Winterizing Question (no antifreeze option).

[Frizlefrak]

Not something I own unfortunately.  Uggh.

Rent one.  Much cheaper than replacing your pipes after they burst.  And much simpler than going through all the pink stuff hassle.

 

[John From Detroit]

I would take 2 gallons of "Pink Stuff" (Rv Antifreeze) and an air compressor, at least 4 gallon tank type, with regulator (Set to 50 psi) and blow out adapter.. 

Open all valves INCLUDING LOW POINT DRAINS and drain the water heater and bypass it (NOTE not really necessdary to bypass but will make the job easier)

Once water stops draining or stopps draining fast BLOW gabrioel BLOW, I screwed in my adapter and applied 50 psi and blew till the pressure dropped to about 25 on my 4 gallon 150 psi compressor.. Then I waited till the motor cut off and did it again, and again, like 5-10 times.. I cycled the ice maker after the first blow. and ran the water pump (Dry) If possible access pump and drain the inlet filter housing (Take a dish cloth with you to catch the water, about 2 ounces)

Finally restore Water heater (That way you won't forget next spring) and put the plug back (optional if you forget that it WILL remind you) if you have an Atwood pull an ECO lead  Use the pink in drains and toilets to prevent freezing of traps and such.. You don't have to worry about flushing that out come spring.. "Flushing" is normal operation .

 

[Frizlefrak]

Remember....you don't have to get every ounce of water out.  You have to get it where any residual drops have room to expand so they don't decide to make the pipe the sacrificial part. 

 

[jimmerz]

Sorry to thread jack....But I am new to this and I have a question.

I plan on storing my TT undeground in an old salt mine storage facility.  Temps are pretty steady at 53 degrees year round.  Can I just remove my propane and battery and be ok?

I was really hoping to preserve the TT by keeping it underground.  No sun, no snow, no freezing, etc...

Thanks!

 

[Rene T]

Can I just remove my propane and battery and be ok?

No need to remove anything unless you're concerned about theft. I would disconnect the battery and make sure it's fully charged though and shut off the propane tanks.

 

[NY_Dutch]

RV antifreeze is non-toxic and the primary ingredient, polyethylene glycol, is a common food, medicine, and cosmetics additive. Small amounts left in a water line would cause no harm. Drinking large amounts will cause some intestinal "distress". Ask anyone that's prepped for a colonoscopy about that.  ;D

 

[UTTransplant]

An odd question for the OP: why do you mention buying gallons of water? If you are dry camping, don't you have a number of large water containers you fill up somewhere and bring to the trailer? We use 5 gallon water containers when needed. Sometimes there is a small charge if we fill them from a store, but it is always a lot less than buying a gallon at the shop.

 

[Ernie n Tara]

Incidentally, it's legal to dump grey water in Colorado.

Ernie

 

[Hfx_Cdn]

    On our Coachmen there was a drain setting on our water panel, and the pump had to be turned on.  It did a fairly decent job of draining the system, and I only had to use minimal RV antifreeze in the system.  Be very careful draining the water heater and make sure the bypass is moved to the bypass position.,  Last but not least leave all the tap in the open position as most are hard plastic that doesn't take too much water residue to crack them.
    Two point raised by others are worth repeating, RV antifreeze does not mix well with water, so empty the water prior to replacing it with antifreeze.  And second is that RV antifreeze is potable, so next spring, drain the fresh water tank, flush it with a little water and you will be good to go for purposes.

Ed

 

[dabrooks]

This kind of off  the subject a little but when you winterize always remove any food items that could freeze or draw mice. I take out my portable grill and the toaster because I think they could draw mice.

 

[eaglestar]

RV antifreeze is non-toxic and the primary ingredient, polyethylene glycol, is a common food, medicine, and cosmetics additive. Small amounts left in a water line would cause no harm. Drinking large amounts will cause some intestinal "distress". Ask anyone that's prepped for a colonoscopy about that.  ;D

RV antifreeze is actually propylene glycol. Polyethylene glycol is used as a laxative (it's the active ingredient in Miralax). The closest it comes to food use is as a dispersant in toothpaste. It also has a host of medicinal and industrial uses, none of them as an antifreeze.

Propylene glycol is the main ingredient in "safe" antifreeze. It also has numerous food-related uses.

Ray

 

[Gary Hageman]

Blowing out the lines will not help with the traps. Use the pink stuff to be sure. This spring take extra water with you for purging the lines. Blowing them out In my experience just won't get it done.

 

[NY_Dutch]

RV antifreeze is actually propylene glycol. Polyethylene glycol is used as a laxative (it's the active ingredient in Miralax). The closest it comes to food use is as a dispersant in toothpaste. It also has a host of medicinal and industrial uses, none of them as an antifreeze.

Propylene glycol is the main ingredient in "safe" antifreeze. It also has numerous food-related uses.

Ray

Yep, you're not only correct, Ray, but I knew that! I must have had one of those age related brain things when I wrote that. Thanks for the correction!  ;D

 

[Frizlefrak]

Blowing out the lines will not help with the traps. Use the pink stuff to be sure. This spring take extra water with you for purging the lines. Blowing them out In my experience just won't get it done.

Blow out the pressure lines with air, pour the pink stuff in the traps.  Good catch. 

 

[Quadtrax]

So, you could use the pink stuff in your water system and camp in really cold temps as long as you just use your water system to flush with.  Use bottled water of consumption .... Right??


Really cold temps = 40F during the day and a low of say 30F at night. (not a hard freeze)

 

[Rene T]

So, you could use the pink stuff in your water system and camp in really cold temps as long as you just use your water system to flush with.  Use bottled water of consumption .... Right??


Really cold temps = 40F during the day and a low of say 30F at night. (not a hard freeze)

If you use your toilet to flush, you would need a supply of pink stuff to replenish what you used like maybe a 5 gallon container filled with pink stuff and use your water pump to suck it out of the container.

 

[Alfa38User]

So, you could use the pink stuff in your water system and camp in really cold temps as long as you just use your water system to flush with.

Hmmmm, not sure about that!! Flushing implies using the water system, either through hookups or the on-board water tank but it also implies that you put no antifreeze in the pipes etc (which are part of the water system) unless you flush using antifreeze (EXPENSIVE!!) The toilet flush is not separated from the rest of the water system.    Nope!! It has to be one or the other.

This is apart from the fact that camping in most trailers and motor homes in those temperatures, even if they are not much below freezing, could be very unpleasant, damp and use a LOT of propane. Most RV's are NOT well insulated.

 

[martin2340]

Propylene glycol is a food stabilizer and I know for fact it is used in some fat-free sour cream items. Albeit in very small quantities.