Hot water T-valve for winterizing

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Dougie Brown

Dougie Brown

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Joined
Nov 16, 2007
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The plumbing arrangement in the small hold just forward of the main entry door on the passenger side, consists of 1/2" PEX coming from the top of the HW tank, through an inline check valve, then onto the bottom of a T-connector with a 1/4-turn valve.  The valve has a cold-water line running through horizontally from dog-knows-where, but it's normal position is set to Off (i.e. the flow from the check valve is allowed to pass through the valve).

The T-valve bust today, also taking out the check valve in the process. The question is:- I don't ever foresee winterizing the RV, so is it necessary to replace the T-connector with a valve type, or can I simply install a normal T-connector?  It would mean the whilst the HW flow will work as before, the inline flow through the old T-valve will also be allowed to flow.

Hopefully that's not too obtuse.  Meantime we have no water and no wine.
 
Dougie,
If you need any parts, go to the post you had regarding finding a campground open year round. I have some info for you there.
 
You may never need to winterize yourself, but restoring the original arrangement would be desirable for resale/next owner peace of mind purposes, if nothing else!!
 
The Tee is part of the bypass for winterizing, so you don't need the Tee if you don't have the corresponding valve. If you don't replace the valve, you can skip the Tee as well.

A middle ground is to leave the Tee in place but use standard shutoff valves instead of the fancy diverter valve on the inlet. One shut-off going into the tank, one in the crossover between inlet and outlet, and [maybe] one on the tank outlet. The latter is not needed if there is a check valve on the outlet, since the check valve prevents water from backflowing into the tank anyway. The 2 or 3 valve system is simpler and less trouble-prone that the single valve bypass system, but a bit less convenient as well.
 
I couldn't get proper parts today as there are no RV stockists for a very long way who are open at this time of year.  I have however - in the true spirit of Heath Robinson - cobbled together an arrangement which works.  In the absence of the Tee, I've run the supply direct to the HW tank via a new check valve, and capped what was the other side of the Tee which was normally closed.

Just to confirm - the check valve should have an inward direction of flow to the bottom connector on the hot water tank?
 
Dougie Brown said:
I couldn't get proper parts today as there are no RV stockists for a very long way who are open at this time of year.  I have however - in the true spirit of Heath Robinson - cobbled together an arrangement which works.  In the absence of the Tee, I've run the supply direct to the HW tank via a new check valve, and capped what was the other side of the Tee which was normally closed.

Just to confirm - the check valve should have an inward direction of flow to the bottom connector on the hot water tank?
Click to expand...

Yes, it should flow into the bottom and out the top. No need to go to RV parts store, any home improvement or hardware store would have the parts.
 
Thanks.  Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware and two other big local hardware stores don't stock Flair-It or other compatible connector/valves as per the attached pic. I've ordered one online to be delivered to our next port of call seeing as my temporary plumbing arrangements are working.

The pic shows what's needed, not to be confused with an identical-looking drain valve which allows water to flow from both horizontal directions when the valve is set to divert down the Tee (the HW bypass one blocks flow from one direction and diverts flow down the Tee from the other).
 

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Flair-it fittings are readily available where mobile (manufactured) home parts are sold, but can be hard to find in areas where mobile homes aren't popular. My local independent hardware store has them, but Depot, Lowes don't and the hardware store chains seldom carry them.
 
Temps were 15F overnight again.  I left the electric water heater on with the hot tap running minimally which worked until around 6:30 am when (apparently) the city water tap froze.  So did my hose shortly thereafter.

Would I be better to fill the freshwater tank and use the pump, assuming normal internal temperatures inside the coach?
 
Yes, keeping the fresh water tank full and using the internal water pump is the way to go in the temperatures you are experiencing. I am doing the same thing here in North Dakota. I also leave my water heater on propane to keep the water pump compartment warmer. I also have some 200 watt "Personal Heaters" that I used when it got below zero. They are handy to keep in the motor home.

Lasko Personal 200 Watt Heater
http://www.amazon.com/Lasko-100-MyHeat-Personal-Ceramic/dp/B003XDTWN2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1427643802&sr=8-2&keywords=200+watt+heater

 
Thanks John. We have the heaters too plus a couple of oil-filled electric ones.  I'll leave the electric water heater on as it does heat the compartment nicely.
 
I actually have both the electric and propane heater on when it gets below 20F. When it was below zero I also put a 200 watt Lasko heater in the pump compartment. We had three weeks below zero in November, 2 weeks below zero and 2 weeks below zero in January. January 17th we headed to Arizona. We've been back about three weeks and the coldest we've seen is 14F. We also got a 125 gallon propane tank to help out. Will move into new house in about 2 weeks.
 
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