To Blow or not to Blow.... winterize waterlines?

[oliverpsmile]

Close WH valves, and Bypass WH. Unscrew drain plug and drain WH.
Open up all the facets to allow air in system.
Open up all floor drain valves.
Run the Pump briefly, to run dry. Maybe undo 1 line to Pump?
Pour Pink in all the traps.
Why can't it be this simple? What am I missing? Thanks Again...

It works and You don't have to open and close WH bypass - just drain the system.

Rupturing occurs ONLY when water is present at the entire cross section of the valves or pipes AND there is no space for axial expansion.

It is really that simple and clean especially when the couch is used more than ounce during the cold season.

[Mike Jean Bandfield]

Small amount of water in the piping system is harmless. It freezes but does not do any damage (for example the water heater tank contains always some water left). As far as the pump is concern, blowing air and running the pump evacuates enough water, so no damage could occur.

Oliver, I do this 2-5 times a year and have been doing it for 20 years now. I use to assume that applying 40 psi to the city water hook-up and running the water pump was enough to clear the pump. A few years back I found stress cracks in the water pump - it obviously had freeze damage. This configuration does not result in a high volume of air flow through the pump as it does at the faucets and drain valves.

Since then I've found an easy and effective Solution. After clearing the lines, final task is to isolate and blow out the pump. Disconnect the input and output lines to the pump, hold a rubber tipped dust blower to the input side of the pump and with the pump turned on blow air into it. A strategically placed sponge near the output side catches a couple of tbsps and you hear the pump sound change from gurgling to a hum.

Very recently I built a trap (1.5" PVC pipe), filled it with water and put it in the freezer. The ice expanded alongside the pipe and did not rupture anything.

2 or 3 of us on this forum have experiences that prove your experiment doesn't always replicate the real world. The shower drain in the 26' RSB hangs exposed under the rear of the coach. One cold day on a 5K' mountain pass I noted the BF rear view mirror thermometer unexpectedly dipped below freezing for a few minutes. When we got home I noticed it dripping on the barn floor. 'Easy and cheap to replace but lesson learned!

So it is more than enough to drain the system driving with all spigots open (it safes time). And to be on the safe side, blow with with 45 psi air and put some of the Wal Mart stuff in the traps. With spigots and drain valves open the BF can go safely for storage.

Oliver is correct on the face of it but it should be noted that even though the process is easy to perform and can be done in just a few minutes it isn't mindlessly simple nor intuitive.

Be smart. Be safe Please follow the instructions posted in the link recommended by Trish (:?:) in this thread. There is a lot of misinformation posted on the web - most of it is simply misleading due to a lack of detail. As an example: One could easily assume that you could hook an air/tire pump to the city inlet and open all the faucets and blow. When water no longer comes out of the faucets the process is complete -right? This would likely not end well. A) It could turn your water heater into a bomb if the pump were left on while connected to a closed system. (The WH does have a safety valve but why temp fate?) B) Most likely, it would simply not dry the lines well enough to protect against freeze damage.

A compressor with an air tank and regulator is required and one must follow the explicitly ordered process designed to chase the water from the system's head to the drain valves.

[randallrae]

I always drain the entire system AFTER I have pumped antifreeze thru it. In the spring when I flush the system there isn't much antifreeze left in the lines making it easier to get the taste out.

[Laker]

This will be my first attempt at this procedure. I will be doing this on an 08 27' Rear Bath model.

1. I have 4 floor drains for the water system. 2 under the kitchen cabinet and 2 adjacent to the hot water heater. Do you leave these floor drains open or closed during this procedure?

2. I have removed the anode rod and waiting on a replacement. Some where I read about keeping the WH system open and blowing it out also, Correct? I have flushed the WH and it appears to be empty.

3. What order do you open / close values? I thought outside shower, kitchen, inside shower, bath sink, toilet sprayer and the toilet would work. What order would you use?

4. After I have "blown" the lines, rather then open up the pump connections, I thought I would just use the winterization valve and pump some RV antifreeze into the pump to lubricate and keep it from freezing. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help.

[whemme]

This will be my first attempt at this procedure. I will be doing this on an 08 27' Rear Bath model.

1. I have 4 floor drains for the water system. 2 under the kitchen cabinet and 2 adjacent to the hot water heater. Do you leave these floor drains open or closed during this procedure? Open only one drain at a time until you see pink antifreeze coming out then close that drain valve and open another one, etc. Refer to my answer in item 4 below.

2. I have removed the anode rod and waiting on a replacement. Some where I read about keeping the WH system open and blowing it out also, Correct? I have flushed the WH and it appears to be empty. If you have bypassed the WH and drained it - you are all done with winterizing the WH

3. What order do you open / close values? I thought outside shower, kitchen, inside shower, bath sink, toilet sprayer and the toilet would work. What order would you use? Order does not matter, just do only one faucet or valve at a time

4. After I have "blown" the lines, rather then open up the pump connections, I thought I would just use the winterization valve and pump some RV antifreeze into the pump to lubricate and keep it from freezing. Any suggestions? If you are going to hookup your pump to a source of pink antifreeze anyway why would you attempt to blow out the water lines with compressed air? Your are all hooked up to fill all water lines with antifreeze anyway!

Thanks for your help.