How to winterize residential refrigerator??
I have a residential refrigerator with water connection. Suggestions on how to winterize it. I opened up the back panel and could not find any instructions or valves. Thanks guy’s, David
Forum Discussion
I have a Samsung residential refrigerator in my 5er. I winterized it 2 days ago. The last item I winterized was the ice maker in the refrigerator. So, here's how my resources and a bit of compromise on my part did it.
First, I winterized everything with the RV antifreeze Pink Stuff and waited to do the ice maker last.
On my Montana High Country 375FL, the refrigerator is in one of the slides. There is a small water line that runs under the slide (outside) from the inside underbelly of the camper. At that junction there is a connection.
With Antifreeze still under pressure from the water pump and the tube in the gallon jug, I loosened that junction and let the clear water spew until it turned pink. Then I tightened the connection back up.
Inside the camper, where that small line comes through the floor, there is an on-off valve with a connection for an even smaller line that actually runs to the refrigerator.
I turned that valve off and then unhooked the smaller line that ran to the refrigerator. With a cup, I put the cup under the open end and turned the valve back on slowly, and after a cup of clear water, the pink stuff appeared. I let just a bit more flow and then closed off the valve and reconnected the line going to the refrigerator.
Now I knew the clear water had only about 5 feet of tubing before it was filled with antifreeze pink stuff.
Following directions from YouTube and my manual I found on line, on the bottom side of the ice maker is a small reset, or recycle button. When pushing this button, the tray dumps, turns back upright, and then fills with water. I pushed the button about 10 times, repeating over and over, catching the dumped water in the ice tray. After about the 10th time, good pink antifreeze started filling the small ice try.
It was then I turned that on-off valve (inside the camper) to the off position so no more antifreeze would feed into the ice maker.
I then pushed the button one more time to dump the final bit of antifreeze into that ice bucket and because the valve was off, no more antifreeze could flow into the ice maker.
We are still using the refrigerator, but the water pump is off, the fresh water tank is empty, the system is winterized with pink stuff, and ice maker is now winterized and the water line going to it is off.
When I un-winterize, I'll do the same thing again. I'll unwinterize everything and do that line to the ice maker last. I'll bleed the antifreeze at those two connection points again, and then just keep feeding clear water through the ice maker by pressing that button over and over again until it's flushed good.
It took longer to do the ice maker than running the antifreeze through everything else combined on my 5er. It's something you simply cannot rush.
Find the manual trigger button on your ice maker and just keep pushing it, until the pink stuff starts flowing.
First, I winterized everything with the RV antifreeze Pink Stuff and waited to do the ice maker last.
On my Montana High Country 375FL, the refrigerator is in one of the slides. There is a small water line that runs under the slide (outside) from the inside underbelly of the camper. At that junction there is a connection.
With Antifreeze still under pressure from the water pump and the tube in the gallon jug, I loosened that junction and let the clear water spew until it turned pink. Then I tightened the connection back up.
Inside the camper, where that small line comes through the floor, there is an on-off valve with a connection for an even smaller line that actually runs to the refrigerator.
I turned that valve off and then unhooked the smaller line that ran to the refrigerator. With a cup, I put the cup under the open end and turned the valve back on slowly, and after a cup of clear water, the pink stuff appeared. I let just a bit more flow and then closed off the valve and reconnected the line going to the refrigerator.
Now I knew the clear water had only about 5 feet of tubing before it was filled with antifreeze pink stuff.
Following directions from YouTube and my manual I found on line, on the bottom side of the ice maker is a small reset, or recycle button. When pushing this button, the tray dumps, turns back upright, and then fills with water. I pushed the button about 10 times, repeating over and over, catching the dumped water in the ice tray. After about the 10th time, good pink antifreeze started filling the small ice try.
It was then I turned that on-off valve (inside the camper) to the off position so no more antifreeze would feed into the ice maker.
I then pushed the button one more time to dump the final bit of antifreeze into that ice bucket and because the valve was off, no more antifreeze could flow into the ice maker.
We are still using the refrigerator, but the water pump is off, the fresh water tank is empty, the system is winterized with pink stuff, and ice maker is now winterized and the water line going to it is off.
When I un-winterize, I'll do the same thing again. I'll unwinterize everything and do that line to the ice maker last. I'll bleed the antifreeze at those two connection points again, and then just keep feeding clear water through the ice maker by pressing that button over and over again until it's flushed good.
It took longer to do the ice maker than running the antifreeze through everything else combined on my 5er. It's something you simply cannot rush.
Find the manual trigger button on your ice maker and just keep pushing it, until the pink stuff starts flowing.
