Winterizing

I leave mine open the rest of the winter. They are small and don't attract bugs.

Do i leave them open or just drain and close

Kylesmith3021 wrote:
How do i drain the low point drains?? I drained all the fresh water out of tank and the black out..i also have 2 low points in the back that go up through the floor but never knew what they were for

In our trailer the low point drains are under a plywood panel in the floor of the bathroom closet. It has to be removed to access them.

DutchmenSport wrote:
I can't do that on the shower, so make sure a generous amount of pink is poured down the shower drain.

Good tip! I winterized the Ollie today and forgot the shower drain, going to take care of that task shortly!

At city water inlet, remove screen filter (if there is one) and there should be a small 'push' valve (button). Push it using your finger to release water at the check valve. Just don't stand in front of it when you do it if you don't want to get sprayed.

Kylesmith3021 wrote:
How do i drain the low point drains?? I drained all the fresh water out of tank and the black out..i also have 2 low points in the back that go up through the floor but never knew what they were for

Those are your low point drains. Just open them and they will drain. It does not matter if pink starts to flow out... as some actually blow out lines after they filled them with pink.

How do i drain the low point drains?? I drained all the fresh water out of tank and the black out..i also have 2 low points in the back that go up through the floor but never knew what they were for

I previously used the pink stuff method described by the OP when I winterized in 2014 but since have used the air compressor method because it is a lot less messy and works just as well. Last year I used the air compressor method. This year I am going to use the air compressor method again. Essentially this involves: draining the 3 tanks, run the water pump dry, open the low point drains, drain the water heater, bypass the water heater, put 35 psi air on the city water inlet, and open each faucet in turn to blow out until you only get air. Blow out the toilet water supply. Blow out the black tank blow down line.
Leave the low point drains open until spring. Reinstall the water heater lower plug after it has been drained. Put some pink stuff in the sink drains and enough in the shower drain to get it into the gray tank discharge valve. Also put some pink stuff in the toilet and flush to get it into the black tank discharge valve. Leave a little pink stuff in the toilet. Next spring redo the heater bypass back to normal and close the low point drains.

westend wrote:
Toilet and valve....

Yes this. My Dometic manual says that the valve is susceptible to freezing and a frozen valve is not covered under warranty. I pump the pink stuff through it and leave an inch or 2 in the bowl to keep the seal lubricated.

RedRocket204 wrote:

danimal53 wrote:

Kylesmith3021 wrote:
I drained hot water tank and just kept plug off for winter..

is this recommended? by plug, do you mean the thing that has the anode rod?

this is the only part of winterizing I'm unclear on, do I want to leave my water heater open to the outside all winter? I dont know if something can get in there, or the tank could corrode etc.

I've read time and time again where many leave the anode rod out or loosely screwed back in but never a reason why.

When I winterize my WH, I use compressed air (45 psi) in the city water connection and first drain the WH until there is mist being forced out. If you stick your finger in there, you can feel a lip where there is about 1/2"-1" of water still left in the WH. I will use my hand to cut-off the mist to let pressure build back up, release and water will come out until pressure reduces. Repeat 4 or 5 times until almost all the water is removed. Then I will finish blowing out all the other lines and lastly check the WH and repeat the pressure process if needed. I then torque the anode rod to appropriate torque and leave it. It has never been an issue.

So, do as you want but I do not believe torquing the anode rod back to spec an issue while winterized.

last year i left it in, loosely. my thinking was, if there is a little water left in there, it has room to expand without increase in pressure. I also "tip" my TT towards the water heater, to help get as much water out as I can (just raising the opposite side of the TT).

i use compressed air for all the water lines, but not for WH as you mentioned. i use my hand the same way on the low-point drains, letting pressure build to force air out. I think I'll do that on the WH this year.