Forum Discussion

Explorer

Nov 06, 2018

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 using air. I plan to use our 12v car tire pumper upper. It connects to the stem on a car tire or bicycle tire.

However, the "adapter" parts I see on Amazon all appear to connect to the male part of a pressure hose - not the type of stem that is on a car tire.

1. Does anyone have experience using the 12v car fire inflator to also be used to blow water our of RV lines? Is it effective?
2. I assume there is an adapter that will connect to my RV's fresh water intake and also to the female of the 12v unit (which is used to connect to a car tire)?

Thanks for your help.

Seeking Advice

34 Replies

donn0128
Explorer II
Nov 06, 2018
You need high volume, low pressure. Over the years I discover 10-15PSI worked best for me.
DrewE
Explorer II
Nov 06, 2018
A 12V car tire compressor will likely not be very effective because it moves a minuscule volume of air. (I'm assuming you don't mean something like a nice Vair compressor, but the typical gizmo that plugs into the cigarette lighter.) To blow the water out of the piping for winterization, you need a moderately large amount of air at a relatively modest pressure.

You might be able to get by if you used an air accumulator tank in spurts, but it would be a painfully slow and noisy process filling it back up with the inflator, and many inflators aren't really designed for continuous rather than intermittent operation.
Son_of_Norway
Explorer
Nov 06, 2018
I'm not sure that a 12-volt tire inflater would have the volume and pressure needed to blow out your water system.
flyboykuao
Explorer
Nov 06, 2018
I just answered part of my own question. I found the blowout plug that connects to a 12v or hand tire pump. I will gladly read other feedback.