When I drained the water tank using the valve in the lower bay it seemed to drain well. Not so. Upon removing the drain plug on the heater tank quite a bit of water drained out. Something to remember when winterizing.
Keith
Turn on all of the faucets.
Water heater is drained via it's own drain. Flip the over temp valve open, it will drain faster.leave the W/H plug out.
Best way to winterize is to get in the coach and head south for the winter. ^.^d
I agree with the last post. ;)
A few questions, if you will:
Should Foretravel owners also fill their pipes with RV antifreeze? And should the hot water tank have a little RV antifreeze in it to keep the drain pipes and valves from freezing?
Even blowing compressed air through the pipes will not remove all the water.
I keep the rig warm with a quartz heater, have four fans blowing into the water bays and Freeze King thermostatic strips in the water bays. This allows me to camp in comfort in the cold Mid Atlantic winters. This will cost several hundred dollars, but the pipes won't freeze and no RV antifreeze is required.
If done properly opening all the faucets and drains one at a time till no more water comes out, while system is pressurized, I see no problems. I take time doing mine, not rushing, and letting all set 15 minutes and re do.
Of course proper winterizing of dish washers, ice making appliances, washing machines, Aqua Hot, etc. must also be properly winterized following mfgs directions along with filling all p traps with RV anti freeze.
The dealer I worked for in Oregon only winterized this way. I sold many rvs in winter, un winterizing and never had an issue with a in stock rv with a broken pipe or appliance.
Keith, the cold-water-in and hot-water-out hose connections on the back of the hot water tank are high up on backside. As you learned the lowest level is the front drain plug, preferable a plastic plug. Quite a bit of water is still below this level and the only way to get most but not all out is with a siphon or pump with an angled down hose that touches the bottom of the tank.
We have not needed to winterize in 20 years but do drain and flush our propane Atwood aluminum hot water tank several times a year to get out white stuff and other contaminants that accumulate. And we try to get out the water below the drain plug level with a curved angled down copper pipe and start a siphon.
We always crack open the temperature & pressure relief valve to let air in, preventing a vacuum slowing down drain. Our T & P valve is plumbed down to the bottom of the compartment, draining to the ground alongside the freshwater water tank and manifold's hot & cold drain lines. We have also routed the fresh water tank top overflow hose from flowing over the bulkhead down through the compartment floor further forward from bulkhead.
You still need anti freeze in the drains (P traps). Personally, I don't trust blow outs. But that is your call, people do it.Just seen a few bad deals with blow outs
Chris
Shouldn't any low-lying pipe that could trap water be flushed with antifreeze? Or, can our PEX pipe tolerate some freezing?
PEX pipe can tolerate some feezing, the fittings not so much, you don't have to get every drop out, so high velocity air works nicely to blow it out. Trouble starts when the ice can't move to expand. I have a glass dog water bowl, freezes solid a few dozen times each winter for the last 5 years. P trap bust because the ice can't move around opposite corners, and rise at the same time.
This is a question and answer routine every year. If your coach will be where below freezing temps are possible and you won't be living in it then you should do everything possible to protect it. Whether you just blow out the water lines or fill all of them with RV antifreeze you must put RV antifreeze in all of the traps. If you want to protect your coach from freeze damage figure out how to get rid of the water and replace it with RV antifreeze in every possible place water can be. 6 gallon of RV antifreeze costs less than 20 bucks and it takes us an hour to completely do our coach. When we get south where it is warm or warm returns in the spring another hour or two to flush, sanitize and refill and we are good to go. How far do you think $20 is going to get your replacing frozen water lines or a water pump or a hot water heater. Rudy tells me freezing is the most common cause of major Aquahot problems. Something $20 and some time would have prevented.
Like everything you can choose to do or not do on your coach it is up to you. I live in MN and have had an RV since 1974 and this is just a late fall thing that gets done every year.
Agreed. The cost to fix Aquahot leak could be astronomical. The cost to fix even one leaking PEX fitting in the nether regions could also be astronomiocal. I am a fan of RV antifreeze, even in the hot water lines. It takes a while to flush it out in the spring, but well worth the peace of mind in the winter.
we have had a rough winter this time :)) Hit 65 or 68 degrees yesterday.. it was terrible!!.. It was almost catastrophic as I almost forgot lotion...The dry winters can take its toll on my skin..
On a side note.. We get cold temps ( cold for us ) a couple times in winter.. still we have 50 degree plus days and nights can drop to or above freezing for a few nights.. just enough to freeze my windshield.
1 reason I do not live in any colder region.. I think I am cold in the low 50's and I am totally froze in the 40's... Ahhh the desert life..
1 gal of RV antifreeze will fill 80 feet of 1/2" pex. 12 oz will fill an 1 1/2 p trap.