WInterizing the H2O system? October 21, 2011, 07:48:29 am Yahoo Message Number: 126121Hi:Just got tis 93 26.5'RB rig. Want to set up so can drain water etc. They seem to have buried everything. Before I start figured might ask, maybe someone knows the answers be for I start taking things apart.I believe there seems to be no access to the back of the water heater as need to install a bypass so can put in antifreeze without filling the water heater looks like they have it behind the furnace or the electric box!HArd to believe they would do that but sure looks that way!Water pump sounds to be under the Bath room closet again not much access need to be able to get to it to be able to pump antifreeze into the system.40 yearts of RVs in Mn.has led me to believe this is the best way of keeping systems intact durng storage in our cold weather. In the past tried blowing lines etc but always seems to leave some water to freeze and crack a line!Will have to travel this winter into COld country so may need to do this then also. Brrrr is 25 above this AM here in Wi.and can't leave for another week for AZ!!!Thanks
Re: WInterizing the H2O system? Reply #1 – October 21, 2011, 09:41:52 am Yahoo Message Number: 126123Quote Hi:Just got tis 93 26.5'RB rig. Want to set up so can drain water etc. They seem to have buried everything. Before I start figured might ask, maybe someone knows the answers be for I start taking things apart.I believe there seems to be no access to the back of the water heater as need to install a bypass so can put in antifreeze without > Good Morning, Remove the drawers from under the closet to access the plumbing to the water heater. The water pump is behind the electrical panel on the floor under the galley sink. Good Luck, Skip
Re: WInterizing the H2O system? Reply #2 – October 21, 2011, 09:46:20 am Yahoo Message Number: 126124Oops! My apologies, too early. Upon re reading your post I see you have an RB not MB. My comments are not relevant to a Rear Bath. Skip
Re: WInterizing the H2O system? Reply #3 – October 22, 2011, 01:18:33 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126140Hi, I wanted to understand more about your winterizing. Are you putting antifreeze in the lines that are be used to feed your faucets? If so, how do you ensure that the lines are clean enough to be able to drink from again? Thanks! CynthiaFrom: robertmoodie87 To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 5:48 AM Subject: [LD] WInterizing the H2O system?Hi:Just got tis 93 26.5'RB rig. Want to set up so can drain water etc. They seem to have buried everything. Before I start figured might ask, maybe someone knows the answers be for I start taking things apart.I believe there seems to be no access to the back of the water heater as need to install a bypass so can put in antifreeze without filling the water heater looks like they have it behind the furnace or the electric box!HArd to believe they would do that but sure looks that way!Water pump sounds to be under the Bath room closet again not much access need to be able to get to it to be able to pump antifreeze into the system.40 yearts of RVs in Mn.has led me to believe this is the best way of keeping systems intact durng storage in our cold weather. In the past tried blowing lines etc but always seems to leave some water to freeze and crack a line!Will have to travel this winter into COld country so may need to do this then also. Brrrr is 25 above this AM here in Wi.and can't leave for another week for AZ!!!Thanks
Re: WInterizing the H2O system? Reply #4 – October 22, 2011, 02:18:56 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126142Hi Cynthia, RV antifreeze (aka pink antifreeze) is propylene glycol and is not toxic, though it reportedly does not taste great. Most people dra
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #5 – October 22, 2011, 04:53:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126145A more elegant solution is to put a two-way valve before the pump. That way there is no need to disconnect the line when you want to put in anti-freeze. It makes it so easy, you can use your motorhome several times during the winter without a lot of hassle. When the valve is set for straight-through operation, everything is normal. Switch the valve to the anti-freeze hose (after you stick it in the bottle) and charge the system. Make sure you see the full color at each faucet before you turn it off. What goes in the drain and toilet protects those areas as well. As Art said, it is very important to also install a bypass on the hot water tank. I could always fill my system with only one gallon of RV anti-freeze. When you are ready to use it again, just fill your water tank and run enough water through each faucet until the color is gone. Then open the hot water heater bypass, let it fill with water, and you're done! It won't hurt you if a little is still in the lines. It is essentially non-toxic to humans in small quantities. Camping World has the Pump Converter Winterizing Kit for sale on-line for $10.99.Dick
