RV antifreeze in all lines?

[pnoetzel]

I’m thinking of Not using antifreeze in lines this year. Last year the pink stuff seemed to be more difficult to get out of lines even with bleach solutions.
Does anyone just use 50 psi air to blow water out just like I do to my home when we leave?
Appreciate any thoughts.

[MarkDeb]

We (I) forgot to purge our washer lines and had pink water on our first trip. Plan to try blowing ours out this winter
Picked this up on amazon.

[colo native]

I’m thinking of Not using antifreeze in lines this year. Last year the pink stuff seemed to be more difficult to get out of lines even with bleach solutions.
Does anyone just use 50 psi air to blow water out just like I do to my home when we leave?
Appreciate any thoughts.

That is what I am going to do this year always used the pink stuff but it seems like you never get it all out so I am going to blow it out with air 40 psi(recommended) and leave the drain caps(Water lines) off and the faucets open and pink stuff in traps and a little in the waste tanks. Don't forget to blow out the black flush.

[Country Campers]

Also do not forget to do something with the water pump. Remove bowl and screen and make sure there is no water in the pump (experienced at this).
I have always done this in my previous TT , after the last campout I opened all low point drains and valves before trip home , this got rid of a lot of the water.

Brian

[Steven@147]

I understand your question and reasoning. For me, I don't like to poke at murphy's law. Under normal circumstances I might use very low air pressure, but we all know how water lines in RVs can be problematic. Even if you triple check that all faucets are open and no water lines anywhere could be pressurized, putting 40-50 psi air pressure in the water system could blow apart a weak connection/ crack or weaken a connection. Now you have the potential for a water line leak. I don't want to take that chance.

So I'll continue to winter drain the H2O heater and let it air out, then use the bypass valves to isolate it. Use the demand pump to run in @ a gallon of RV antifreeze into the lines making sure all faucets are turned on and off for flow. Then use some in the traps and tanks. Come spring I'll run lots of water through the system to flush it out. Then reset the valves on the H2O heater for normal use and flush the system again. We don't really use the fresh water holding tank but have tested it a few times just to make sure there are no problems if we wanted to use it. Its typically dry.

We tend not to drink or consume in prepared food, water straight from the RV tap anyway even using filters. Not that we are paranoid but just to be on the safe side and sometimes it just doesn't taste good. Small individual bottled water is more convenient to have in the cab of the truck and to drink while in the RV if wanted. My preference is store bought sweat tea anyway.

[MarkDeb]

putting 40-50 psi air pressure in the water system could blow apart a weak connection/ crack or weaken a connection

Is it the initial shock potential of air pressure or the 40-50 psi that worries you? IE: Would slowly turning on the air supply to the plumbing prevent concern?

[DougW9876]

In the past I have blown my water lines out with 50PSI of air with no problem, that is pretty much the same pressure as the water uses.

I have not winterized the Momentum yet, but with the nautilus panel and all of those valves to be concerned about I think I would blow out the water first, drain everything as completely as possible , then run enough anti freeze in to be sure the valves and connections on the nautilus are clear of water, then blow it out again to leave the water lines as empty as possible.

Fortunately I wont have to do that as we are leaving for AZ in late October and I don't expect to be in freezing weather.

[pnoetzel]

Thanks for info.
Sounds like a plan
Never blew out black tank flush before.....never had a problem. But I will today.
Went from 95 degrees to 55 degrees in one day here. Freezing temps are coming!

[Cate&Rob]

You don't need anywhere near 50 psi to blow out the water lines. 20 psi is more than sufficient. As has been mentioned 50 psi air is far more "explosive" than 50 psi water.

For "partial freeze" temporary winterizing , I will blow out the lines with air. For a hard all winter freeze, I think antifreeze is best. Good quality antifreeze also has additives that prevent corrosion and keep seals soft.

When I dismantled my entire water system to rebuild it (after blowing out the lines and leaving the low point drains open) I was amazed at how much water was still in the system. The low point drains certainly don't get all the low loops around the water panel. Pex pipe and the soft tubing will both survive freezing which is likely why many get away with just "blowing out the lines". As has been mentioned . . . make sure you pull the lines off the water pump and drain these even if you have blown out the lines since these pumps will not pump air to push water out of the adjacent lines and this will flow back into the pump which is usually the low point, where freezing will cause damage.

Rob

[Steven@147]

Is it the initial shock potential of air pressure or the 40-50 psi that worries you? IE: Would slowly turning on the air supply to the plumbing prevent concern?

Nope - I would probably get interrupted during the process and forget to back down my shop air compressor regulator from 125 to 40 psi.
Thought about my own post - yeah whats really the difference, 40 psi of air or water.
In my mind I would always question whether I got all the maybe trapped water out of the lines, elbows and connections? Then water from the lines settles back down in an elbow or U formed somewhere in a line. Then a cracked fitting because of freezing, come spring I have a flood inside the RV behind a wall. Then I would be kicking myself for not doing it they way I wanted to in the first place! Sometimes I'm unlucky that way.