Blowing out water lines in Class A
Apologies if this was answered in previous posts. I suspect there is a very simple answer. This forum and YouTube have been very helpful yet I have one open question: I plan to winterize my RV us...
Forum Discussion
My thoughts & suggestions:
If you don't already have an air compressor, I'd recommend getting one that can inflate your tires to their proper pressure. Practically, that usually means you want the compressor to have a max psi rating of at least 25-30 psi above your desired tire inflation pressure.
For light use, an oilless compressor is fine. If you use a compressor which uses oil, than I'd consider using a filter in the line to keep oil out of your water system. Probably not a huge issue, but there is some oil that is present in the compressed air due to oil that gets past the rings in the compressor piston.
The regulator will limit the pressure in your system. I usually use about 40-50 psi to blow out my lines. Having the faucets closed WITH a functioning regulator presents no danger to your lines. 50 psi is 50 psi, water or air. The system should hold pressure to well over that.
IF you blow out your lines carefully, there is NO NEED to use antifreeze EXCEPT for the drains and john to keep the seal wet. A little standing water in the pipes WILL NOT crack a pipe, the water will expand along the length of the pipe. It's NOT going to expand against the wall of the pipe as long it can expand into the air space of the pipe. It's only when the water has NO direction to expand that you have to worry about breakage.
I've been blowing out the waterlines in my class A since we got it new in 2004. Never had an issue and NEVER ran antifreeze through the freshwater system. A gallon of RV antifreeze usually lasts me two seasons, unless I de-winterize and have to re-winterize upon return. And if I KNOW I'm going to be filling the rig with water again soon after winterizing, I use the exhaust of a wet/dry vacuum to blow the water out of the drains instead of putting anti-freeze down the drains.
Good Luck,
~Rick
If you don't already have an air compressor, I'd recommend getting one that can inflate your tires to their proper pressure. Practically, that usually means you want the compressor to have a max psi rating of at least 25-30 psi above your desired tire inflation pressure.
For light use, an oilless compressor is fine. If you use a compressor which uses oil, than I'd consider using a filter in the line to keep oil out of your water system. Probably not a huge issue, but there is some oil that is present in the compressed air due to oil that gets past the rings in the compressor piston.
The regulator will limit the pressure in your system. I usually use about 40-50 psi to blow out my lines. Having the faucets closed WITH a functioning regulator presents no danger to your lines. 50 psi is 50 psi, water or air. The system should hold pressure to well over that.
IF you blow out your lines carefully, there is NO NEED to use antifreeze EXCEPT for the drains and john to keep the seal wet. A little standing water in the pipes WILL NOT crack a pipe, the water will expand along the length of the pipe. It's NOT going to expand against the wall of the pipe as long it can expand into the air space of the pipe. It's only when the water has NO direction to expand that you have to worry about breakage.
I've been blowing out the waterlines in my class A since we got it new in 2004. Never had an issue and NEVER ran antifreeze through the freshwater system. A gallon of RV antifreeze usually lasts me two seasons, unless I de-winterize and have to re-winterize upon return. And if I KNOW I'm going to be filling the rig with water again soon after winterizing, I use the exhaust of a wet/dry vacuum to blow the water out of the drains instead of putting anti-freeze down the drains.
Good Luck,
~Rick
