How to blow out lines to winterize

[ricelake922]

Hello. I have always paid to winterized my RV but would really like to learn how to do it myself without just pouring antifreeze down the toilet and sinks. I would really like to use air on the lines butl do not have a clue. Can someone please tell me using the KISS principle on how to do this task. I am placing the RV indoors for the winter. Thank you in advance.

[msmith1199]

Flapper wrote:

msmith1199 wrote:
... So the water at either end will freeze first and block any expansion for the water in the middle. Will that be enough to burst your pipe? ...

Yes it will. There have been lots of studies. It isn't the ice that bursts the pipes, as it usually has a place to go. It is the trapped water between two pieces of ice, that can build to a very high pressure and burst the pipe, water being incompressible and all.

No, I don't put antifreeze in the lawn sprinkler system, but I do in my pool (12 gal per year!)

I wrote that because I have had hoses burst in the winter that had water in them but the end of the hose was open. So even with the harden hose not closed in, the hose still split so that's why I know it can happen at least to a garden hose. I have no idea if it will happen in a motorhome but I don't see why it couldn't.

[Flapper]

msmith1199 wrote:
... So the water at either end will freeze first and block any expansion for the water in the middle. Will that be enough to burst your pipe? ...

Yes it will. There have been lots of studies. It isn't the ice that bursts the pipes, as it usually has a place to go. It is the trapped water between two pieces of ice, that can build to a very high pressure and burst the pipe, water being incompressible and all.

No, I don't put antifreeze in the lawn sprinkler system, but I do in my pool (12 gal per year!)

[Lancslad]

From experience----using air or the pink stuff--- always open the water heater bypass valve.

[Busskipper]

ricelake922 wrote:
Hello. I have always paid to winterized my RV but would really like to learn how to do it myself without just pouring antifreeze down the toilet and sinks. I would really like to use air on the lines butl do not have a clue. Can someone please tell me using the KISS principle on how to do this task. I am placing the RV indoors for the winter. Thank you in advance.

Just google it then decide what you feel good with - For 5 years I always used HEAT and it never failed me - but when we ordered the last Coach and it was left at the plant for service in the winter they used air - said it was the only way they would do it. So now I use air - for 10 years without a problem.

Google it - then you decide.

BOL,

[Bill_Satellite]

dodge guy wrote:
The problem with just blowing out the lines is that there is always a low point in one of the lines to trap water. No matter how much air you put through it, you will always have water left in a line somewhere. Do it right with RV antifreeze and you will have no worries. $6 worth of antifreeze is better than ripping apart a wall to try and find a ruptured line!

You call it a problem but saying it does not make it true. If you blow out the lines, leaving a bit of water in the lines will not hurt anything. Do it right with air and you will also have no worries.
The poster asked how to do it. He has been told how to do it. It works and this is undisputable if done correctly. Anti-freeze works too, so if you want to go that route you will not get any arguments from me, either.

[dougrainer]

BLOWING OUT CORRECTLY AND YOU WILL NOT HAVE ANY WATER TO POOL. PERIOD! Doug

[msmith1199]

I don't know a lot about this stuff, but once thing I do know is you can't count on the "room to expand" argument here. If you have a pipe that has a low spot and that low spot has water in it, that water will freeze from the outside in. So the water at either end will freeze first and block any expansion for the water in the middle. Will that be enough to burst your pipe? I have no idea. I guess the answer is it all depends!

I do think that most modern RV's are made with freeze protection in mind. I think they do their best to avoid hanging pipes that would trap water. Of course that is with the exception of water traps in the drain system.

[GlennLever]

I am a believer of air and pick both

[old_guy]

I used the air method once and only once. it didn't get all the water out and I had a busted fitting I had to repair, so now I use air and pink. haven't had a frozen fitting since.

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

dodge guy wrote:
The problem with just blowing out the lines is that there is always a low point in one of the lines to trap water. No matter how much air you put through it, you will always have water left in a line somewhere. Do it right with RV antifreeze and you will have no worries. $6 worth of antifreeze is better than ripping apart a wall to try and find a ruptured line!

I believe your concern is entirely imaginary. I’ve been reading this forum and others for over 12 years and I have yet to hear of anyone who had ruptured pipes as a result of blowing out lines rather than using anti-freeze. Around here, people winterize cabins by draining and blowing out copper water lines.

Unlike copper or hard plastic, modern pex tubing used in RVs is flexible enough that it can freeze without bursting.

If pex fittings are full of water, they will probably rupture or the crimp will be pushed apart. Faucets, etc., will almost certainly freeze and burst if full of water. A little bit of residual water will do no harm because it is not under pressure to begin with and has room to expand.

If someone chooses to pump the pink stuff through their lines, that’s their choice. But don’t tell people that blowing out the lines doesn’t work or is risking burst lines.

Wayne

[mowermech]

Every year, it is the same argument.
Those of us who use air only keep saying "IT WORKS!"
Those who use anti-freeze keep saying "If you don't use anti-freeze, your lines will freeze and break!" or "The air method works only if it doesn't get really cold!"
Never mind that some of us who use the air method live in Montana and Wyoming where 20 to 30 below zero is not all that uncommon. Perhaps that isn't "REALLY COLD!"
I will be draining and blowing out the lines in my coach sometime next month. Next spring, I will sanitize the water system and fill it for use.
Just like I have done for the last several years.
"IT WORKS!"

[dodge_guy]

The problem with just blowing out the lines is that there is always a low point in one of the lines to trap water. No matter how much air you put through it, you will always have water left in a line somewhere. Do it right with RV antifreeze and you will have no worries. $6 worth of antifreeze is better than ripping apart a wall to try and find a ruptured line!

[msmith1199]

I use the live in California method and just never winterize. I find it to be very easy to do, but the taxes are killer!

[427435]

For what it's worth, I let my air compressor build to 120 psi before connecting the hose. HOWEVER, I always have at least one faucet open. With the pressure drop through the air hose and the coupling and with a faucet open, there is never 60 psi of actual pressure in the MH lines.

The first year, I set the compressor to 60 psi and did the MH. Then I thought about the pressure drops, opened a faucet, and let the compressor build to 120 psi before having the DW connect the air hose. A lot more water came out!!

Anyway, it's worked for me in Minnesota for 9 years now.

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

I’ve always blown out the lines and never had a problem. It isn’t necessary to get every molecule of water out; so long as the lines are mostly empty of water, what’s left will have room to expand harmlessly if it freezes. Besides, pex water lines won’t rupture if they freeze, although the fittings probably will.

With the current rig, I drain the water heater, open the low point drains, then blow out the icemaker and that lines that are left. Anti-freeze in the traps and toilet. Done. I close everything up because I don’t want insects seeking shelter in the water tank or lines. I sanitize the lines in the spring.

You should note that volume of air counts for more than pressure when blowing lines – the bigger the air tank, the faster and better you can clear the lines of water. I have a 7-gallon tank that I fill a couple of times when blowing the lines, and I wish I had a bigger tank that I did not feel I needed to fill again while winterizing.

Wayne