Winterizing

[JCinAK]

I have had a few motorhomes and campers over the years and I really love my 2008 811 queen Northern Lite, but it has more water valves then a big motorhome.

I am able to drain the tank, drained the water heater but can't figure which way all the valves in the drain area should go and I found 2 more valves under the dinette seat. Trying to pump in rv antifreeze but want it to bypass the water heater and the main water tank.

Anybody have an owners manual or know what the ones under the dinette are for?

thanks,
Jim

[skidsteerpilot]

To the original poster asking about hot water tank valves. Try this (may have to zoom in browser to read labels):

https://thegreygoose.net/wp/2017/11/05/winterizing-the-water-system/

Full disclosure, we are new to this TC, but trying to document as we go for future reference. So take all notes with grain of salt.

[Kayteg1]

If the taste is main problem, why use cheap vodka?
Bourbon would taste way better and I wonder if some of the ingredients would not preserve rubber seals.

[HMS_Beagle]

Instead of pink antifreeze, use cheap vodka. You won't have a problem with the taste. I blow the lines out, then use vodka in places I know will still have water.

[DWeikert]

Just in case, have you seen this handy Blow Out Hose?

Hook it up to an air source, connect it to the public water inlet on the camper, set it to about 30 psi then go around to each faucet until they're only blowing air.

While I do this I'm still concerned about any water that's in the pump itself or the accumulator tank that can't be drained or blown out so I generally add enough pink stuff to the fresh water tank just to protect the pump and accumulator, as well as drain traps. Considering my FW tank is only 20 gallons I save that for washing and drink bottled so any left over taste isn't an issue.

[SidecarFlip]

I keep mine in a heated garage all winter so I do basically nothing but shore power it and check the battery water every few months. I do drain the FW tank so the old water don't get older.....

[Kayteg1]

When I was in California, we had morning freeze that occasionally would last for couple of days. I never winterized the tanks, but would drain the pipes.
Most RVs have special drain valves, so it takes seconds to open them.
Tank with water takes deep freeze or light freeze for days to froze.

[txnese]

With this being my first winter owning an RV, do I need to winterize it? I live in Houston, TX. We may get under 30 degrees for a few hours if any during the winter season. Thank you.

[Paradox123]

Beau Bo wrote:
Jim - I would take the time to follow/eyeball all your piping and draw a simple one line diagram showing the tanks, piping, pump and valves as they are in relation to each other in the system. Once you have this drawn it should be pretty easy to figure out what the valve positions need to be to accomplish what you want to do. It also helps you get familiar with where all the piping runs through your camper.

That said, I do similar to what MTBob does for winterizing, only I use winter windshield washer fluid for the drain traps and waste tanks. I also just hook up the air to the city water connection to blow down all the piping(there are several "how to" posts describing this in more detail on here if you search).

Good luck...

This is pretty much what I do. I don’t find putting pink antifreeze in the lines works any better than blowing out the lines with compressed air. It’s important regardless to put antifreeze in the sink traps. I forgot once and had a fractured trap.

[Super_Dave]

The item that bit me last year was the drinking water filter under the sink. It holds water that you can't blow out. Just remember to remove it.

[SideHillSoup]

I've winterized a number of RV's over the years and at one time I blew out the waterlines as well. I found that "over time" on my Komfort 5th Wheel, I would see what looked like mold in some of the clear water lines like the one for the toilet. I tried to clean it out by flushing the lines with water treatment solution ( can't think if the name) but they wouldn't come clean no matter how many times I tried cleaning them.
So when we got rid of that 5th Wheel and bought our Open Range 5th Wheel I went back to the pink RV a tie freeze that I had used on our first 5th Wheel before the Komfort.
Every spring I would check the clear section of waters lines and I didn't find ant mould looking material on the inside of those clear lines.
This will be the first winter with the 2018 NL 8-11 so the other day I got the owners manual and went inside pulled the cover off the area where the valves are and it dint take long to figure out how to winterize this rig.
We are in Nevada right now and will be heading north back to BC in a week or so and it is snowing where we live, so I will most likely be doing the winterizing of the water system on the side of the Hwy someplace where it is still warm.....
It's not hard to use the Pink Solution Antifreeze and it will only take minutes to donafter you figure it out.
Soup

[WyoBull]

GULFMAN wrote:
I also winterizing our 2005 bigfoot.
Now the water that comes out of the faucets have a terrible taste.
Is there a way to get tried of that?

Gulfman, not sure if you turned on the bypass valve to the hot water tank but you definitely don't want to pump that full of pink antifreeze. If you bypass the hot water tank after draining it, the only antifreeze you will have is in the lines. Until you flush out the lines real well, you will definitely taste a little bit of the antifreeze. My experience last year was that the taste went away pretty quickly.

[MTBob]

GULFMAN wrote:
I also winterizing our 2005 bigfoot.
Now the water that comes out of the faucets have a terrible taste.
Is there a way to get tried of that?

There is a way ... either don't use the pink antifreeze OR don't use the camper's water tank for drinking. We carry a case or two of bottled water for drinking / cooking and use the camper's water tank only for washing (non drinking use). I've tried using a chlorine dose in the water tank and it takes a long time for that smell to dissipate and it may or may not work to kill bugs. We just prefer bottled water, though the camper tank may be just fine.
The DW likes bottled water... therefore I like bottled water...!
Bob

[MTBob]

JCinAK wrote:
I was able to trace the lines and figure it out.

Wow, you are a better plumber than I am. For years I've tried to trace my plumbing lines in our NL 10-2000 RR and I am still baffled. The lines that are under the sink and stove are fairly easy to understand, but the ones that route inside the shell wall near the pump room are still a mystery.
Bob

[GULFMAN]

I also winterizing our 2005 bigfoot.
Now the water that comes out of the faucets have a terrible taste.
Is there a way to get tried of that?