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #6 – October 23, 2011, 07:23:18 am Yahoo Message Number: 126151I have done this for many years useing the RV antifreeze works wonderful if unit is set up for it!!Looks like LD had no intention of making it easy the water heater is behind the electric box so looks hard to access to install the bipass and then no way to get
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #7 – October 23, 2011, 11:43:16 am Yahoo Message Number: 126153"Looks like LD had no intention of making it easy the water heater is behind the electric box so looks hard to access to install the bypass and then no way to get in without removing things?"Bob I have to agree LD had no intention of making it easy to install a heater bypass. Most models require removing the heater to get the needed access. Some models may be next to impossible to install. Traditionally, almost all LDs were sold in California and southern Arizona, areas where winterizing isn't common. When the Yahoo LD group came along, introducing out-of-state residents to the relatively unknown Lazy Daze, sales outside SoCal became more common. This is the main reason why the Caravan Club membership has dropped. I doubt if Steve has camped much in freezing weather much less ever had to winterize. When ordering new, I wonder if LD would install a kit during construction? LD should consider adding this as an option.LarryLiving where winterizing is never needed
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #8 – October 23, 2011, 11:53:06 am Yahoo Message Number: 126154Quote "To me looks like poor design would have expected more from LD!! BobBob One thing you've got to remember, it doesn't FREEZE in southern California. ;>))
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #9 – October 23, 2011, 12:15:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126156Oh really? I grew up in Pomona. It was very common to freeze in the winter. When we had orange groves instead of house groves, one of the main occupations for teen-agers in the winter was to light the smudge pots in the groves to keep the oranges from freezing before leaving for school. These were later replaced with wind machines. I often had to drain the radiator in my car before going to bed (before antifreeze) and wrap the engine with a blanket. We also had snowball fights in school on the rare occasion when it also snowed in Pomona.DickFrom: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com [mailto:lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of lejest2003 Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2011 8:53 AM To: lifewithalazydazerv@yahoogroups.com Subject: [LD] Re: Winterizing the H2O system?Quote --- In , "robertmoodie87" wrote:"To me looks like poor design would have expected more from LD!!BobBob One thing you've got to remember, it doesn't FREEZE in southern California. ;>))
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #10 – October 23, 2011, 01:35:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126158Quote "I grew up in Pomona. It was very common to freeze in the winter." >Dick Oh really, Dick??? I grew up in the Finger Lakes reigion of New York State. Let me tell you something about freezing weather... Oh hell, why bother? In order to sustain any damage in an RV water system it would have to go sub-zero for an extended period of time. I've spent some time in California, beginning in 1953 at Camp Pendleton and later at 29 Palms and in recent years in the SF Bay Area. Only once in all that time have I ever seen temperatures low enough and sustained long enough to freeze exposed water pipes. Now for folks who live in the nether regions it's a different matter.Steve S. Lazy Bones & Jiggs
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #11 – October 23, 2011, 02:31:44 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126161There is nothing new for us to learn about freezing weather. We have owned houses in Old Town Idaho, Spokane Washington, Merlin Oregon and Tohatchi New Mexico that have all sustained broken water pipes. Only one of those was an outside faucet. It only takes one hard freeze to break a pipe. Even those not exposed to outside. We also saw 45 degrees below 0F for three days in a row in Window Rock Arizona. My parents lived in Joshua Tree California, that is not too far from 29 Palms. Their house also had broken water pipes. Anyway, I was responding to the comment that it never freezes in So. California. It most certainly does. Would be pretty hard to ski in the many ski resorts if it didn't.DickQuote --- In , "W6CCD" wrote:"I grew up in Pomona. It was very common to freeze in the winter." >DickOh really, Dick??? I grew up in the Finger Lakes reigion of New York State. Let me tell you something about freezing weather... Oh hell, why bother? In order to sustain any damage in an RV water system it would have to go sub-zero for an extended period of time. I've spent some time in California, beginning in 1953 at Camp Pendleton and later at 29 Palms and in recent years in the SF Bay Area. Only once in all that time have I ever seen temperatures low enough and sustained long enough to freeze exposed water pipes. Now for folks who live in the nether regions it's a different matter.Steve S. Lazy Bones & Jiggs
