| Winterization
with Air |
To
blow out the plumbing in your RV you will need the following supplies
and equipment:
- A compressor capable of maintaining
100 PSI constant output. (Make sure the compressor you use has
been serviced regularly.)
- A city water inlet water hose to air
hose quick connector. (See Curtis Parts to assemble an adapter
to fit your compressor.)
- A 1/2 drive ratchet with long
extension and sockets.
- 1 gallon of non-toxic antifreeze
- 1 shop towel or dish rag
- Paper towels or cloth towel to wipe
up splattered water
- Water pump pliers (channel locks).
|
| Step
#1 |
| Drain
the fresh water tank. To find the drain, first locate the fresh
water fill. The fresh water or portable water tank, as it is some
times referred to, will be inside the trailer at the point of the
fill. Some units have sub floor water tanks but they will be
located by the water fill location. If your tank is inside your
RV, the drain will be either at the base of the tank, (on the tank
itself or at the end of a short plumbing line), on the outside of your
RV below the water fill, or under the RV on a stanchion coming down
through the floor. If your tank drains slowly, you may wish to
look for waterline drain outs and speed up the process by opening the
drains and turning on your water pump. Most pumps flow 3 gallons
per minute, which means you can drain a 40 gallon tank in about 13
minutes.
If the water tank in your units is in
an insulated sub-floor, the drain will be located on the bottom of the
tank under the RV. (*Note: some tank drains are routed out through
the main frame of the RV and are hidden behind the wheels.) |
| Step
#2 |
| Drain
the water heater. First, turn off the 110V element in your water
heater. To do this, switch the wall switch "and" the
switch on the water heater itself to the off position. If you have
a 1994 or newer unit, the on-off switch may be on the outside of the
water heater, tucked under the control valve. You will find the
drain plug or drain cock to be on the bottom of the tank inside the
water heater access door on the outside of the RV. Using your 1/2
drive, remove the drain plug. The drain plug will either be
plastic or metal. Be very careful to use the proper size socket
because some drain plugs will be very tight. If your unit has a
drain cock, it will look like a automobile radiator drain. Turn
the drain clockwise to open. The pop-off valve is the brass
valve at the top of the outside face of the water heater. Pull the
pressure pop-off lever to a straight out position. This will
relieve the vacuum in the water heater tank and allow it to drain. |
| Step
#3 |
| Locate
your low point drains if your RV is so equipped and open them. To
find your low point drains, follow your plumbing lines through your
unit. The drains will have pull up "T" valves if they
are inside the RV. Some brands have low point drains outside,
under the unit. These outside drains will be either 2-90 degree
valves or 2 lines with caps or plugs. Next, open all sink and
shower faucets in the RV This will allow most of the water in the
system to drain. |
| Step
#4 |
| After
all lines have finished draining, turn on the water pump and run it for
5 minutes. This will clear out the fresh water tank-to-pump pickup
line. Check to see if your water pump has a water pump filter
screen mounted on the intake side of the pump. If it does, simply
turn the screen housing counter clockwise to open. The purpose of
this step is to drain the screen housing. After all the water is
removed, reassemble the the pump screen housing. If your unit has
a water filter, a winterize plug was provided at the time of
purchase. Remove the filter and install the plug. |
| Step
#5 |
| Connect
your compressor to the city water inlet with the air to the hose
adapter. Go through your RV and close all faucets and drains,
leaving only the kitchen cold side open. (Hang a dampened wash rag
or shop towel over the faucet to reduce water splattering). When
all the water is blow out of that line, open the hot side of the kitchen
faucet. Then with both hot and cold faucets open, close the cold
side of that faucet. Repeat this procedure for the bathroom sink,
the shower, the toilet valve and the outside shower if your unit has
one. Always leave at least one faucet open so as to not build up
excessive pressure in the water system. (On units with single
mixer faucets, you can simply witch from cold to hot and no other faucet
has to be open during that process. To aid in holding the valve
open, simply open the flush valve and insert short piece of 2x2 directly
into the flush opening. Let the valve close on the 2x2 and this
will keep the water flush valve in the open position). The last
part of this step is to remove the water heater drain plug and blow out
any water that may have collected in the bottom of the water
heater. Also re-open the low point drains and make sure no water
remains down in the stanchions. Finally, replace water heater and
drain line caps and plug. (All drain plugs should be tightly in
place). |
| Step
#6 |
| To
keep the sink drain traps from freezing, pour 3 cups of non-toxic RV
antifreeze down each drain. Be sure to do all three; the kitchen
sink, the bathroom sink, and the shower drain. |
| Step
#7 |
| Drain
the holding tanks on your RV. If you have only limited contents in
the tanks, it is not imperative that they be drained. |
| To de-winterize your RV
simply fill your water tank and run your water pump until water has re
circulated through out the entire water system.
|