De-winterizing

[sasonnier]

We are first time RV owners (yay!), but completely overwhelmed with the de-winterizing (and winterizing) of the RV (). I have read the manual, watched youtube videos (on other RV's b/c I can't find them on the 17z) on how to de-winterize, had a walk-through demo, etc....But, I'm the kind of person who needs to see it done in front of me and then I'm good. Do you guys have any suggestions on how/who to get to help me with this? I'm willing to pay even- I just want to see it in person so I can learn- I know it's not hard. I don't live near big RV dealers/service centers and I don't really want to drive a couple of hours to get to one just to get it de-winterized. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

P.s. Anyone planning to de-winterize their 17z and video it for me??

Thanks!
Sophie

 

[Tokensmom]

Hi Sophie!

I also have an X17Z and de winterized for the first time just over a week ago. Like you, I searched the manuals, YouTube videos, etc and still wasn't sure how to accomplish it.

I put the recommended amount of bleach (1/4 cup per 15 gallon tank) and filled the tank the rest of the way with water. Apparently the dealership still had my fresh water drain open. Closed it and started over again. Turned my water pump on. The antifreeze came out of the lines, then only air. Took a couple hour to figure out where the air was coming from. The dealership still had valves D&E turned for winterizing (under left dinette seat - will need to unscrew top boards to reach). After you get the solution to run thru your lines, let sit for a few hours then drain and repeat filling a couple times.

My water was still a little cloudy, but I don't drink from the tap. It was fine for washing dishes and washing up, brushing teeth.

Hope this helps!

 

[go wild]

It's not difficult, just take it one step at a time. First, remove your dinette seat covers. Then remove the panels that are screwed down under the seat (2 screws for each panel). In the seat nearest the fridge, you will see the water pump. Make sure valve E is closed and D is open (refer to the manual page 8-5). The only time you will ever switch these is to add RV antifreeze in the fall. Next, under the other seat you will see the water lines for the heater bypass. The lines are white color so you should be able to see how the pink bypasses the heater. Don't touch these yet. Next step is to flush out the pink. You can add water to the fresh tank or use the city connection, either will work. Assuming you use the fresh water tank, fill it only maybe a 1/3 full, you don't need much to flush out the lines. Turn on the pump and go to the first faucet, say the kitchen sink. Turn on the cold, let it run until you see no more pink, then shut it off and turn on the hot and do the same. Do this for each faucet - bath sink, bath shower, and outside shower. Once you've done this you should look at the water lines by the bypass valve and see no pink in the lines. At this point the pink is gone and you now have fresh water in the water lines. The pink is not toxic so not a big deal anyway. Next, you should sanitize the fresh water tank, hot water heater, and water lines. To do this, first drain all of the water from the tank. Then turn the water heater bypass valves to "summer" position. Then follow the sanitizing instructions on page 8-10 in the manual, it's pretty straight-forward. When draining the bleach-water from the RV, dont forget to drain the water heater too. You might need to fill/drain twice to get the bleach smell out. Also, the 17Z has 28.5 gal of fresh water including the 6 gal heater, so I use 1/2 cup of bleach. Seems to work fine, no problems after 4 years.

 

[j_shoe99]

I took delivery of my 2012 17Z today, from my buddy. He gave me the rundown on how to de-winterize it, and I took a couple photos. The post above is pretty much exactly what we did.


Here's of photo of underneath the seat closest to the fridge, showing the water pump.


Here is a photo of the Water Heater, underneath the other kitchen bench:


We hooked up a hose to the outside, and then pretty much turned on all the faucets individually until they ran clear water. We didn't do the water heater, since I won't be using it for a bit yet. Maybe I'll figure that out this weekend?

I'm frikkin' excited to get out camping in this thing! It's much more luxurious than my 8ft pop-up it's replacing!

 

[j_shoe99]

If anyone wants to elaborate on how to 'sanitize the fresh water tank', i'd be glad to hear it.

The original owner NEVER used the fresh water tank. Ever. So I'm thinking I should sanitize first, since the State Parks I typically camp at, do not normally have water at the sites.

 

[Jmooney]

Bypass hot water tank

1/2 cup bleach mixed well with 30 gallons water in fresh water tank, or appropriate/ mixture amounts to fill your fresh water tank

Open taps and let pipes fill. Close taps.

let sit for 4 hours, drain, fill tanks with fresh water, open taps and flush pipes, drain

 

[j_shoe99]

Thanks for the sanitizing info. seems simple.

Question:
Since I'll be doing this at home....is it 'legal' or 'frowned upon' to simply let this gray water flow down my driveway into a sewer drain? Or do I need to go to a proper Dump Station somewhere?

 

[Cosmik Debris]

Thanks for the sanitizing info. seems simple.

Question:
Since I'll be doing this at home....is it 'legal' or 'frowned upon' to simply let this gray water flow down my driveway into a sewer drain? Or do I need to go to a proper Dump Station somewhere?

I drain the bleach/water mix unto my driveway. Since its gravel I figure it may help control weeds. It will kill grass.

 

[vincent.boyd]

Thanks for the sanitizing info. seems simple.



Question:

Since I'll be doing this at home....is it 'legal' or 'frowned upon' to simply let this gray water flow down my driveway into a sewer drain? Or do I need to go to a proper Dump Station somewhere?

Depends on your local bylaws and how your municipality deals with sewer treatment. Here in Calgary, our sewers drain right to our rivers so there is no water treatment for them. Therefore here it is illegal to put any chemicals down the sewer drains. It's even illegal to wash your car in your driveway.

 

[Jmooney]

I have never thought about it, but diluted in 30 gallons of water, I don't think its a problem