Winterizing Air Pressure

[MnBob]

I have the Jayco 212 QBW trailer. I was going to drain and blow out lines and ran into problem. The fresh water inlet is a 1 1/4 male end. The adapter that I got from Camco that air hose attaches to is a 3/4 male end. I'm not seeming to find any transitions for connecting between the two. Maybe some others have same situation and can shed some light on how they work it. Thanks.

[Iraqvet05]

I don't think you are trying to pressurize the correct water inlet. The city water connection should be the same size as a garden hose connection (3/4"). You should be at the water connector to the left of your outdoor shower.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by MnBob

I have the Jayco 212 QBW trailer. I was going to drain and blow out lines and ran into problem. The fresh water inlet is a 1 1/4 male end.

That's your fresh water tank fill. As Iraqvet05 said the other connection is a standard hose connection. If you are trying to winterize your pump you may already have a by-pass hose located in the compartment with the pump. You could blow air through it or pump some antifreeze in. If you are in an area that gets cold and stays cold I personally would use antifreeze.

[MnBob]

Thanks for getting my head on right. The inlet will work better with a three-quarter inch. I just wanted to blow the lines out now, will add some antifreeze in there before winter really sets in. It does get cold here in Minnesota. I have to be leaving end of December to the Southwest.

[kweinert]

I have a completely different trailer (27BH) but I just want to be sure I'm going to be winterizing correctly.

The last trailer we had I:

1. Drained the tanks
2. Closed the bypass and drained the water heater
3. Used air pressure to blow out the lines (using an adapter that screwed in to the city water inlet)
4. Dumped antifreeze in the fresh water and ran the pump until I had antifreeze coming out

The new trailer has a pump with a bypass. If I'm understanding correctly (and that's a big if), this year I need to:

1. Drain the tanks
2. Close the bypass and drain the water heater
3. Put the hose in a gallon jug of antifreeze
4. Pump until I have antifreeze coming out every faucet (to include the outdoor shower and toilet)

Do I have it correct? Am I missing anything? The first year I missed the toilet and had to replace the valve.

Thanks to all here that contribute their knowledge. Sorry for sort of hijacking your thread (but at least it's still on the same subject.)

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by kweinert

I have a completely different trailer (27BH) but I just want to be sure I'm going to be winterizing correctly.

The last trailer we had I:

1. Drained the tanks
2. Closed the bypass and drained the water heater
3. Used air pressure to blow out the lines (using an adapter that screwed in to the city water inlet)
4. Dumped antifreeze in the fresh water and ran the pump until I had antifreeze coming out

The new trailer has a pump with a bypass. If I'm understanding correctly (and that's a big if), this year I need to:

1. Drain the tanks
2. Close the bypass and drain the water heater
3. Put the hose in a gallon jug of antifreeze
4. Pump until I have antifreeze coming out every faucet (to include the outdoor shower and toilet)

Do I have it correct? Am I missing anything? The first year I missed the toilet and had to replace the valve.

Thanks to all here that contribute their knowledge. Sorry for sort of hijacking your thread (but at least it's still on the same subject.)

Although my current unit is different I still use air to blow out the lines before using the winterization feature to pump in antifreeze. I also have to run my refrigerators ice maker through a few cycles to ensure antifreeze gets into that item. Forgot it 3 years ago and had a repair to do in the following spring.

[skids]

Dump an adequate amount into drains for p-traps. Make sure your shower hoses and heads are dry or have antifreeze. Make sure that ALL low points have been drained, including any red and blue lines hanging down under the trailer. Some are valved at the bottom, some are capped, some are valved from inside the camper.

[mnaquaman]

I too live in Minnesota, so I know how cold it can get and my trailers have always come set-up for easy winter maintenance!

I have never blown out my water lines to prepare for winter.
I drain the water heater and leave the plug out, flip the hot water bypass valves and the pump anti freeze thru the lines using the water pump.
I pump until I get anti freeze to come out of every outlet (sinks, toilet, shower). I then pour a bit more into each drain for to fill the traps.

Using this method all water is pushed out of the lines and the traps are full.
In twenty years I have never had an issue with a frozen water line.

Total anti freeze used 2 gallons!

I guess I don't see the need to the blow out the lines and add anti freeze!
Besides I don't take the risk of blowing out the line with too much pressure and trying to keep track of the different fittings.

Just my two cents worth!

Happy Camping & safe travels!

[Camper_bob]

Don't forget to get some AF in the black and grey tanks too. Enough to keep the knife valve wet should be adequate. I will usually dump extra in my sinks when I'm filling the p-traps, and dump a bunch in the toilet.

Also, put any drain stoppers in place so the AF doesn't evaporate out and leave your p-traps dry. I also cover my toilet bowl with plastic wrap after I've dumped some in the bowl.

[RogerR]

I used the cheapest grade anti-freeze that contained alcohol. At the end of winter I found that all the alcohol had evaporated and left me with a mess as there was condensation buildup.


So please read the bottle and don't buy this junk, if alcohol is mentioned or it is marked flammable pay the extra so you get the protection you need.

