Winterized w/compressed air
I winterized my TT with compressed air through the city water inlet with my compressor set at 25 PSI. I went through and opened each valve one at a time for over an hour. I uncapped the low point dr...
Forum Discussion
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I use the air purge method, one faucet at a time, 50 psi, as does matt m. I open the fresh water drain on the last trip back from camp, and if I remember, the low point fresh drains too. On a nice day I manage to mist a few die-hard, probably armed, bikers on the way home. I hope they always realise it is only fresh water.
One important thing not clear in preceeding posts, is to open black and gray water dump-drains into a waste bucket momentarily before adding pink anti-freeze to the P-trap drains. While it doesn't matter if small, shallow amounts of water are left in the bottom of waste tanks, it does matter if significant water is all collected in the sewer pipes leading to the sliding drain valves... which is exactly where excess waste tank water ends up. In most cases, there isn't much left in there after the final dump, but it pays to be sure since these sewer pipes are an ugly job area to repair.
A large volume of air flow is important. Still, I once used my miniature, take-along pancake compressor to purge the lines just to prove it will work. Such a small compressor cannot nearly provide continuous sufficient "wind" to blow out low point "sags" in fresh supply lines, but if done one faucet at a time, will work great by suddenly releasing a full pressure build-up, one small tank-rush at a time. In other words, I had to wait between faucets for air pressure to build after the previous faucet. It therefore took longer than my normal method.
What I usually do is blow my lawn sprinkler system the same day. I use a shop mounted 220 volt compressor that, along with a 60 gallon tank, can maintain plenty of air cfm (cubic feet per minute) and provide ample "wind" to atomize water that collects in low spots in underground supply lines. Every fall, commercial lawn sprinkler companies use large engine-driven trailer mounted compressors to do the same thing, but I save $35-50 per season by doing my own. Money better spent camping, I say. The only error I ever made was to increase the pressure regulator setting up to 60# of air one year and then blew the top off one of the sprinkler heads when it slammed open. They open a lot quicker with air than they do water. I found fifty pounds of air works just as well and I now avoid super-sudden air surges when I turn the air valve on.
To get vast quantities of air volume across my yard to provide enough "wind", I use at least 5/8 garden hose for air supply. I got in the habit of using garden hose because, even after extraordinarily long lengths, it worked great for commercial sand blasting and material texture applications by preventing line pressure loss at lower cost, compared to lengthy, large diameter and more expensive industrial air hose. And nobody steals garden hose off a job site.
When doing our travel trailer, I therefore let the pressure build to 50#, walk throughout the camper, and open one faucet at a time, cycling several rounds until I hear no more gurgling. Along with pink stuff for the traps, it takes no more than 30 minutes when the air line is already available from the sprinkler system service.
Wes
...
I use the air purge method, one faucet at a time, 50 psi, as does matt m. I open the fresh water drain on the last trip back from camp, and if I remember, the low point fresh drains too. On a nice day I manage to mist a few die-hard, probably armed, bikers on the way home. I hope they always realise it is only fresh water.
One important thing not clear in preceeding posts, is to open black and gray water dump-drains into a waste bucket momentarily before adding pink anti-freeze to the P-trap drains. While it doesn't matter if small, shallow amounts of water are left in the bottom of waste tanks, it does matter if significant water is all collected in the sewer pipes leading to the sliding drain valves... which is exactly where excess waste tank water ends up. In most cases, there isn't much left in there after the final dump, but it pays to be sure since these sewer pipes are an ugly job area to repair.
A large volume of air flow is important. Still, I once used my miniature, take-along pancake compressor to purge the lines just to prove it will work. Such a small compressor cannot nearly provide continuous sufficient "wind" to blow out low point "sags" in fresh supply lines, but if done one faucet at a time, will work great by suddenly releasing a full pressure build-up, one small tank-rush at a time. In other words, I had to wait between faucets for air pressure to build after the previous faucet. It therefore took longer than my normal method.
What I usually do is blow my lawn sprinkler system the same day. I use a shop mounted 220 volt compressor that, along with a 60 gallon tank, can maintain plenty of air cfm (cubic feet per minute) and provide ample "wind" to atomize water that collects in low spots in underground supply lines. Every fall, commercial lawn sprinkler companies use large engine-driven trailer mounted compressors to do the same thing, but I save $35-50 per season by doing my own. Money better spent camping, I say. The only error I ever made was to increase the pressure regulator setting up to 60# of air one year and then blew the top off one of the sprinkler heads when it slammed open. They open a lot quicker with air than they do water. I found fifty pounds of air works just as well and I now avoid super-sudden air surges when I turn the air valve on.
To get vast quantities of air volume across my yard to provide enough "wind", I use at least 5/8 garden hose for air supply. I got in the habit of using garden hose because, even after extraordinarily long lengths, it worked great for commercial sand blasting and material texture applications by preventing line pressure loss at lower cost, compared to lengthy, large diameter and more expensive industrial air hose. And nobody steals garden hose off a job site.
When doing our travel trailer, I therefore let the pressure build to 50#, walk throughout the camper, and open one faucet at a time, cycling several rounds until I hear no more gurgling. Along with pink stuff for the traps, it takes no more than 30 minutes when the air line is already available from the sprinkler system service.
Wes
...
