Blow out winterizing question

[sandtsherman]

I have blown out all of the lines 3 times now, I just keep thinking a little water will pool somewhere and freeze - call me paranoid. Question; when you blow out, does that take care of the fresh water pump? If not, should I run just enough anti freeze to protect it?

1st winterize, so just checking...

Thank you!

[Ted22]

Drain out all the water you can, including the hot water tank. Use the bypass. Then dump 5 gals of pink into water tank (hey - it's cheap and easy) Run pink through the system.
And..drink bottled water unless you plan to use bleach or whatever to clean your tanks.

[TakingThe5th]

Bob1180 wrote:
Is there any order that you blow out the lines? Like the farthest fixture first, or the closest first? Then the down lines.

* * edited * *
I start by draining the hot water tank, turning on the HW bypass, and uncorking the low-point drains, then close the low-points and blow everything out in any order - then blow everything out a second time - should not blow out any additional water the second time. Drain your low-points again and you should have all the water out.

[Bob1180]

Is there any order that you blow out the lines? Like the farthest fixture first, or the closest first? Then the down lines.

[glazier]

TakingThe5th wrote:

Old Duck wrote:
What am I missing, can't figure out why the lines need blown out, then pump in antifreeze.? I've blown them out, not using the pink stuff, last year used the pink stuff. I but a bunch when it is on sale so get it for about $3. Cheap peace of mind if we get. cold snap and flushes easy the 2 or 3 times we winter camp

I blow the lines out AND use the pink. There are two ways to get your fresh water when camping - city water or the fresh water tank via the pump, I blow out the lines using the city water inlet and I pull in the pink stuff using the pump after I drain the fresh water tank.

I worried that the city water line might still contain water if I simply pumped the pink stuff, since there is a check valve at the inlet that could create an air block and hold some water in that line. Blowing that line out eliminates that possibility.

Exactly, and I blow out the black tank flush before I add the pink stuff.

So blowing the lines out, then pumping the pink stuff covers all the bases in my opinion.

[WyoTraveler]

mudmaker wrote:
Just a thought. Is there a p trap for the clothes washer? I'm sure there is somewhere. I have a new unit and never had one with w/d hookups. This one has never had a washer in it so I guess there technically shouldn't be any water in the washer drain. Just got me wondering.

There is a p trap in washer drain. Check your washer manual. I have Splendide. Pour half gallon of pink stuff in washer and spin it out down the drain.

[C_Schomer]

I never had trouble in Co. I stored the pump in the garage and hooked the air hose to the pump discharge line to blow out the system. After blowing the water lines, I held a rag over the drains and blew them out and put the drain plugs in. Craig

[mowermech]

enblethen wrote:
I blow out the lines, remove screen filter from the pump, run pump for 5-10 seconds, drain water heater, flush water then dump a cup or two of anti freeze done drains and in toilet bowl.

Yep, me, too.
It works.
Just as it does for the underground sprinklers.

[JoshInReno]

TakingThe5th wrote:

enblethen wrote:
I wonder how many people use the pink stuff and then drink bottled water?

True

That's us right there.

90% of our water system gets used for the toilet. The other 10% is used for washing of dishes/hands/teeth, etc.

For what it's worth, I usually blow out the lines - then pink into drains and tanks. I am anticipating a very, very cold winter this year here. So I am going to pump a bunch of pink into the system.

I have a nice, new bypass with the suction hose sitting here in the box that I can't install, even though I would like to. Why can't I install it? Because when the previous owner replaced the water pump, they mounted it in such a way that I would have to re-engineer a large portion of my plumbing system to make room for the bypass. They mounted the pump in a spot with almost zero clearance between other obstructions.

[TakingThe5th]

enblethen wrote:
I wonder how many people use the pink stuff and then drink bottled water?

True

[Its4mykids]

I take pump out and put in house, cap pump line, bypass and drain water heater, drain fresh tank, blow out all lines, dump about 2c antifreeze in each drain, another gallon down toilet (to keep valve o-ring lubed), and leave it for the winter. 20 years in Chicagoland winters - no problem. The first year I used the antifreeze and tasted it for months. Will never do that again. Don't forget to blow out "hidden" lines that you can forget about - Washer line, outside showers, main drain lines under camper (if you have them). Also, close all valves when done. This keeps the system "sealed" and prevents condensation from building up which CAN pool and then freeze.

[enblethen]

I wonder how many people use the pink stuff and then drink bottled water?

[obgraham]

I'm not going to criticize those that prefer the pink stuff. I just don't like dealing with it in the spring.

So I just blow the lines. Envision the entire water system, from its inlets to its outlets, and make sure they've all been blown out. Including the pump. Takes less than 15 minutes, once you understand your system. If you do a thorough job there is no reason for any significant water to remain in the lines.

I see no logic to doing both.

[TakingThe5th]

Old Duck wrote:
What am I missing, can't figure out why the lines need blown out, then pump in antifreeze.? I've blown them out, not using the pink stuff, last year used the pink stuff. I but a bunch when it is on sale so get it for about $3. Cheap peace of mind if we get. cold snap and flushes easy the 2 or 3 times we winter camp

I blow the lines out AND use the pink. There are two ways to get your fresh water when camping - city water or the fresh water tank via the pump, I blow out the lines using the city water inlet and I pull in the pink stuff using the pump after I drain the fresh water tank.

I worried that the city water line might still contain water if I simply pumped the pink stuff, since there is a check valve at the inlet that could create an air block and hold some water in that line. Blowing that line out eliminates that possibility.

So blowing the lines out, then pumping the pink stuff covers all the bases in my opinion.

[RollandB]

What am I missing, can't figure out why the lines need blown out, then pump in antifreeze.? I've blown them out, not using the pink stuff, last year used the pink stuff. I but a bunch when it is on sale so get it for about $3. Cheap peace of mind if we get. cold snap and flushes easy the 2 or 3 times we winter camp