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by RogerR

I used the cheapest grade anti-freeze that contained alcohol. At the end of winter I found that all the alcohol had evaporated and left me with a mess as there was condensation buildup.


So please read the bottle and don't buy this junk, if alcohol is mentioned or it is marked flammable pay the extra so you get the protection you need.

Wait - there's potable water system antifreeze that doesn't contain an alcohol?

[RogerR]

Splash brand -75 grade, at Menards $3.49

[bankr63]

Originally Posted by RogerR

Splash brand -75 grade, at Menards $3.49

Primary Ingredient is Propylene Glycol:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Propylene glycol is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH₃CHCH₂OH. It is a viscous, colorless liquid which is nearly odorless but possesses a faintly sweet taste. Containing two alcohol groups, it is classed as a diol.

It is still alcohol, just a slightly different carbon chain from the ethylene glycol used in automotive antifreeze but a significant difference that makes it non-toxic. I don't think there is much in the way of antifreeze that does not use an alcohol of some type.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by bankr63

Primary Ingredient is Propylene Glycol:


It is still alcohol, just a slightly different carbon chain from the ethylene glycol used in automotive antifreeze but a significant difference that makes it non-toxic. I don't think there is much in the way of antifreeze that does not use an alcohol of some type.

That's what I was thinking, but for some reason I was thinking Ethylene Glycol. Must've been thinking of auto AF. My chemistry is not so great, so I wasn't going to say anything. But AFAIK, they're all one form of "alcohol" or another.

[Iraqvet05]

CH₃CHCH₂OH This is reminding me too much of college chemistry...now I want to try drawing the Kekule structure of it.

[Jagiven]

Hello MNBob, I see we are neighbors, I’m in that little town to the east of you. This is such a common topic. One of the biggest factors is where do you store your TT. If I lived down south and only saw a few days below freezing, I would primarily just blow out the lines and have some antifreeze available if needed or for the traps. I have heard many people who live in cold climates like us, that only winterize with air, and claim to never have had an issue.

Standard pure RV antifreeze says on the bottle it is good to -50 degrees F. That is undiluted, add a little water and your protection level keeps dropping. As an engineer I always wonder how much dilution occurs, if I just turned the valve and pump it in. How much antifreeze does it truly take to eliminate most of the dilution, to ensure adequate protection for my area?

Historically I have stored my TT up north, where it has seen actual temperatures of -41 degrees. Which is just to close to -50 degrees to risk dilution of antifreeze. Last year I stored my TT close to home for the first time, and it saw -31 degrees for a few days. These are actual temperatures, not wind chill. Farmer’s Almanac is predicting this winter to be extremely cold roller coaster around these parts.

For peace of mind, I first blow out my lines, just to ensure that I can reach maximum protection. I also exercise each valve to make sure no water is sitting behind any of them. I also remove the screen in front of the pump; first, just to clean it; second, to remove the ½ cup of water.

After winterizing with RV antifreeze, I blow out the lines again; for two reasons. If it gets really cold to freeze, there is space for it to expand, secondly, that antifreeze go down the drains, to help dilute the mass of water in the p-traps and left in the waste tanks. I top off the p-traps and toilet with a little bit of mineral oil, which keeps the antifreeze from evaporating.

Blowing out the lines before and after winterizing, takes maybe 10 minutes extra.

This past spring, I decided to blow out my lines, prior to flushing. What I found, I got about a cup of antifreeze out of the kitchen faucet. So, there must be a low point in the pipe where everything accumulates back to. I would absolutely hate having to figure out how to tear into the cabinets to find and repair leak back there.

For me blowing a little air through the lines is just piece of mind, and only adds a few minutes of effort.

Here is a dilution chart I found on Practical Sailor

[Marmot]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

That's your fresh water tank fill. As Iraqvet05 said the other connection is a standard hose connection. If you are trying to winterize your pump you may already have a by-pass hose located in the compartment with the pump. You could blow air through it or pump some antifreeze in. If you are in an area that gets cold and stays cold I personally would use antifreeze.

I agree, use antifreeze instead of blowing out the lines.

[Marmot]

Blowing out the lines after using antifreeze? Waste of time.

[olyelr]

Originally Posted by Marmot

Blowing out the lines after using antifreeze? Waste of time.

That might be your opinion.

I blow them out before and after the antifreeze like Jagiven explained. To me it makes perfect sense. And it takes a measly minute or two extra.

[thenne1713]

Originally Posted by MnBob

I have the Jayco 212 QBW trailer. I was going to drain and blow out lines and ran into problem. The fresh water inlet is a 1 1/4 male end. The adapter that I got from Camco that air hose attaches to is a 3/4 male end. I'm not seeming to find any transitions for connecting between the two. Maybe some others have same situation and can shed some light on how they work it. Thanks.

If you try to pressurize your FW TANK, you will rupture it and split wide open; your city water pipe connection should be 3/4-HOSE THREAD female, which your PRESSURE REGULATOR CAN SCREW INTO, THEN CONNECT YOUR 3/4 HOSE TO AIR HOSE SCHRAEDER VALVE. Use LOW POINT DRAINS TO DRAIN THE FWT.