cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Pink antifreeze turned purple

Kyte
Explorer
Explorer
Newbie here,

I put good old Walmart antifreeze (Super Tech) in the camper.
It went in pink, but turned a light purplish color at the faucets.
Checked the clear water lines and all looked light purple.

Its the same stuff I used last year with no problem. It went
in pink and came out pink. I checked the ingredients and they
are the same as last years right down to the ingredients numbers.

Any ideas why?

Regards
Kyte in NW PA
18 REPLIES 18

mowin
Explorer
Explorer
popupcamping wrote:
Bmach wrote:
You do not need to blow out the lines before pumping in the pink stuff. It will push out the water as it goes through the line.


it wont "push" the water out..it mixes with it. they are both water based therefor they mix....


What? The AF will most definitely push the water out. What happens in the spring when de winterizing? The water pushes the AF out. No need to blow the lines out beforehand. -20 her last winter, and I had no issues.

camperforlife
Explorer
Explorer
Allworth wrote:
We have a cold snap coming tomorrow night. I don't think I'll bother with the antifreeze. It is going to get down to 50.


That's just plain mean:B

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Explorer III
There may have been some chemicals in the line (May have, techinically H20 (Water) is a chemical so....) that it reacted with.

Suggestion: how much fun is it to get rid of all that stuff come spring?

Next fall, use compressed air, open all valves, blow the lines out wait, blow again, wait (like 5-10 times, waiting 2-5 minutes between blows) and when you no longer get any evidence of water in the lines, dump (if you have home dump) the waste tanks and pink the traps and toilets.

NOTE: after the FIRST blow open the water pump inlet strainer,(Put a towel under it to catch any water) run the pump for like a minute, then re-assemble the strainer housing.

Then cycle the ice maker to let gravity suck the water out of those lines.

Then do the 2nd blow.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
Kenwood TS-2000, ICOM ID-5100, ID-51A+2, ID-880 REF030C most times

Allworth
Explorer II
Explorer II
We have a cold snap coming tomorrow night. I don't think I'll bother with the antifreeze. It is going to get down to 50.
Formerly posting as "littleblackdog"
Martha, Allen, & Blackjack
2006 Chevy 3500 D/A LB SRW, RVND 7710
Previously: 2008 Titanium 30E35SA. Currently no trailer due to age & mobility problems. Very sad!
"Real Jeeps have round headlights"

Kyte
Explorer
Explorer
I dumped the purple stuff.

I don't have the "T" connection yet, so I syphoned out as much
water from the fresh water tank as I could. Put new antifreeze
in. Pumped it thru the water system. I than took a sample from
the outside shower in a clear jar. It was the same color as when
it went in. I think I'm good.

Thanks for all the help.

Regards
Kyte in NW PA

popupcamping
Explorer
Explorer
Bmach wrote:
You do not need to blow out the lines before pumping in the pink stuff. It will push out the water as it goes through the line.


it wont "push" the water out..it mixes with it. they are both water based therefor they mix....

TinyoneRV
Explorer
Explorer
I doubt there's anything wrong with your antifreeze. I got two gallons at Walmart yesterday. The Prestone brand was pink, the other brand had a definite purple color. The fact that it is frozen is not a problem since it freezes without expanding. Water, on the other hand expands when it freezes and that's what bursts the pipes, pumps, faucets, etc.

1775
Explorer
Explorer
An RV antifreeze freeze test - it actually does freeze but does not expand -

http://roadtrek190popular.blogspot.com/2014/01/rv-antifreeze.html
Roadtrek 190 Popular 2011

Meryl and Me Hit the Road

Kyte
Explorer
Explorer
well, I placed some purple antifreeze in the freezer. I
checked it today. Sad to say, it was rock solid.

I'm going to drain this stuff out and start over...

Thanks for the freezer tip. I would have never thought
of that.

Regards
Kyte in NW PA

Giselle
Explorer
Explorer
well, when it comes to anti freeze, they are very variable. Blue color, green color, pink color lot of color and a lot depends on the color. In your case, the only thing I can think of is the worng use of anti freeze. Yes I reasd that it is the same company with same composotion of the chemicals but, if single of batch is made with different chemcials or the compstotion is different then it might not work. Try a different anti free with same composition.

Kyte
Explorer
Explorer
I did remove the carbon water filter before I started.

I'm trying the freezer route as subjected before.

If the water freezes in the freezer I'll drain the lines
and start over.

I read that this winter will be singular to last years.
Hope not..

Regards
Kyte in NW PA.

bdpreece
Explorer II
Explorer II
Any chance you have a carbon water filter in the line. Had one fail once and it turned my water black. Pink and black might show as purple.
Brian, Loretta & Daisy (Golden Retriever)

2008 Holiday Rambler Endeavor PDQ40
2014 Ford Explorer toad

Bmach
Explorer II
Explorer II
You do not need to blow out the lines before pumping in the pink stuff. It will push out the water as it goes through the line. That is why the flow will turn from water to pink. You can buy an adapter that screws into your city water connector and you just run air at about 40 psi through all your lines. Some people leave it at that, others like myself will then add the pink stuff.

Kyte
Explorer
Explorer
I put in 3 gallons of new pink antifreeze and 1/2 gallon
of year old pink antifreeze.

The RV dealer told me that pink antifreeze never goes bad,
so I used the 1/2 gallon. It was just as pink as the new stuff.

I'm thinking that I didn't get all the water out of the lines.

Will try the freezer approach and let you know how it works.

Regards
Kite