Winterizing ?

Those little tiny compressors don't work well for blowing out the lines. The air supply needs to have some volume to it. Most usually at least a small tank is needed on the compressor. If you use one of those Shraeder valve thingy's you need to have a clamp on air chuck. So you can keep the air on while walking thru and opening and closing faucets. Or else have someone else hold the air on while you walk thru and open/close faucets. Or else there is a lot of in and out...open cold... blow...close cold... open hot...blow...over, and over.

And yes, 30 to 40 pounds of air is recommended. Should be done in 10 minutes. Can you believe some places charge $100 for that?

Some people blow out the lines and then pump A/F in. Some just open the Low Point drains, faucets, flush valves, etc., and pump A/F in, without blowing out the lines. The antifreeze clears out the plain water. Some do both.

What I do is blow the lines in the early fall, if I may be taking the RV out later in the fall. If it may drop to below freezing before I actually go out. Then if I don't take it out, and it gets to the point I probably won't get to go camping before the real cold comes...then I pump the A/F thru the system. None in the water heater. None in the tanks. Just the P-Traps.

pennysmom09 wrote:
This probably sounds really dumb, but where do you blow the air into the lines for winterizing....and do you do it in more than one place? We don't have really cold winters here and would like to avoid antifreeze, since we will be taking it to FL in Jan.

RV stores sell an adapter for the city water connection which has a Schrader valve. Set your compressor to 40 psi and go through your RV opening all the taps, shower heads, toilet flush, low point drains etc until no water comes out.

BB_TX wrote:
Use a compressor that has a max pressure adjustment knob and set it for no more than 40 psi. Drain the water heater and bypass it before blowing out the lines.
And yes, to dewinterize just connect to water and flush the lines and fill the water heater.

Thank you!!

Use a compressor that has a max pressure adjustment knob and set it for no more than 40 psi. Drain the water heater and bypass it before blowing out the lines.
And yes, to dewinterize just connect to water and flush the lines and fill the water heater.

Thank you vulcaneer.....how much psi air do we need? We have a small compressor we use for tires....mostly bike tires......and the airbags...will that be enough?

Then to de winterize we just flush the lines?

pennysmom09 wrote:
This probably sounds really dumb, but where do you blow the air into the lines for winterizing....and do you do it in more than one place? We don't have really cold winters here and would like to avoid antifreeze, since we will be taking it to FL in Jan.

Into the city water connection, if your control panel valves do NOT have a "winterize" setting and winterizing valve. Open your low point drains. Open all faucets...so the water drains out (all sinks, inside and outside shower, toilet flush valve. Then close all the faucets. And then have someone open each faucet, and toilet flush valve (one at a time...Hot and also cold) as you blow air in thru the city water connection. Don't forget clothes washer, and ice maker. May run water pump while blowing air into the system. Then cap the low point drains closed. Be sure to drain water heater. Make sure it is turned off AND COLD and then you bleed of all pressure (relief valve) before pulling the plug out.

When I winterize with A/F, I do NOT put A/F in the FW Tank, or Water Heater. Just drain them, and by-pass WH. A/F in only water lines, water pump, faucets, toilet flush valve, clothes washer, and P-traps. That way there is very little de-winterizing needed. And no A/F gets ingested into anyones body. And less then 2 gallons of A/F.

This probably sounds really dumb, but where do you blow the air into the lines for winterizing....and do you do it in more than one place? We don't have really cold winters here and would like to avoid antifreeze, since we will be taking it to FL in Jan.

BB_TX wrote:
Do you have an outside shower? If so, connect a short hose from the outside shower to the black tank flush. The shower needs to be winterized also.

genius... that's too easy. Thanks for the tip.

Our winters get down to -30 ...I've never worried about winterizing the saniflush

BB_TX wrote:
Do you have an outside shower? If so, connect a short hose from the outside shower to the black tank flush. The shower needs to be winterized also.

Me too or put a male garden hose end on your pump hose.