low point drain function?

tpennington70 · 03-22-2015, 10:35 AM

I'm breaking down my White Hawk for the first time. what specifically does the low point Drain do? I have already dumped and treated my tanks. Thanks.

Wrascal · 03-22-2015, 10:42 AM

Water in your pipes pools at the low point. The drain is to allow that water to run out.

tpennington70 · 03-22-2015, 10:54 AM

thank you. I'm about to put the unit back into storage. should I drain these lines or leave the water in them?

dewey02 · 03-22-2015, 11:43 AM

How long will it be in storage? I see you are in Orlando, so freezing should be no problem. Here in the north, I open the low point drain when storing and winterizing, but not during short (2-3 weeks) between-trip storage.

If you are going to store for more than just a few weeks, I would open the drains and get that water out of there so it doesn't algae up or get stinky on you, especially with hot weather coming. Just open up the drains and open the faucets on each sink, shower, toilet, etc. so air can get it and water can come out.

If you are storing for an extended time, be sure to also open the drain on your hot water tank and drain that out as well. Those HW tanks can get pretty stinky if water is left to sit in them for a long time.

christopher.smith50 · 03-22-2015, 12:01 PM

Open everything up. Opening the drains takes 5 seconds and draining the hot water tank a few minutes. Keeps everything clean and there is no advantage to leaving it closed up.

AKGperson · 03-22-2015, 12:28 PM

I want to drain my fresh water tank. Do I do that by opening the low drain point valves?

Ken

NC Roamer · 03-22-2015, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKGperson

I want to drain my fresh water tank. Do I do that by opening the low drain point valves?
Ken

Yes, and also open the faucets in the kitchen, shower and bathroom plus the outside shower if you have one. That will admit air to the water supply piping so the water will drain more completely. Also make sure you open ALL the low point drains. Ours has three with two of the valves inside storage compartments where they are not obvious.

dewey02 · 03-22-2015, 01:43 PM

Most Trailers have a drain for the FW tank that is located very near the FW tank. This will drain water out of the tank, but not necessarily out of the piping inside the trailer.

The low point drain is for draining water out of your water lines within the trailer. It will NOT necessarily drain water out of your FW tank.

With a Jayco, I'd assume your FW drains are somewhere near the axles where you FW tank is likely located. And your lowpoint drain is probably at the rear somewhere underneath the trailer near your bathroom fixtures.

AKGperson · 03-22-2015, 03:10 PM

Thanks, guys.

Paintinfool3 · 03-22-2015, 03:17 PM

the low point drains on mine drains the fresh water tanks also but if you want the lines in the camper to faucets drained you have to open them also for a siphon from the top down to the low point drains

tpennington70 · 03-22-2015, 05:09 PM

Thanks for the advice. I opened my freshwater drain by the axle and the low point drain in the rear. Wasn't exactly sure how to dump the hot water tank so I left it alone. I'm assuming it is the white screw on cap on left side of it. I also noticed even after completely draining my bathroom grey water tank there was standing water slightly above my shower drain. How could that be with an empty tank? This was the first time we have ever used it. Hard to believe something is blocking that drain pipe already??

spoon059 · 03-22-2015, 05:53 PM

I always drain all the water out of my tanks. I made the mistake of not draining my water heater after a trip and the bacteria in the water had a sulfur smell. Took a while to get rid of the odor.

Usually I leave the drains open and the kitchen sink open as we drive home. The sink being open breaks the vacuum and allows all the water to drain. When we get back home I close the drains. Less water and less bacteria sitting in my lines and tanks.

dewey02 · 03-22-2015, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpennington70

Thanks for the advice. I opened my freshwater drain by the axle and the low point drain in the rear. Wasn't exactly sure how to dump the hot water tank so I left it alone. I'm assuming it is the white screw on cap on left side of it. I also noticed even after completely draining my bathroom grey water tank there was standing water slightly above my shower drain. How could that be with an empty tank? This was the first time we have ever used it. Hard to believe something is blocking that drain pipe already??

I would go ahead and empty your hot water tank. First release the pressure by pulling up on the pressure release valve. Then unscrew the plastic plug from the heater. It is often difficult to get either a rachet or channel lock pliers in there to unscrew it, but you can do it.

Something definitely sounds wrong with standing water in your shower. You should NEVER have standing water. It means either your GW tank is overflowing or you have a blockage in the drain pipe from the shower floor to the GW tank. Neither is normal and may result in water getting onto the floor beneath the shower floor pan. Not good. Since you drained the GW tank, the water should go down, so sounds like some sort of blockage.

Wrascal · 03-22-2015, 09:13 PM

standing water slightly above my shower drain.

How level is your trailer? It may be tipped toward the shower and away from the tank? Just a gray guess?

**norty1** · 03-23-2015, 06:15 AM

Just a quick suggestion that puzzled us once.
Pop the drain grate loose with anything, it just sits over the opening. Ours was full of hair and blocking the drain.

Brownie · 03-23-2015, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpennington70

I also noticed even after completely draining my bathroom grey water tank there was standing water slightly above my shower drain. How could that be with an empty tank? This was the first time we have ever used it. Hard to believe something is blocking that drain pipe already??

Sounds like that's the water in the "S" Trap. It stays there to keep sewer fumes out of the trailer. There's also standing water in the sink traps - it's just a little more difficult to see. It won't hurt anything to leave it there, since it will be flushed by new incoming water the next time you use the shower/sink faucet.

If you are winterizing, however, you will want to flush that water from the drains, so it doesn't freeze and damage the pipes. Just pour a couple of cups of the pink anti-freeze in each drain. That will flush out the water, and leave the traps full of anti-freeze to keep the stink out of the trailer. Also, pour a cup or two of the anti-freeze into the toilet bowl. It will keep the casket from drying out during winter storage. Hope that answers your question!

tpennington70 · 03-23-2015, 08:46 AM

Hair blockage or s trap sounds most logical to me. Let me clarify. The standing water was slightly below the shower drain, not above. I noticed it after a shower I took. I assumed it was because I overfilled the gray tank. And sure enough it was full. So I dumped it to empty. I look at it again. Thanks.

dewey02 · 03-23-2015, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpennington70

Hair blockage or s trap sounds most logical to me. Let me clarify. The standing water was slightly below the shower drain, not above. I noticed it after a shower I took. I assumed it was because I overfilled the gray tank. And sure enough it was full. So I dumped it to empty. I look at it again. Thanks.

If the water was below your shower drain, then you likely have no problem at all. Does the shower drain? Just run some water and see if it goes down the drain. If it drains normally, you are OK. If it doesn't drain out of the shower basin, or it drains very slowly, then you probably have a hair clog that you need to unclog. Just as at home, your RV drains all have traps that hold water so the sewer smell does not come up through the drain. You always want water (or if you are winterizing, RV antifreeze) to be in there.

I misunderstood your first post as saying that you had water standing in the shower basin itself and not going down the drain. I think you may be OK on this item.

tpennington70 · 03-23-2015, 11:19 AM

Yep. I think I got it figured out. thank you for your advice. I spoke to the service manager at my dealership and he confirmed there are P traps under the drain that are designed to hold water to prevent odors from coming up from the tank. He also said you don't have to drain the newer Atwood water heaters unless you are winterizing them for cold weather. He said they are made of aluminum casing and meant to be maintenance free.

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