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nykolas's avatar
nykolas
Explorer
Oct 16, 2019

newbie question about winterizing water lines and pump

hi

I have some questions about winterizing my 2008 Everest fifth wheel.

I bought it at the beginning of the season and parked it on my piece of land.

I only went on weekends and day trips so I never bothered flushing the antifreeze out of the plumbing lines.

The Canadian winter is approaching and I was wondering can I leave the same antifreeze in all winter long for a second time?

I do not know much about the mechanics of 1/5 wheel I did try to start the pump but I could not figure out how.

The panel near the fuses had a switch for pump but it wasn't one that turned on and off it always came back to the same position.

I tried to find another switch or something else that controls the water pump and I could not.

Can anyone shine some light on my problems :-)

Always appreciated

Nicholas
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Oct 20, 2019
    nykolas wrote:
    thanks for all the replies

    I am curious though to start the pump and when I go back this weekend I will try to find a secondary switch .. . Does that pump only work on 12v from battery or does it work if I have a generator and have 120?

    thanks


    It works from the 12V system. When connected to 120V power, whether from a generator or the electric grid, the converter should supply 12V power for the pump and other 12V systems. When no AC power is available, of course, the 12V power comes from the battery alone. Most modern converters will work properly with no battery connected, but a fair few older ones did require a battery to work properly.

    If you're ever towing your trailer, you need to have a battery installed for the breakaway trailer brakes to operate (a legal requirement in many areas).
  • RJsfishin's avatar
    RJsfishin
    Explorer
    Oct 20, 2019
    Antifreeze probably ok for the winter.

    As far as I know there is always a pump switch on the monitor panel.
    The other switch you describe sounds more like a circuit breaker, If it doesn't stay in the reset position, there may be a short in the water pump circuit somewhere.
    The pump runs on 12v only either from the battery or the 12v converter when plugged in to shore power. All the 12v stuff runs on battery all the time, the converter charges the battery when plugged in.
  • nykolas's avatar
    nykolas
    Explorer
    Oct 17, 2019
    thanks for all the replies

    I am curious though to start the pump and when I go back this weekend I will try to find a secondary switch .. . Does that pump only work on 12v from battery or does it work if I have a generator and have 120?

    thanks
  • Bill_Satellite's avatar
    Bill_Satellite
    Explorer II
    Oct 16, 2019
    nykolas wrote:
    hi

    I have some questions about winterizing my 2008 Everest fifth wheel.

    I bought it at the beginning of the season and parked it on my piece of land.

    I only went on weekends and day trips so I never bothered flushing the antifreeze out of the plumbing lines.

    The Canadian winter is approaching and I was wondering can I leave the same antifreeze in all winter long for a second time?

    I do not know much about the mechanics of 1/5 wheel I did try to start the pump but I could not figure out how.

    The panel near the fuses had a switch for pump but it wasn't one that turned on and off it always came back to the same position.

    I tried to find another switch or something else that controls the water pump and I could not.

    Can anyone shine some light on my problems :-)

    Always appreciated

    Nicholas


    Yes.
  • harley4275's avatar
    harley4275
    Explorer
    Oct 16, 2019
    Pour anti down the traps and into toilet. Leave all taps open if you are leary, wont hurt anything.
  • ggardne2's avatar
    ggardne2
    Explorer
    Oct 16, 2019
    If it was winterized properly and you never ran water through the lines or drained the anti-freeze you should be fine. In terms of your pump switch, this sounds like a momentary switch that turns on when pushed up, off when pushed down. Usually this type of switch in a camper is an indication that there is a second switch somewhere in the circuit (sometimes in the control panel and perhaps in a bathroom). IF your system is pressurized pusing the switch up woudl energize the pump circuit but the pump would not run as the pressure in the ilnes is high enough.

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