Issue Winterizing With Compressor

[MRichaud]

Went to winterize our 2020 Precept 31UL with the Nautilus P3 plumbing system today, and the plan was to do so with a pancake compressor set to 30-35 psi. I followed all the instructions for blowing out the lines, but didn't seem to get any air out of any of the faucets. I made sure the four levers were in the 45 degree position - did it twice just in case - but still no air or water. I could hear the air pulsing at the city water inlet, but pretty sure it didn't get any further.



As I had a couple of gallons of antifreeze on hand, I went ahead and pumped that through and at least that worked fine. Still, I'm stumped about the compressed air method. Any thoughts here?


Thanks,
Mickey

[RogerR]

Some posts have mentioned that there is a backflow valve or screen in the inlet that can block the air flow.

Alternatively, are you sure your valves are set to city water?

[Jagiven]

Not familiar with your Precept, and your control panel. Did you have the control valves in the same position for both the pumping of the antifreeze and the for the air compressor?

I suspect yes. I suspect that was the root issue. The winterizing mode is intended for use with antifreeze, which physically pumps the fluid through the system. I suspect the pump was blocking the air flow. I have never tried pushing air through my pump, so I do not know what happens in that situation.

Hopefully someone will chime in and confirm.

[MRichaud]

Again, instructions say to turn all four valve levers to 45 degrees, which is what I did. I did suspect the backflow valve issue as Roger posted, but there was no mention of that in the instructions.



And, no, blowing out the lines and pumping in antifreeze require different lever positioning, which is also what I did.

[Dbunke]

My 2020 Talon I just used the city water inlet set on city. No 45 degree nothing. Same path as the water would go.

[GABob]

I would set your valves to the same setting as city water, as you're just letting air in as opposed to water. Helps to empty as much as you can via the low level drains first, I've found. I set mine to the same 35 to 40 PSI, let the pressure build a bit and then go through all of the faucets and toilet to drain the lines. Don't forget an external shower if you have one. Just did mine yesterday.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by MRichaud

Again, instructions say to turn all four valve levers to 45 degrees, which is what I did. I did suspect the backflow valve issue as Roger posted, but there was no mention of that in the instructions.

And, no, blowing out the lines and pumping in antifreeze require different lever positioning, which is also what I did.

My instructions for the Nautilus say the same thing. When I blow out my lines I set the valves for city water and the air for 40 PSI. Works every time. Setting the valves to 45 degrees has never resulted in the lines being blown out correctly.

[JonathanCP]

In my Whitehawk trailer I blow through one faucet at a time, if I have other faucets open I dont build up enough pressure to blow any water out, I can tell on my pressure gauge if I have a faucet open or a valve in the wrong position.

[MRichaud]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

My instructions for the Nautilus say the same thing. When I blow out my lines I set the valves for city water and the air for 40 PSI. Works every time. Setting the valves to 45 degrees has never resulted in the lines being blown out correctly.

Well, apparently, the instructions are wrong!!! May try that next year; don't want to redo it all now.

[MRichaud]

Originally Posted by JonathanCP

In my Whitehawk trailer I blow through one faucet at a time, if I have other faucets open I dont build up enough pressure to blow any water out, I can tell on my pressure gauge if I have a faucet open or a valve in the wrong position.

Tried it one faucet at a time and all at once. No difference.

[TxLoser]

Same instruction for my Eagle FW, and no dice with air. I gave up last year and used fluid. I assumed, apparently wrongly so that the large space of hot water heater would make it tough to build up any pressure in the city water setting. I’ll try that this year.

[Mike-NM]

Just a thought.... If you have in your water bay an in house water filter and removed the cannister then the air is escaping and not building pressure. Remove the filter first then replace the cannister which will trap the air and increase the pressure. The cannister cannot be removed by hand if under pressure unless you can really grip it.

[ALJO]

For air winterizing you need a high volume of air at approx. 40 psi, you can do it through city water with the correct settings. But you still need to empty your filter and winterize the pump. So you still have the suck RV anti-freeze through the Anti-freeze inlet hose.
Advantage with air blow through, you use less RV anti-freeze

[MRichaud]

Originally Posted by Mike-NM

Just a thought.... If you have in your water bay an in house water filter and removed the cannister then the air is escaping and not building pressure. Remove the filter first then replace the cannister which will trap the air and increase the pressure. The cannister cannot be removed by hand if under pressure unless you can really grip it.

Thanks, Mike. Took the filter out and replaced it with an empty water bottle to take up space.