How do you get rid of the antifreeze taste?

[scottydl]

Many of us don't have DP's with built in air compressors, or access to a nice 120V model to use otherwise.    That's why I rely on the pink stuff for the winter months.  But as others have mentioned, you really don't need any in the FW tank as long as there's a method to fill the plumbing system otherwise.  Drain the tank, and there should be plenty of empty space in there for any moisture to freeze and thaw without causing any damage.  I leave my drain valve open too, so if the leftover water does expand off the tank's bottom it will hopefully just make its way out.  My drain is on the side of the FW tank, so there's always a little water on the bottom that doesn't drain out.

Back to the antifreeze taste issue, the Water System Sanitizing instructions using bleach should take care of that.  You could also take a few gallons of drinking water with you, which is what usually do since you never know what the water will be like at any given campground.  Culligan gallon refills are 30-40 cents at most grocery stores that have the water dispensing machines.

 

[Gordon Groff]

I've been lusting over a decent air compressor....  I bought a really cheap one at harbor freight and got what I paid for. 

I kinda like the red stuff coming out the faucets to insure any low spots and valve bodies are well protected.  After blowing out, I'm never "sure" enough was not left in the lines to pool somewhere.  No big deal.  I certainly agree that using air to blow it out eliminates all the antifreeze taste issues, and is cheap and easy.

I appreciate the recommendation to leave it out of the FW tank.  Makes sense to me.  My Allegro also has the antifreeze suction tube that hooks to the pump to make things pretty much fool-proof.  That's a good thing in my case.   

By the end of last weekend, my wife was OK using the faucet water for tea making and tooth brushing, so I suppose we're making progress!!  I will also keep a few gallons of bottled around for straight drinking water purposes for now.

Gordon

 

[mdbass]

BTW-I forgot to mention what we used in the airline industry to kill the odor and sanitize the water tanks. It's called purogene-here's a link- http://www.bio-cide.com/uploads/Purogene%20Sales%20Sheet.pdf

Edit: fixed link.

 

[LV4NYG]

antifreeze?  what type...trying to learn a little on this and been searching.

is it only needed in the north, or with consistent below freezing temps.

 

[scottydl]

antifreeze?  what type...trying to learn a little on this and been searching.

There is RV/Marine antifireeze (usually pink in color) that is non-toxic, designed for freshwater systems in boats and campers in the off season.  A lot of the plumbing is made up of plastic pipes and valves that can easily break or burst if moisture freezes and expands in there.  Many RVers elect to use an air compressor to "blow out" the lines completely dry, and may not use the pink stuff.

is it only needed in the north, or with consistent below freezing temps.

Generally yes. 

 

[LV4NYG]

i don't know how you quote like that but its awesome 

so, if the lines have just a little water in the lines, that can be enough to burst them?

didn't know that

 

[scottydl]

so, if the lines have just a little water in the lines, that can be enough to burst them?

Maybe not the straight water lines would be affected, but small loops or valves/connectors that have small amounts of water in them can be damaged by freezing.

As far as quoting, there is a "Quote" button at the top right hand corner of each response on this page.  Click that to open up a reply window WITH that person's words between the [ quote] [ /quote] tags (without spaces), and you can pick/choose/copy/paste their responses before or after yours.  Just takes a little practice. 

 

[LV4NYG]

i see, so if you're in the south and have just one really cold night with rig in storage, i could be in trouble still?

 

[scottydl]

A short dip to freezing temps shouldn't be a problem, but if you anticipate several hours that are well below 32F... better safe than sorry.  I usually find the RV Antifreeze on sale for $2-3/gallon and my system only needs 2 gallons through the bypass to fill the entire system.  There are detailed instructions on Winterizing the plumbing system in the Library link at the top of the page.

 

[John From Detroit]

IF the line is FULL of water, then the water freezes and expands the ice has no choice but to burst the line.. if the line is 1/2 full (and I mean at it's lowest point) then no problem

What I do is blow, pause, blow, pause, blow, pause  Till I'm satisfied that there is only a few drops of water left in the system.. no problems.

Now, it was said "I don't know how to quote like that"

One option is to choose the "Quote" message option and it will bring up the entire message

The other .. Well, I'll do this twce

once with curly brackets, Once with square brackets (Same key, not shifted)

{quote}i don't know how you quote like that but its awesome{/quote}

i don't know how you quote like that but its awesome

And the forum software does all the magic

 

[LV4NYG]

good stuff guys thnx!

i need to keep on reading, won't be getting one for some time, just want to learn just as much as i can...