Blow out water lines question

[docnascar]

First time trying the blow out method. The one thing that I typically dont see is what do folks do with the freshwater pump?

The one thing I read was to fully drain the freshwater tank. Then turn the pump on and let it run until no water comes out and then continue for another 15 20 seconds to continue to clear out any remaining water in the pump. Is that sufficient?

I've used no pink stuff in any lines, just air. I did put the pink stuff in the traps and in the toilet bowl.

Also my GD 2400BH has a black tank water inlet for a spray bar to clean inside of the black tank. Is it necessary to blow the line for that considering there are no valves and it's not pressurized? I already did it but just curious if its needed.

[jerem0621]

I blew out my lines on my TT. I got to thinking about it one day and decided that the $4.00 gallon of antifreeze and 20 minutes of my time were worth the extra insurance. It makes sure that there is nothing in the lines, pump, or joints in my water system.

Keep in mind that the advise on the PEX lines DOES NOT APPLY to all TT’s. Not everyone has a newer TT/Fiver/Motorhome, lots of these older units have the gray water lines and those are very fragile.

I promise you, $4.00 worth of prevention can save you THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS in repair costs it is simply not worth it to save a few bucks.

Thanks, and as always... JMHO

Jeremiah

[jrhanbar98]

I’ve blown my lines out every year with no issues. Live in MN so it gets cold and stays cold. Pretty easy empty hot water heater, hook up air and set to 90psi, open up each faucet one at a time, let it go till all you have is mist coming out. I do drop RV antifreeze in the p-traps and toilet. Use way less punk stuff, and easy start up next year, just turn water on. Biggest myth is you need to get ALL water out, it’s okay to have some stay in, just don’t want full blockage of the line by ice.

[gmw_photos]

cavie wrote:
How did simple winterization become so complicated?? Shop vacs, turkey basters, air compressors. 6 gals of air space in a steal tank you you think 3/4" of water it will cause damage? Owners manual says drain the tank. PERIOD. You guys miss Elementary since class? You all need to get a hobby!

Using the shop vac also cleans out much of the debris in the bottom of the tank that is shed from the anode rod.

By the way, I did just fine in science and physics class. Some of us simply like to tinker with our RV's. You'd probably shake your head at the fact I wax my truck once a month too 🙂 And I wax my trailer with a buffer twice a year.:E

[drsteve]

cavie wrote:
How did simple winterization become so complicated?? Shop vacs, turkey basters, air compressors. 6 gals of air space in a steal tank you you think 3/4" of water it will cause damage? Owners manual says drain the tank. PERIOD. You guys miss Elementary since class? You all need to get a hobby!

I gotta admit the turkey baster/shop vac thing was a new one...

[cavie]

How did simple winterization become so complicated?? Shop vacs, turkey basters, air compressors. 6 gals of air space in a steal tank you you think 3/4" of water it will cause damage? Owners manual says drain the tank. PERIOD. You guys miss Elementary since class? You all need to get a hobby!

[drsteve]

gmw photos wrote:

OleManOleCan wrote:


I use a Turkey baster with a piece of rubber tubing to remove most of the water left in the water heater after it's drained.
Mine has about 3/4" of water after I drain the tank.
I get all I can get, and I have never had a problem with freezing and expansion doing damage.

After I flush all the debris that I can get out of the water heater, I use my wet shop vac with a piece of flexible plastic tubing duct taped to the vac nozzle to remove the remaining water and debris.

Not necessary. The inch or so of water remaining in the bottom of the WH will not cause any problems.

[gmw_photos]

OleManOleCan wrote:


I use a Turkey baster with a piece of rubber tubing to remove most of the water left in the water heater after it's drained.
Mine has about 3/4" of water after I drain the tank.
I get all I can get, and I have never had a problem with freezing and expansion doing damage.

After I flush all the debris that I can get out of the water heater, I use my wet shop vac with a piece of flexible plastic tubing duct taped to the vac nozzle to remove the remaining water and debris.

[ktmrfs]

I and many of my camper friends have blown out lines for decades and not had any problems. But, our climate doesn't get real cold and for very long, figure 15F for a few days at most, often less, so even below freezing the inside of the trailer and some of the lines don't get below freezing if it warms up during the day.

And we all us pink stuff in the traps.

Just take your time and continue blowing out the lines for 30 seconds or so after it starts blowing air. And blow out the black tank rinser as well.


And the pex lines in todays trailers are more freeze damage resistant than copper. Pex will exand rather than rupture like copper.
However, I know folks in the midwest who blow out lines and don't have problems either.

I prefer blowing out the lines rather than the pink stuff since it makes it MUCH easier and quicker to go camping. No flushing, just fill up and go.

[OleManOleCan]

Gdetrailer wrote:

Lantley wrote:


Fixing the Pex is generally easy enough. It's finding the leak and gaining access to it in order to fix it that is the challenge. That does not include any damage caused by the leak.
Murphy's law dictates the leak will not be in a easy to access spot!
For the record standard insurance policy procedure is to pay for damage caused by a leak but they don't actually pay to fix the leak itself.
The damage is generally a bigger problem than the leak!

