Foretravel Owners' Forum

Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: Elliott on November 02, 2022, 08:10:41 pm

Title: Winterization and drains below Aqua Hot
Post by: Elliott on November 02, 2022, 08:10:41 pm
There are drain lines coming out of the Aqua Hot if I recall correctly. They're inside the stainless case, near the burner and drain out to the ground.  I have read a number of posts where this question was asked but not directly answered: do I need to drain these lines when winterizing the coach? If not, what are they for and why not?

The answer I've seen a few times to this question is: if there is anti freeze coming out of any one hot water faucet, then the AH is winterized. That is currently the case but I would still like a better understanding of those drains none the less. Thank you
Title: Re: Winterization and drains below Aqua Hot
Post by: Peter on November 02, 2022, 08:20:10 pm
My drains were drained of water, as was the rest of the system, and then closed when I put the antifreeze in. Every possible line in my coach has pink in it  I had the one same questions when I asked about winterizing in Canadian winters ( below -25 f and below). I visually check every line I can to ensure I see pink
Title: Re: Winterization and drains below Aqua Hot
Post by: Townrestor on November 02, 2022, 08:20:30 pm
Treat those valves just like the faucets. Open them just long enough to get pink antifreeze to show up. I usually drain mine first then close and start doing the faucets and then do those valves that way you're sure to get all the water out.

Larry
Title: Re: Winterization and drains below Aqua Hot
Post by: Woody & Sitka on November 03, 2022, 12:34:39 pm
Elliott, I also have AH drains hiding under the 8D battery tray as well.  Relocated on your coach during your solar install?  W.
Title: Re: Winterization and drains below Aqua Hot
Post by: Peter on November 03, 2022, 01:13:40 pm
Woody
Mine are the exact same as yours. Under the 8D batteries
Title: Re: Winterization and drains below Aqua Hot
Post by: oldguy on November 03, 2022, 01:32:02 pm
I moved mine to right beside the Aqua-hot.
Title: Re: Winterization and drains below Aqua Hot
Post by: Big Al on November 05, 2022, 05:14:30 pm
Elliot,
I was told by a plumber friend, when wintering always leave your
faucets open. If by chance any liquid does freeze there is room for expansion in the faucet.
Title: Re: Winterization and drains below Aqua Hot
Post by: Elliott on November 10, 2022, 11:55:43 am
Elliott, I also have AH drains hiding under the 8D battery tray as well.  Relocated on your coach during your solar install?  W.
Woody you're correct, they're under the batteries. For some reason I thought they were directly under the AH unit and I was trying to confirm before I cleared out that bay and crawled under there. I drained them last night and it was almost instantly pink that came out of them.

I kind of dodged a bullet this week. I had to move my coach away from the hooks up to redo some electrical that the previous owner left me. I've always been afraid of not having redundancy for the AH when it's cold (diesel & elec) and sure enough, the diesel side quit working one night while it was unplugged. It probably would have meant frozen pipes had I not winterized it the week before. Between the cold temps and a week of overcast days, the house batteries couldn't recharge fast enough off solar and eventually powered the AH down. I am paranoid so now that she's back at the hooks up, I'll keep the electric side on throughout the winter just in case.

Pictures attached of the tremendous fun I've been having this week.