First Time Winterizing - Did I Miss Anything?
We finally took possession of our Bullet 247BHSWE! I made it home without hitting anything, unhitched it successfully, and things are going great. This morning I noticed a little bit of frost on every...
Forum Discussion
Sounds like you did OK in the end, but some steps would have been easier if you would have followed this a simpler plan.
(assuming your black and grey tanks are are already clean)
1. Drain your fresh water tank. You should have a drain valve under the tank. If not pump all the water out via the sink, toilet, or shower. But it should have a drain valve on the tank.
2. Bypass the hot water tank
3. Drain the hot water tank by removing the drain plug-anode rod. Pull the pressure relief valve if you don't want it to bubble and surge as it drains. But not necessary, it will eventually empty.
4. Attach your air compressor to the blow out plug on your city water (garden hose) hook up.
5. (I usually do this with my wife, as my blow-out plug is like a car tire. I have to hold the air hose filler on the stem). Start the compressor, build it up to pressure and attach hose.
6. Second person inside the camper has a cell phone or a walkie talkie and as soon as you start the air, tell them to open one faucet (hot or cold only, but not both).
7. Second person responds back back it quits spitting water and air only. Then do the other side of the faucet, (hot or cold). When it spits noting but air, move to the next faucet, toilet, shower, sink, outside shower.
8. Once you do all the faucets, I like to go over them all a second time and more sure no water continues to spit. This is very quick normally.
9. Disconnect air compressor and now open all the faucets, hot and cold.
10. Now... go under the trailer and open the low point drains, hot and cold, and what little bit is there drain out. Put the caps back or and close them tight so you won't forget in the Spring. I removed them completely one year and forgot. First time we tried attaching water, it kept running out from under the trailer until I remembered .. OH DUH! Low point caps. Then I had to try to remember where I put them.
11. Pour some RV antifreeze down each drain to protect the P-traps.
12. Now, open the black and grey tank valves and let the remaining fluid drain. Leave them open a few hours so everything drains, including the antifreeze. It's now mixed with water in the tank and has no value anyway. Too diluted.
13. Your Onboard water pump. If it has a screen filter on it, take it off and empty the water. (If blowing only ... I remove the pex hose from the inlet and outlet side, turn the pump on for a few seconds and let it spit any water that may be in it. And I leave it that way a few hours, so the inside will dry and then put it back together so I won't forget in the Spring.
This sounds like a lot of steps, but it's really not.
Now, if you decide to "pump the pink" instead of blow, I think it's much simpler.
1. Turn all faucets off.
2. Drain fresh water tank.
3. By-pass the water heater.
4. Drain the water heater.
5. Attach hose to water pump, or if you have the kit already installed, flip the valve at the water pump.
6. Stick hose in gallon jug.
7. Turn on water pump and let it pressurize the water lines until the pump turns off.
8. Then open each faucet, hot and cold, one at a time until "pink" stuff flows and no water.
9. When done, put put back in normal position.
10. Open low point drains. A bit of water will run, but soon replaced by pink. It doesn't need to run via the pump. Gravity is fine.
11. Drain black and grey tank. Contents will be mixed with water and pink-stuff and have no freeze value anyway.
12. You probably do not need to any pink stuff to the drains as they are already filled with pink-stuff, if you let the faucets run for a couple seconds with "Pink stuff".
Done.
One more thing... IT DOES NOT HURT THE ONBOARD WATER PUMP IF IT RUNS and run and runs. (even if there is no water in the fresh water tank). This will not hurt them. You can run them for hours and even days (empty) and it won't hurt them at all. (I know, been there, done that ... and there was lots of discussion on this a few weeks ago on a previous forum thread).
(assuming your black and grey tanks are are already clean)
1. Drain your fresh water tank. You should have a drain valve under the tank. If not pump all the water out via the sink, toilet, or shower. But it should have a drain valve on the tank.
2. Bypass the hot water tank
3. Drain the hot water tank by removing the drain plug-anode rod. Pull the pressure relief valve if you don't want it to bubble and surge as it drains. But not necessary, it will eventually empty.
4. Attach your air compressor to the blow out plug on your city water (garden hose) hook up.
5. (I usually do this with my wife, as my blow-out plug is like a car tire. I have to hold the air hose filler on the stem). Start the compressor, build it up to pressure and attach hose.
6. Second person inside the camper has a cell phone or a walkie talkie and as soon as you start the air, tell them to open one faucet (hot or cold only, but not both).
7. Second person responds back back it quits spitting water and air only. Then do the other side of the faucet, (hot or cold). When it spits noting but air, move to the next faucet, toilet, shower, sink, outside shower.
8. Once you do all the faucets, I like to go over them all a second time and more sure no water continues to spit. This is very quick normally.
9. Disconnect air compressor and now open all the faucets, hot and cold.
10. Now... go under the trailer and open the low point drains, hot and cold, and what little bit is there drain out. Put the caps back or and close them tight so you won't forget in the Spring. I removed them completely one year and forgot. First time we tried attaching water, it kept running out from under the trailer until I remembered .. OH DUH! Low point caps. Then I had to try to remember where I put them.
11. Pour some RV antifreeze down each drain to protect the P-traps.
12. Now, open the black and grey tank valves and let the remaining fluid drain. Leave them open a few hours so everything drains, including the antifreeze. It's now mixed with water in the tank and has no value anyway. Too diluted.
13. Your Onboard water pump. If it has a screen filter on it, take it off and empty the water. (If blowing only ... I remove the pex hose from the inlet and outlet side, turn the pump on for a few seconds and let it spit any water that may be in it. And I leave it that way a few hours, so the inside will dry and then put it back together so I won't forget in the Spring.
This sounds like a lot of steps, but it's really not.
Now, if you decide to "pump the pink" instead of blow, I think it's much simpler.
1. Turn all faucets off.
2. Drain fresh water tank.
3. By-pass the water heater.
4. Drain the water heater.
5. Attach hose to water pump, or if you have the kit already installed, flip the valve at the water pump.
6. Stick hose in gallon jug.
7. Turn on water pump and let it pressurize the water lines until the pump turns off.
8. Then open each faucet, hot and cold, one at a time until "pink" stuff flows and no water.
9. When done, put put back in normal position.
10. Open low point drains. A bit of water will run, but soon replaced by pink. It doesn't need to run via the pump. Gravity is fine.
11. Drain black and grey tank. Contents will be mixed with water and pink-stuff and have no freeze value anyway.
12. You probably do not need to any pink stuff to the drains as they are already filled with pink-stuff, if you let the faucets run for a couple seconds with "Pink stuff".
Done.
One more thing... IT DOES NOT HURT THE ONBOARD WATER PUMP IF IT RUNS and run and runs. (even if there is no water in the fresh water tank). This will not hurt them. You can run them for hours and even days (empty) and it won't hurt them at all. (I know, been there, done that ... and there was lots of discussion on this a few weeks ago on a previous forum thread).
