Our old RV had a fresh water tank and 1 faucet...piece of cake. The new one supposedly has a water heater bypass, but its not real accessible.The local hardware store had a sale on Peak RV -50 antifreeze for $1.43 a gallon. Bought 12 gallons. Should cover the boat AND the RV.So, how about I drain the fresh, grey and black tanks, and the water heater. Then add 8 gallons to the fresh water tank. Next turn on all the faucets to the sink, tub and toilet. That should flush everything, and all the water will go to the grey and black tanks so they will be flushed as well. Then, drain everything again. Finished!I'm not concerned about wasting AF - For 12 bucks how can you go wrong? Any reason my logic is flawed?

No but many of us myself included don't use RV Anti Freeze in the fresh water system. Rather we bypass the WH, blow out the water lines with air, leave all the taps and drains open, and only use the pink stuff for the p-traps and toilet bowl.

THe problem with that approach is getting all of the anti freeze out of the fresh tank. The fresh tank never totally empties. You will have to rinse/drain the fresh tank a gazillion times to get the anti freeze out.Learn how to do it the right way by passing the fresh tank. It's really not that hard.

I'm a 102 miles from home and I don't have a compressor. To my way of thinking, if the fresh tank can't completely drain, then adding antifreeze is imperative. If you leave water in the tank you risk cracking it.

gypsmjim wrote:Our old RV had a fresh water tank and 1 faucet...piece of cake. The new one supposedly has a water heater bypass, but its not real accessible.The local hardware store had a sale on Peak RV -50 antifreeze for $1.43 a gallon. Bought 12 gallons. Should cover the boat AND the RV.So, how about I drain the fresh, grey and black tanks, and the water heater. Then add 8 gallons to the fresh water tank. Next turn on all the faucets to the sink, tub and toilet. That should flush everything, and all the water will go to the grey and black tanks so they will be flushed as well. Then, drain everything again. Finished!I'm not concerned about wasting AF - For 12 bucks how can you go wrong? Any reason my logic is flawed?You lost me. I use about 2 gallon every time I winterize.

path1 wrote:gypsmjim wrote:Our old RV had a fresh water tank and 1 faucet...piece of cake. The new one supposedly has a water heater bypass, but its not real accessible.The local hardware store had a sale on Peak RV -50 antifreeze for $1.43 a gallon. Bought 12 gallons. Should cover the boat AND the RV.So, how about I drain the fresh, grey and black tanks, and the water heater. Then add 8 gallons to the fresh water tank. Next turn on all the faucets to the sink, tub and toilet. That should flush everything, and all the water will go to the grey and black tanks so they will be flushed as well. Then, drain everything again. Finished!I'm not concerned about wasting AF - For 12 bucks how can you go wrong? Any reason my logic is flawed?You lost me. I use about 2 gallon every time I winterize.I used to use only 1 gallon for my old trailer. Since the HW tank hold 6 gallons, I figured you needed at least 6 gallons in the fresh tank to fill the HW tank.I don't know how to explain it better, so if you're still lost let me know and I'll explain more.

Simple Winterization Procedure | Good Sam Community

27 Replies

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Aug 29, 2014
Yes, you can do it the way you described, but you will forever have foamy water because the pink-stuff will never be completely rinsed from the fresh water tank. There is always a bit of water in the tank, even when you drain it completely.

Your water heater will need to be rinsed very well too if you put "pink stuff" in it. You're better off using the pump from the bottle method and bypass the water heater. Now if you don't care about foamy water, well, you can do that!
gbopp
Explorer
Aug 29, 2014
sch911 wrote:
No but many of us myself included don't use RV Anti Freeze in the fresh water system. Rather we bypass the WH, blow out the water lines with air, leave all the taps and drains open, and only use the pink stuff for the p-traps and toilet bowl.

x2. I've been blowing out the water lines for the last two winters.
It's quick and simple. No problems and, last winter was really cold for our area.
gypsmjim
Explorer
Aug 29, 2014
path1 wrote:
gypsmjim wrote:
Our old RV had a fresh water tank and 1 faucet...piece of cake. The new one supposedly has a water heater bypass, but its not real accessible.

The local hardware store had a sale on Peak RV -50 antifreeze for $1.43 a gallon. Bought 12 gallons. Should cover the boat AND the RV.

So, how about I drain the fresh, grey and black tanks, and the water heater. Then add 8 gallons to the fresh water tank. Next turn on all the faucets to the sink, tub and toilet. That should flush everything, and all the water will go to the grey and black tanks so they will be flushed as well. Then, drain everything again. Finished!

I'm not concerned about wasting AF - For 12 bucks how can you go wrong? Any reason my logic is flawed?

You lost me. I use about 2 gallon every time I winterize.

I used to use only 1 gallon for my old trailer. Since the HW tank hold 6 gallons, I figured you needed at least 6 gallons in the fresh tank to fill the HW tank.

I don't know how to explain it better, so if you're still lost let me know and I'll explain more.
path1
Explorer
Aug 29, 2014
gypsmjim wrote:
Our old RV had a fresh water tank and 1 faucet...piece of cake. The new one supposedly has a water heater bypass, but its not real accessible.

The local hardware store had a sale on Peak RV -50 antifreeze for $1.43 a gallon. Bought 12 gallons. Should cover the boat AND the RV.

So, how about I drain the fresh, grey and black tanks, and the water heater. Then add 8 gallons to the fresh water tank. Next turn on all the faucets to the sink, tub and toilet. That should flush everything, and all the water will go to the grey and black tanks so they will be flushed as well. Then, drain everything again. Finished!

I'm not concerned about wasting AF - For 12 bucks how can you go wrong? Any reason my logic is flawed?

You lost me. I use about 2 gallon every time I winterize.
gypsmjim
Explorer
Aug 29, 2014
I'm a 102 miles from home and I don't have a compressor.

To my way of thinking, if the fresh tank can't completely drain, then adding antifreeze is imperative. If you leave water in the tank you risk cracking it.
Lantley
Nomad
Aug 29, 2014
THe problem with that approach is getting all of the anti freeze out of the fresh tank. The fresh tank never totally empties. You will have to rinse/drain the fresh tank a gazillion times to get the anti freeze out.
Learn how to do it the right way by passing the fresh tank. It's really not that hard.
sch911
Explorer
Aug 29, 2014
No but many of us myself included don't use RV Anti Freeze in the fresh water system. Rather we bypass the WH, blow out the water lines with air, leave all the taps and drains open, and only use the pink stuff for the p-traps and toilet bowl.

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Simple Winterization Procedure

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