Winterizing for the first time

[dshinnick]

We normally "winterize" by heading to Florida, but since we just bought a house, I had to do the coach the traditional way. But I ran into a small bug.

We have a 2005 Holiday Rambler Ambassador with a Norcold 1200LRIM refrigerator.

All went well for most everything. Drained all fresh water, emptied the hot water tank, closed the bypass valve for the hot water tank, put the "pink" into the fresh water inlet, ran the pump and got pink out of all the taps.

The "problem", if it really is one, is the refrigerator. The manual says to run the pink through the ice maker to purge any water that may be there. I started the fridge and turned on the ice maker. The water pump ran, I thought to fill up the ice maker, but it kept running, I felt, too long. I noticed that there was some pink dripping out of the hot water drain plug opening, even though I had closed the bypass valve (and double checked it). So I couldn't leave the water pump running to get pink into the ice maker, knowing that it would just all run out the water tank drain.

So, three questions:

1. Why would pink get into the water heater tank with the bypass valve closed?

2. do I even need to worry about whatever residual water may be in the ice maker?

3. If so, how should I proceed? I did disconnect the water feed line to the fridge in the access panel on the side of the coach, but that does nothing to remove any water which may be in the fridge system itself.

We're in North Carolina. If the coach doesn't sell (it's on Rvtrader.com) in the next few weeks I'll probably take it to PPL (consignment) in Houston, so it should miss the worst of North Carolina's winter in late December and January. But, I'd like some advice on if/how to proceed on winterizing the refrigerator.

Thanks much!

dave

[Bill_Satellite]

Mile High wrote:

Jim@HiTek wrote:

After spending 3 winters in Fairbanks, Alaska (-55F is the coldest I saw on the few times I stayed up to look at the outdoor thermometer), and using just the air method, I can attest that it works fine. Takes less than an 1/2 hour to be back living in the RV in the spring. And no horrible pink stuff taste for days afterwards either.

If it were that easy I would blow my lines out too - it gets a little more complicated with wash machines, dishwashers, ice makers. Its just easier and faster for me to use pink.

It actually IS that easy. If you blow all (almost all) of the water out of all the lines there is nothing to freeze enough to cause any issues. Throw some anti-freeze down into the J-traps and you are all done. The OP says that he then pumps RV anti-freeze through the lines but this is completely unnecessary. It's a great video right up to that point but then it goes off track. I guess you have to do something to keep your YouTube channel on track but this is not one of those videos that folks using the blow out method need to follow.

[Mile_High]

Jim@HiTek wrote:

After spending 3 winters in Fairbanks, Alaska (-55F is the coldest I saw on the few times I stayed up to look at the outdoor thermometer), and using just the air method, I can attest that it works fine. Takes less than an 1/2 hour to be back living in the RV in the spring. And no horrible pink stuff taste for days afterwards either.

If it were that easy I would blow my lines out too - it gets a little more complicated with wash machines, dishwashers, ice makers. Its just easier and faster for me to use pink.

[Jim]

crasster wrote:
Typically I just use compressed air on low PSI and blow out my lines past the water pump (and pump them out before). Never had a problem. I just make sure I hear the air rushing for a bit. Is there anybody else that does just this or is it always pink stuff? May help that I live in TX and not too many hard freezes.

After 13 years of hanging around this and other RV forums, I'd say the number of people using pink vs air is about 50/50. I know that for myself, I first tried the pink my first year of full timing and that cured me of ever doing it again. It's just so much easier to stand in one place, at the highest water point in the RV, with all the water valves open and blow 25 PSI air into the shower hose and hear it sputtering out of all the faucets in the place. Outside shower drained too.

After spending 3 winters in Fairbanks, Alaska (-55F is the coldest I saw on the few times I stayed up to look at the outdoor thermometer), and using just the air method, I can attest that it works fine. Takes less than an 1/2 hour to be back living in the RV in the spring. And no horrible pink stuff taste for days afterwards either.

[Mile_High]

duplicate

[Mile_High]

What everyone said on the Norcold. Once that hose leaves the blue solenoid, it is open to the icemaker so as long as it drains you are good. What is in the icemaker will evaporate, and it doesn't matter if it freezes. Be sure to leave your doors open on the fridge, or cracked open. Pull the supply off that solenoid as well as you pump antifreeze and wait till pink shoots out the end. You should have a white wire kind of wrapped around the valve with some foil looking stuff. That is actually heat trace and should be put back to protect that solenoid exposed to the vent opening.

On the hot water tank, if you have a simple one valve bypass, then you have a check valve on the outlet of the tank that prevents antifreeze from entering the tank backwards. I would suspect that first before your bypass valve, and actually I would carry a few spares of that one in brass, because they malfunction a lot and will leave you with no hot water.

[JerryofWV]

I just winterized my 2005 Monaco Monarch. (won't be heading South until after Christmas)

I had the same problem with the bypass valve leaking. The pump would kick on and off and a little pink antifreeze would run out of the drain on the water tank.

I was still able to winterize as normal.

[crasster]

Typically I just use compressed air on low PSI and blow out my lines past the water pump (and pump them out before). Never had a problem. I just make sure I hear the air rushing for a bit. Is there anybody else that does just this or is it always pink stuff? May help that I live in TX and not too many hard freezes.

[SuperGewl]

Well for one I hope you meant "Open the By-pass valve" and shut the inlet and outlet to the water heater. Now as far as the Ice maker, if you disconnect the inlet and outlet on the icemaker control valve and place the ice maker control arm in the off position you should be OK. Just make sure you wrap the ends of the lines in plastic or something to keep them clean. You can also stuff some insulation in the area of the control valve to help insulate it better.
I would have recommended using 25lb air to winterize with vice the RV anti-freeze. The recovery is easier and it's cheaper also. Just my .00001 worth.

[janstey58]

You may have a bad check valve on your water heater if you have a single bypass valve for winterization configuration. I do have this scenario, and ended up winterizing with pressurized air.

[TNGW1500SE]

Not answering your question but,,,, don't forget the washer fluid. Some of the blue stuff freezes. Spray the washer until empty and add deicer. Run until lines are full of deicer.

[Jim]

1. Pretty common for the bypass back to the tank to leak a little.
2. I wouldn't worry about it, but I'd drain that little fill hose outside in the refer access. Disconnect the hose from both sides of the fill solenoid and blow out any water from the solenoid. Than let gravity drain any water from the ice maker hoses. The fill hose may have pink stuff in it so drain it as best you can, OR, the under sink shut off valve that leads to the ice maker solenoid is shut off.
3) See #2. Remember that ice makers are meant to be frozen so as long as you get the water out of the 1/4" hose in back that goes up to the freezer, by gravity, you're good.