My point is use anti freeze and avoid any issues. Antifreeze is cheaper than shark bites. Easier to use than a saw, requires less effort than removing the underbelly. Does involve drying anything out. Antifreeze is also much cheaper than replacing, fixtures, valves,pumps or a host of miscellaneous parts

:R

Silly person you are, just can't wrap your head around this dirt simple way of clearing the lines.

You simply repressurize the stupid water system WITH AIR in the spring time to TEST the system!

Yeah, it IS THAT simple.

I have to check and fill my tires anyway in the spring, tires lose pressure over the winter months so I do BOTH things at the same time in the spring. Or perhaps you NEVER check and air your tires, perhaps that is why so many folks grumble about tires blowing out on them?

Put 30 PSI of air on the system then let sit for an hr then check the pressure, no drop, no air noise and you are good to go with water.

AIR will not do any damage and you WILL hear it hiss if something is wrong.

A $39 Harbor Freight compressor can easily do both jobs or like I do, add 50ft of air line hose to my shop compressor. I have done it both ways.

EVEN if I were to use RV antifreeze I WOULD STILL PRETEST WITH AIR ONLY in the spring.

That is how you test brand new plumbing in new homes, stub out then add a air gauge then pressurize with air. Wait an hr and check for pressure drop, no pressure drop you are good to go with water.

As far as finding and getting to lines, no, they are not hidden in walls, they are run in a chase at floor level (fivers and some MHs might be under the floor in the basement but still not all that hard to access) in a RV, sometimes may run under the tub but pretty good chance that they WILL be not all that hard to get to..

At least in the several TTs I have had they both have been very easy to get to, out in the open under a couch, base cabinets and such.

Fixtures? Really, $50 at Home Depot or Lowes will get you FAR BETTER faucets than what RV manufacturers use, first thing I do is remove and toss the RV faucets, they are Dollar General quality stuff.

LEAVE the faucets OPEN and absolutely NO water will be trapped in the faucet, PERIOD.

Do YOU fill your water heater up with the pink stuff? Perhaps you should, perhaps you do not realize that when you drain the water heater, the drain IS above the bottom of the tank, it leaves at least 1 inch of water in there (water can't go below the drain hole).

Like I said, IF YOU feel better using the pink stuff then by all means use it. HOWEVER, there have been and are plenty of other folks who do not and never have any issues for many years.

I use a Turkey baster with a piece of rubber tubing to remove most of the water left in the water heater after it's drained.
Mine has about 3/4" of water after I drain the tank.
I get all I can get, and I have never had a problem with freezing and expansion doing damage.

[GrandpaKip]

BarneyS wrote:

GrandpaKip wrote:
I pressurize the lines with AF, then crack the cold inlet on the water heater for a moment to put some in the tank.
Works for me.

Whoa! Glad it works for you but I don't think it will work for anybody else. When you get even a little bit of AF in the hot water tank it is very difficult to get it all out. You will have foamy, smelly hot water for a long time.

If you drain your water heater there is absolutely no need to put anything in the tank. The small amount of water remaining in there will do no harm if it freezes.
Barney

I do it mainly to get some AF in the short line that goes in the bottom of the tank.
I just rinse the tank before heating it. Never had hot water foam. A bit of smell first couple of showers, but nothing to worry about.

[goducks10]

IMO it really boils down to where you live as to how severe your winters are.
Live in Los Angeles and heck you don't even need to winterize.
Live in North Dakota use the pink stuff.
All points in between it's user discretion.

[dieseltruckdriv]

Where the OP lives, blowing lines out would probably be fine. Every time I read these, it sure seems faster to just use the antifreeze.

Drain everything like everyone has said, use the pink to flush all the lines, then drain that out and use it in your drains. That way the antifreeze isn't sitting in the lines for months, and flushing is quick and easy in the spring.

I tried not using it one year and broke my shower head, as the small amount of water left was enough to crack the plastic. That made me realize that the pex will expand, but the fittings won't. Winterizing my way lets me sleep during those -30f nights without worrying.

People in warmer areas can get away with a lot more than we can. This doesn't mean that my way is right, and theirs is wrong. When it doesn't get above zero for over a week or more at a time, you have to do things different.

[BarneyS]

GrandpaKip wrote:
I pressurize the lines with AF, then crack the cold inlet on the water heater for a moment to put some in the tank.
Works for me.

Whoa! Glad it works for you but I don't think it will work for anybody else. When you get even a little bit of AF in the hot water tank it is very difficult to get it all out. You will have foamy, smelly hot water for a long time.

If you drain your water heater there is absolutely no need to put anything in the tank. The small amount of water remaining in there will do no harm if it freezes.
Barney

[GrandpaKip]

I pressurize the lines with AF, then crack the cold inlet on the water heater for a moment to put some in the tank.
Works for me.