Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK January 19, 2019, 03:34:05 pm Living almost 3 yrs FT in Gracie, but have never had to really winterize. This yr. I'm attempting a winter season in Illinois, () about to drive into the frozen tundra, and will have intermittent opportunities for access to electricity. After hrs of YouTube watching, I may understand the anti freeze method. After draining tanks and water heater ( I've done that when replacing an anode rod), one guy simply put 7 gallons of RV pink into the water holding tank and pumped it thru each line until pink was obvious. No, I have no by pass valve. Why do I need to attach a hose to inlet side to use with gallons of the antifreeze.? What am I missing here?
Re: Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK Reply #1 – January 19, 2019, 05:18:58 pm "What am I missing here?"----The wisdom of staying where winterizing is not necessary? 3 Likes
Re: Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK Reply #2 – January 19, 2019, 06:45:00 pm Problem with draining water tank and then adding pink stuff is you may not have got all the water out when you drain the tank which will dilute antifreeze. The other thing is the pump won't suck every bit of water out or in this case pink stuff so you may have to put extra gallons of it into tank which is an expense. Really pretty easy to disconnect inlet side of pump and screw on a length of line to suck antifreeze directly from a gallon jug. RV stores usually carry a simple kit for this procedure. A cost savings tip is to stick a piece of plastic pipe into water heater when you drain it and save as much antifreeze as possible. Hope you found this helpful.
Re: Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK Reply #3 – January 19, 2019, 07:08:16 pm Thanks Sawyer, helpful ...yes. So you're saying you dont use any antifreeze in the fresh holding tank, because you drained it well, and only in the water lines, some poured into drains for traps?
Re: Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK Reply #4 – January 20, 2019, 12:26:22 am Quote from: busstop61 - January 19, 2019, 07:08:16 pmThanks Sawyer, helpful ...yes. So you're saying you dont use any antifreeze in the fresh holding tank, because you drained it well, and only in the water lines, some poured into drains for traps? As I understand the system, the fresh tank is not vulnerable to damage (neither are the black & gray)--it's everything else... pump/water lines/ faucets/drains/toilet connections & sprayer.One big question, though: If you're living FT in Gracie, won't you be heating her? If it's too cold for Gracie's plumbing, won't that be too cold for your plumbing? My understanding (which I depend upon others to correct) is that bringing the water heater up to temp once a day & keeping the interior at least 50 (which, oddly, can feel pretty darn chilly in the LD or the stix house, even though it may be quite lovely outside in the spring sunshine) & opening cupboard/access doors will protect the plumbing. That's what I did when we had some hard freezes here in north Missouri while I was still making my bi-monthly treks to Texas into early December.I finally winterized in mid-December, when my trekking was done & it was time to put her in her nest in the machine shed at the farm. After dumping the black/gray tanks, I put some Dawn down the toilet & ran the toilet to empty the last of the fresh tank the pump could get (less than 1/4 left); I opened the fresh tank drain valve/petcock on the water heater & drove several turns around the pasture to slosh the suds & then dumped that. I then blew out LDy Lulubelle's lines & put antifreeze in the sink/shower traps & toilet. I will likely feel anxious about this 'til I fill her up again in the spring; if she lived here at the house where I could check on her every day I'd just keep her moderately heated at 50.Good luck.Lynne
Re: Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK Reply #5 – January 20, 2019, 03:13:58 am As suggested, a water pump bypass allows pumping antifreeze through the entire water system without filling the water tank, it does use a bit of antifreeze.You can significantly reduce the amount by first blowing the system out with compressed air, if available..The RV Doctor: Winterize Using A "Schrader Valve?"Amazon.com: Camco 36104 Plastic Blow Out Plug: AutomotiveAmazon.com: Camco Permanent Pump Converter Winterizing Kit- Allows You to...Larry 2 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK Reply #6 – January 20, 2019, 07:25:21 am Quote from: busstop61 - January 19, 2019, 07:08:16 pmThanks Sawyer, helpful ...yes. So you're saying you dont use any antifreeze in the fresh holding tank, because you drained it well, and only in the water lines, some poured into drains for traps? Yes only in water lines and traps, water tank can just be drained but leave it open in case residual water wants to congregate in drain valve itself. In my slide in camper I had for twenty years I put a few gallons of antifreeze in the water tank after draining it and then pumped that through the entire system. It had a hot water bypass built in which made that more efficient and the pump sucked nearly all the water or antifreeze from the holding tank. My LD leaves five gallons of water in the tank when the pumps sucking air so I'd have to put five gallons of antifreeze in plus enough antifreeze to winterize the pipes. Might check and see if yours has this same flaw. For me that works because I consider it a five gallon safety margin and when my pump goes dry I know I have five gallons of water left to drain into a container.
Re: Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK Reply #7 – January 20, 2019, 09:54:56 am The problem with freezing water is at just about freezing the ice expands. In places were the ice can not expand it breaks weaker areas. I shared all that the main places of concern are the water pump, it's gears, and water lines. A partially filled grey and black tank is of no concern damage wise. As there is lots of room for water expensive water and ice expansion.
Re: Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK Reply #8 – January 20, 2019, 01:09:01 pm Quote from: Lynne Broyles-Greenwood - January 20, 2019, 12:26:22 am After dumping the black/gray tanks, I put some Dawn down the toilet & ran the toilet to empty the last of the fresh tank the pump could get (less than 1/4 left); I opened the fresh tank drain valve/petcock on the water heater & drove several turns around the pasture to slosh the suds & then dumped that. I then blew out LDy Lulubelle's lines & put antifreeze in the sink/shower traps & toilet. I will likely feel anxious about this 'til I fill her up again in the spring; if she lived here at the house where I could check on her every day I'd just keep her moderately heated at 50.Good luck.That is nearly the same winterization that I would use on our 26.5 RB, with the additional task of removing the in-line filter/strainer. It has snap fittings, near the pump. It would hold water. So I would drain it, and re-install in the Spring. It was easy to do, the pump was on the floor under big closet. Just took out the bottom 2 drawers for access.If you have a filter in your model, that would be the only thing I would suggest to do differently. But that's just me.You really shouldn't have much to worry about.
Re: Winterizing Gracie, '02 RK Reply #9 – January 20, 2019, 01:18:01 pm Getting the last drops out of the toilet water supply valve is important, having changed several them that had frozen and blown apart. Some get lucky and get all the water out with compressed air, other add some anti-freeze afterwards, as insurance,Better to be over prepared than under prepared.It's even better is to never have to winterize.Larry
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