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Old 05-10-2017, 07:44 PM   #1
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De-winterizing the camper water tanks, etc

Howdy! We are not New campers, as we moved up form a 13' Scamp to the 2017 Jayco Jay Flight SLX 195RB. We purchased it in February...and they told/showed us how to drain the anti-freeze....but..that was 3 months ago! Our first time with this part of camping prep..is there anyone willing to talk us thru this? Thank you ahead of time!!!
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Old 05-10-2017, 08:13 PM   #2
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Locate your low point drains for the pressure system (NOT the low point drain for the fresh tank)
Place a bucket under the drains beneath the trailer
Open the low point drains on hot and cold side
Open each hot and cold faucet inside and let the "pink stuff" drain into the bucket
Close the low point drains and the faucets
Dump the bucket down the drain inside the house.

Step one done, MOST of the antifreeze is out of the system

Hook up a hose to your freshwater supply. Use a pressure regulator.
Pressurize the fresh system by turning on the water supply.
Open each faucet (shower, sinks, outdoor shower, toilet) until fresh water runs.

Step two done, all of the Antifreeze is out of the system.

Next step can be swapped with the following step, depending on how you feel about sanitizing your hot tank.
Open the bypass for your Hot Water Tank (HWT). On newer Jaycos this means rotating two valves with 3 ports located by the water heater 90 degrees. With older trailers there are three 2-port valves, but they also each get a 90 degree rotation.
Fill the hot tank by "burping" air from the HWT bypass outside the trailer.
Once full, test to ensure that both electric and gas heat the tank.

Step 3 done, HWT in service.

For a brand new trailer I might skip the last Sanitation step, some folks also open the HWT after this step.
To sanitize the system, make a solution of bleach and water. I don't recall the exact ratio, but it depends on your specific tank size, and you should add the HWT tank capacity to your calculation of you will sanitize that as well. A quick search here on JOF will give you the ratio.
Siphon the concentrated solution into the fresh tank, then move the hose from the city to the fresh and add fresh water until the tank is full.
Run each faucet again until you smell bleach.
Top the fresh tank back to the top.
Let everything sit for several hours to a day (time depends on the PPM of your solution).
Dump the sanitizing solution from the fresh tank and flush from the lines with fresh water.

Step 4 is done - your system is sanitized.

Phew! Sounds like a lot, but it is really only about a 30-60 minute effort over a weekend every year and goes pretty quick once you are used to it.

I'm sure others will pipe in with the steps I missed, and there are few different steps for larger trailers, but IIRC the 195RB is still fairly basic.
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Old 05-11-2017, 08:44 AM   #3
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D-winterize

Thank you Very Much! ( Really helps when all you are used to is a Porta-potty! Haha We always brought our water in, and did not use the tanks in the Scamper))...There are also the shut-off valves that we are concerned about...my hubby thinks he may have it..but hoping we don't do it backwards! New is fun..but also confusing!
Your instructions were Very helpful!! Many Thanks!
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Old 05-11-2017, 09:45 AM   #4
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Or.........hook up to campground sewer and water and run all faucets, shower and toilet until the water runs clear and shows no "pink stuff." Then change the water heater bypass valves to the fill position and you're good to go. I've been doing it that way for 30+ years.
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Old 05-15-2017, 06:38 PM   #5
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I thought that I had thanked you for your thoughts, but I do't see it......sounds like we can do this.and hopefully WILL for the next 30 years!!!
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Old 05-15-2017, 06:47 PM   #6
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When sanitizing, how/where do you dump the bleach water from the fresh water tank? Through the plumbing system? Tank drains? If through the tank drains is that concentration low enough to be harmless?

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Old 05-15-2017, 07:28 PM   #7
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I may not be handling the sanitizing solution appropriately, but my memory is 1/4 cup in a gallon then fill with 30 gallons (it's in my manual but I have yet to get mine out of storage--long story). I don't sanitize the HWT because I feel it is hard to get the bleach out of there--I just stick a hose (actually a water thief) in there and run it through, put the drain cap back on it and done. Now, as far as the sanitizing solution, it goes on the driveway. I may hear other say that's crazy, but it's my method and my driveway. If I was in a campground, I probably would not. But then I'd have a way to dump it also. I don't like the idea of filling my grey tank before driving to my first campground.
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Old 05-16-2017, 05:38 AM   #8
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The proportion of bleach to water is 1/4c for each 15 gallons of capacity (approx). Once mixed, the concentration of chlorine in water is about the same as swimming pool water. Do you worry about getting swimming pool water on the ground? No, it's not a problem dumping to ground.

Chlorine also breaks down rapidly in air so, it will not have any lasting environmental effect.

One other thought on the bleach - make sure you are using pure chlorine bleach. There are products on the market now that have other laundry additives and scents. You do not want to use these for sanitizing.
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Old 05-16-2017, 06:46 AM   #9
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Since this is a brand new tank, do you think we Should sanitize it? With the scamp, we never used the water tank, we carried our own, or filled at the campsite as well....knows bankr63 said not really necessary...I am kind of on the fence about it....being brand new and all...
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Old 05-16-2017, 07:18 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IndyKidz View Post
Since this is a brand new tank, do you think we Should sanitize it? With the scamp, we never used the water tank, we carried our own, or filled at the campsite as well....knows bankr63 said not really necessary...I am kind of on the fence about it....being brand new and all...
It's all about risk. As was stated you could go a long time without ever having a problem. Cities take measures to protect there water supplies and yet every once in a while you will hear about a boil water order. Personally for the time it takes to sanitize or kill any bacteria in the tank I would do it to avoid potentially getting the whole family sick.

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Old 05-16-2017, 07:28 AM   #11
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Yes..you are voicing that little voice I keep hearing at the back of my head! LOL Altho, we will probably not use that for drinking water...we have a tendency to bring our own in a separate Container...but I like to lean toward the Safe! Thank you for being the little voice confirm-er
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Old 05-26-2017, 02:42 PM   #12
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Nothing coming out of the hot/cold drain tanks....does that mean the dealership didn't winterize it?

Won't be able to hook up to water till later today....
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Old 05-26-2017, 11:07 PM   #13
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Nothing coming out of the hot/cold drain tanks....does that mean the dealership didn't winterize it?

Won't be able to hook up to water till later today....
So...filled my fresh tank, ran water...no AF...although when I drained my black water, I saw AF getting drained out....��
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