually reach the low point drains. Then I'd use the blow out system.
 
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