Winterize questions

[Dakota98]

Once again, the time to put her to bed is here.

Last year I winterized the TT myself for the first time. I decided to use air & everything worked great. Simple, & less pink stuff was needed. I used the anti-freeze in the P traps & a little in each holding tank only.

Even though, things were fine this last spring when I started to use my TT once again, I have a few concerns.

My water heater has a By-pass & I did open those valves also last year, but it is difficult to get to. Do I really need to concern myself with the by-pass at all ? I do drain the water tank as the first step in this process of using air.

Also, By connecting the air to the city water connection, how does this affect the 12 volt water pump & does this method purge the pump of any residual water? Or is there something else I need to do for the pump itself ?

And last question, I've seen posts for "air pressure" setting anywhere from 20psi to 65psi. My 12 volt pump operates at 45psi & I would think that an air pressure setting below that would be safe. I used 25psi last year. What's your opinion ?

Here's a pic of my set-up connecting to the city water.

[Campinfan]

No reason to do the bypass if you are not adding the pink stuff. Also, I think most people feel comfortable with 40 lbs of air because IIRC the water pressure regulators are set for around that amount of pressure for water. If it holds for the water, it will hold for the air. I usually set mine for around 40 lbs too.

[wa8yxm]

Regarding water heater:
Drain, Plug hole, Blow, Drain, Plug hole, blow, Drain again, plug hole and do around 10 more blows, each a few minutes apart (This gets most all the water out) then drain and plug again, If atwood remove red wire from ECO and you are good.

Pump
Leave inlet valves (if any) open, and drain plug out of tank or valve open.
After first blow access pump , take a towel with you, lay towel under pump inlet strainer. Open the inlet strainer and let it drain into the towel (Less than 1/2 cup) turn on pump for like one minute, Turn off pump, re-assemble inlet strainer (This is a turn latch, make sure it is firmly latched)

That will do it.

[korbe]

Regarding the water in the line between the pump and the fresh water holding tank: My tank outlet line connects to the tank near the bottom but still on the sidewall. On the way home on our last trip of the season I stop at a specific parking lot with a pretty good side slope. With the 5er side sloped I open the freshwater tank drain valve and once it stops the drain process, I will turn on the pump and and run it until only air spits out the faucet.

[mbopp]

I clear my lines with compressed air but still use the pink stuff. I figure $10 is cheap insurance.

My WH doesn't have check valves. Charge the system with air, shut the air off, and open the low point drain. The air space in the WH will force the water out of the drain. Repeat until the WH is empty. Blow out the rest of the system and then do the low point drain one more time. Now the WH is empty.

Blowing air in the city water connection doesn't clear the pump. Set the pump valves to the winterize position and blow air into the pickup hose. This will blow air through the pump and its check valve and clear the pump. Now open both winterize valves and blow again, this clears the tank pickup line.

I leave the water tank drain valve open so any residual water drains out instead of freezing in the valve.

At this point I pump the pink stuff through the system (WH in bypass mode.) Then I blow it out again. Overkill? Maybe, but cheaper than a frozen water system.

[WyoTraveler]

That adapter will do the job. They sell an adapter. It just doesn't have the valve. Air hose fitting directly to water pipe.

adapter

[downtheroad]

I use the same kind of compressor hook up that you have pictured. I set our compressor to 40 psi so your 45psi setting should be just fine.

Just remember to have something open (a faucet, etc) when you release the air into the system.
I have my wife hold down the toilet flush pedal for that step.