Question for "Blow Out the Water Line" gurus

rockhillmanor wrote:

John&Joey wrote:
I love to know how people can equate a lawn sprinkler system with a water supply system. A sprinkler system has black pipe and sprinkler heads, that's pretty much it. Doesn't have toilets, shut off valves, hot water heater, faucets, shower heads, pumps, strainers, ice makers, dish washers, black tank sprayers, outside showers, etc...

All RV's are different both from the standpoint of the manufacturer and what some prior owner did to them. Using pink stuff you're pretty much guaranteed not to have a problem.

Blowing out the lines you'll more then likely be just fine. If not, you'll know what to do the next year when you fix the busted part in the spring.

Then next winter you can write on the forum how blowing out the lines down in Tennessee, won't work up in Manitoba and you need to do more.

X2

I think this is one factor that is often overlooked on forum advice on winterizing.

Location, Location, Location of where the RV is stored for the winter.
Where the guy that blows out the lines lives, versus where the OP asking the question lives.

Do they really get all the water out? or because of where they live... Did it ever get cold enough 'long' enough to freeze what was really left behind in the lines.

I generally avoid these threads because it is a lot like Ford/Chevy/Ram debates.. But your comments do need a rebuttal.

I live in North West PA, not far from the "Snow Belt" in PA (for those who don't have a clue the snow belt is referring to I80)..

I have been blowing out only with air for 15 years now, the ONLY thing I have "lost" was a toilet water valve on the FIRST time I winterized.. And that was because I was STUPID and did not leave the shutoff valve on the back of the toilet OPEN.

The closed water valve TRAPPED the water in that short piece between the valve and toilet valve..

Last year was so cold and icy it was as if Canada invaded PA and stayed.. So cold for so long I was having to break and chip 3"-4" of ice nearly every day from in front of my tractor shed in order to get the door open.. I lost nothing, no leaks this spring, no broken pipes..

The theory is simple and basic, you remove as much water as possible and what doesn't come out can safely freeze as long as it has room to expand.

You can try this theory in your home freezer.. Take two bottles of water.

Make one completely full leaving no air in it, mark as full.

The second on fill it half full, mark as half full, lay on side and mark the water level.

Place in freezer on the SIDE (not standing up).

Check the next day.

You full one should have broke open at the weakest point (typically the cap).

The half full one should be fully in tact and you will see how much the ice expanded.

Another interesting tidbit you should understand.. Ice does not expand much at all once it is frozen.. So it doesn't matter if you experience 32F or -32F the max expansion happens around the freezing mark of 32F.

I blow mine out and once no water comes out of the faucets I depressurize then open the low points..

My low points are tubing "stubs" about 4" long that go through the floor. There is screw on caps on the stubs on the underside of my floor.. I have never seen more than a few drops of water fall out of the stubs..

With your theory I should have had tons of water fall out of those stubs.. In reality what is happening is the water in those stubs is being picked up by a vacuum as the water is pushed out of the lines..

The air after the water is also creating a vacuum and will continue to pickup water.. essentially atomizing the water.. It is called a "venturi" effect, it is how carburetors worked by pulling a vacuum to pull fuel up out of the float chamber through a jet and into the throat..

For the OP, if it makes you feel better you can simply loosen the water line on the pump and any water at that point will drain out from the pump lines..