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #12 – October 23, 2011, 03:25:19 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126163Quote"Anyway, I was responding to the comment that it never freezes in So. California. It most certainly does. Would be pretty hard to ski in the many ski resorts if it didn't. Dick And I was responding to whether or not LD has a poor design in so far as accessability to the water heater and the ease of installing a by-pass for same. Because of the fact that it seldom freezes (for sustained periods) in the deserts of So. Cal. (where the entire Newton family were noted to camp) they probably did not see a need to consider freeze protection for their motorhomes.Steve S. Lazy Bones & Jiggs
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #13 – October 23, 2011, 04:35:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126165I have to agree with you there. It is amazing how far things have progressed through the years with the Newton's. When we first started considering the purchase of a Lazy Daze back in the 70's, they saw no need to use dump sites for the grey water. We were advised to just find a large parking lot and let'r rip. They said the sun would clean it up before long. Even back then I was dumbfounded by that suggestion. Of course they saw no need for air conditioning either. Swamp coolers were good enough for the desert. Some of us were actually going to use our motorhomes in other areas. Imagine that. DickQuoteBecause of the fact that it seldom freezes (for sustained periods) in the deserts of So. Cal. (where the entire Newton family were noted to camp) they probably >did not see a need to consider freeze protection for their motorhomes. Steve S. Lazy Bones & Jiggs
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #14 – October 23, 2011, 10:59:22 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126167I ditto you Steve! I was born & raised
Re: WInterizing the H2O system? Reply #15 – October 25, 2011, 11:09:48 am Yahoo Message Number: 126177Hi Art,Thank you for the great advice and the clarification of what type of antifreeze to use
Re: WInterizing the H2O system? Reply #16 – October 25, 2011, 11:50:27 am Yahoo Message Number: 126178QuoteThank you for the great advice and the clarification of what type of antifreeze to use in an RV. Does the rule apply to the radiator, as well? As for the bleach sanitization, what would be the ratio of bleach to water? Do you just run it through the system, or let is sit awhile? You want to use regular automotive antifreeze for the engine. There are a few different types, so be sure to use the correct one specified by the manufacturer of the chassis. You can google for lots of advice on sanitizing RV water systems. I'm pretty sure it is in the LD owners manual too. Here is what I do:Start with about 1/2 full water tank. In a bucket mix water with 1/4 to 1/2 cup non-scented, liquid bleach for ever 15 gallons of tank capacity (1 to 2 cups for us). Added diluted bleach solution to water tank (a funnel with flexible or offset spout helps).Fill tank completely with more fresh water. Starting with tap closest to tank run cold water until you smell the chlorine smell, then close that tap.Proceed with each tap progressively farther from the tank. Repeat the above sequence with the hot water taps (hot water tank will need to flush 6 gallons).Let system sit for several hours.Drain and refill fresh water tank.Run water through all taps until the chlorine smell is gone. I don't mind a little residual chlorine in the system, since we get chlorinated city water. Some people flush the system multiple times to completely purge the chlorine.HTH, Art
Re: WInterizing the H2O system? Reply #17 – October 25, 2011, 12:05:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126179What we always do is drain the hot water tank first, then fill it back up with the bleach water that is now in the fresh water tank per your previous steps. Then, once the bleach water has had a chance to sit in the system for awhile (at least 3 hours, overnight would be better), then we drain the fresh water tank and the water heater, fill up the water tank with fresh water, and fill the water heater again. Some people use vinegar or baking soda in this second step and drain and refill for a third time, but the little smell of bleach that's left after filling up with fresh water has never bothered us (and quickly dissipates), so we've never bothered with the vinegar or baking soda step.Linda Hylton http://earl-linda.blogspot.com
Re: Winterizing the H2O system? Reply #18 – November 02, 2011, 08:27:38 pm Yahoo Message Number: 126344Instead of installing a bypass valve for the water heater, why not just drain it? That's a simple task.I drain the tank and blow out the lines with compressed air. Of course, I live where anything below 20 is rare.I prefer moving the rig to a place where it does not freeze myself.
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