Draining water from MH for winter storage in Canada

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Murphcrud

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Nov 11, 2017
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Hello Guys,

I already know what most of you guys will say before you even finish reading this, but for the ones who winterize by blowing out the lines only, with a bit of antifreeze in each trap, I have a thought that I would like to share.

On your final outing before leaving your dump station, drain hot water, and thoroughly drain holding tanks with all taps, inside and out fully opened, including shower.  All drain points will also be left open until we arrive at our MH parking space for the winter which will be 75 miles from last outing site.  ALL water will be drained leaving you to just add a cup full of antifreeze to each p-trap. 

No need to blow out the lines as there will be nothing to blow out.This method is only a theory and am wondering if anyone has done this up in the Great White North or Michigan, New York, or other border States.

Someone is going to say, "Why would you even attempt to do this???"  "Use antifreeze, it's cheap and safer"
I am only addressing anyone who has an opinion on my theory, not the antifreeze users.

This posting is meant for ONLY those who blow out their water lines -----, I have been blowing out the lines over many years without the use of antifreeze (except final cup in traps). 

Thanks guys

 
"Air-only" guy here.  ;D


I actually tried pretty much what you described this year for the first time - I opened my drains before leaving the campground last weekend so the water would slosh around on the way home. I opened both hot and cold faucets in the kitchen sink and popped the relief valve open to create some venting. I did not remove the water heater plug, though, and the relief valve closed at some point so there was still a good amount of water in the heater. Plus, it was only a 5 mile drive home.


For these reasons, I'll still hook up the compressor but even if it seemed to drain most of the water, I think I'd still be worried about pockets of water in the shower hose, outdoor shower, black tank flush, etc.
 
Joezeppy said:
"Air-only" guy here.  ;D


I actually tried pretty much what you described this year for the first time - I opened my drains before leaving the campground last weekend so the water would slosh around on the way home. I opened both hot and cold faucets in the kitchen sink and popped the relief valve open to create some venting. I did not remove the water heater plug, though, and the relief valve closed at some point so there was still a good amount of water in the heater. Plus, it was only a 5 mile drive home.


For these reasons, I'll still hook up the compressor but even if it seemed to drain most of the water, I think I'd still be worried about pockets of water in the shower hose, outdoor shower, black tank flush, etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your comments Joe.

I would remove the shower hose as well.  The black tank is not an issue as only a very small amount of water remains and I also pour a little antifreeze in it.  The outdoor shower may require attention as well.
I felt my 75 mile trip should have taken care of any potential freeze up issues.  I will do a blowout this year to determine how well my theory worked.  I will do a followup on this at later date.
 
I use to put vegetable oil in my traps and toilet. All it takes is a teaspoon full in the traps and the toilet a little more. It stops the water from evaporating.  I don't do it in the RV anymore because I go south now. I do do it in our house.
 
Draining lines by gravity only doesn't work.

I opened everything on our last outing and after a 3 hour drive, there was still plenty of water in the system when I blew it out.

You're setting yourself up for a very expensive experience.
 
    When I still worked I would have to winterize until I could drive the RV to Florida.  At the time I did not have a compressor, or easy access to borrow one.  So, I basically did what you are suggesting, but the coach did have a drain setting on the water system.  It would pump a lot of the water out of the system, except for the water heater which had a seperate gravity drain.  I would then use RV antifreeze in the traps, make sure every tap was in the open position, and run a minimal amount up into the pump. 
    It would only sit in freezing temps for a couple of months and the only problem ever encountered was the year I forgot to open the kitchen taps and it cracked.  A quick trip to Home Depot and a few minutes to install and it was fine for the years until we sold the RV.

Ed
 
I'm going to do the air compressor method this year for the first time and have read many comments regarding the process. So far I have removed the anode rod from the hot water heater to drain the tank (I had an awful stinky contamination problem a while ago and now regularly drain the tank). I also opened the low point water drain points and the faucets which allowed much of the water to drain.


Next step for me is to attach the compressor adapter and start blowing out the lines - for me that will be a two person process especially for the shower hose and toilet to be sure the water is blown out. I'm not worried about any remaining water in the hot water tank because it is mostly empty and there is plenty of ice expansion space. My general plan is to open anything water related individually with the air running to eliminate everything possible, and then put pink stuff into each of the drains, including the toilet. I like Rene T's idea of vegetable oil in the toilet because the pink stuff always drains away eventually and leaves the seal potentially drying.
 
pz said:
Next step for me is to attach the compressor adapter and start blowing out the lines - for me that will be a two person process especially for the shower hose and toilet to be sure the water is blown out.
Click to expand...


Best tool for this job is an adapter that screws into the city water fitting and has a quick-connect for the compressor. Turns it into a 1-person job. Set the compressor to 40 lbs, hook it up and then just walk around to each faucet a few times. Works like a charm.


I use something like this: https://www.ebay.com/p/Winterize-Hoses-RV-Motorhome-Camper-and-Travel-Trailer-Blow-out-Adapter-Air/1501539415?iid=163078378773&chn=ps

 
I use the same method as Joe,have done so for years,works great when you are the only one to do it. I will add the vegetable oil this year
 
i opened all low points ect when i left Arizona and blew the lines when i got back to portland area ,i bet i got well over a gallon of water out of the lines and probably twice that out of the aqua hot system.only  takes a few minutes to do it and i still ad the pink rv antifreeze for safety sake
 
beaverfever said:
i opened all low points ect when i left Arizona and blew the lines when i got back to portland area ,i bet i got well over a gallon of water out of the lines and probably twice that out of the aqua hot system.only  takes a few minutes to do it and i still ad the pink rv antifreeze for safety sake
Click to expand...
And the Aqua Hot manual says that you cannot get all the water out with air -- it leaves small amounts in some of the little twisty places internally, so could be a several thousand dollar repair/replacement job.
 
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