| [GMCnet] Winterize a GM completed coach [message #337858] |
Sat, 13 October 2018 23:59  |
BobDunahugh
Messages: 2465
Registered: October 2010
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Karma: 11
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Live in Iowa. And never have winterize any of our 78 Royales. As it sits in a heated A/C shop. Now I have a 73 Canyonland. And it's not going inside. Need to do it tomorrow. As I see it. There must be a drain on the bottom of the water heater. And drain the fresh water tank. Put a hose from an RV antifreeze container to the input of the water pump. A qt of antifreeze should fill the water line to the city input line. Then set my compressor to 15 PSI. Attach air line to the city water inlet. Then blow the water lines out. Put antifreeze in the traps. I saw some manual drains. But don't trust them. Bob Dunahugh
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] Winterize a GM completed coach [message #337865 is a reply to message #337858] |
Sun, 14 October 2018 09:39  |
|
|
If you have fittings at low points, they will collect residual water after
you use only 15psi to clear the lines. I know cuz it happened to me. I
then started using full pressure/flow but make sure to have a valve open
(in turn) so that you won't blow up the system. Never had a problem after
that.
Best way is to bypass and drain the water heater, pump the lines full of
Pink and let some run into traps. Don't forget the shower & trap.
bdub
On Sun, Oct 14, 2018, 12:00 AM Bob Dunahugh wrote:
> Live in Iowa. And never have winterize any of our 78 Royales. As it sits
> in a heated A/C shop. Now I have a 73 Canyonland. And it's not going
> inside. Need to do it tomorrow. As I see it. There must be a drain on the
> bottom of the water heater. And drain the fresh water tank. Put a hose from
> an RV antifreeze container to the input of the water pump. A qt of
> antifreeze should fill the water line to the city input line. Then set my
> compressor to 15 PSI. Attach air line to the city water inlet. Then blow
> the water lines out. Put antifreeze in the traps. I saw some manual
> drains. But don't trust them.
>
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
bdub
bdub.net
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] Winterize a GM completed coach [message #337870 is a reply to message #337865] |
Sun, 14 October 2018 10:41 |
powwerjon
Messages: 849
Registered: March 2013
Karma: -2
|
Senior Member |
|
|
To All,
Even thou we have been going to warm winter places since 2006 we still had to winterize the coach because in the early years (2006 thru 2010) we didn’t leave Michigan until late December and the weather had already turned cold in Mid November. In the total years including winter storage November thru April from 1998 thru 2005 I drained the Hot water tank and bypassed the unit then pumped pink RV antifreeze thru the rest of the system until pink came out of the faucets and shower head. I know that some do not like using the pink stuff and blow out the lines with air and that is another choice that works very well and I use that method when I shut down my shop/barn. I have a 3-way valve on the outlet of the water tank line to the pump, the same type that I have used on the bypass on the HW tank. I have a hose that I put on the 3-way valve and turn the valve so that the pump pulls the RV pink antifreeze out of the bottle. I will be winterizing the coach and will shoot some pictures when I do it. The water and then the water/antifreeze that goes to the holding tanks is then pumped out. When we were taking the coach to Florida or Tucson, AZ I put a gallon of windshield fluid at 99 cents a gallon into each tank and leak a little into the macerator for added protection. Windshield washer fluid in our area is not suppose to freeze until -32 or better. Because it is cheap and I am going to pump it out in a few days when we get to a non freeze location. When the coach sat for the entire winter in storage I put a gallon of RV pink antifreeze in the holding tank and leaked it into the macerator inlet to protect the pump all winter. Be sure to add the pink stuff to the sink traps in bath and kitchen sinks and down the shower drain and I also put some in the toilet and let it set for the winter.
If you do not have the bypass valve on your HW tank then by all means put them on and your life and process on winterizing your coach will be much easier. They are available at all RV supply stores and from the vendors and other outlets
http://www.appliedgmc.com/prod.itml/icOid/1742
or
http://tinyurl.com/ybsk9yvn
and many other locations, just do a search.
JR Wright
GMC Great Laker MHC
GMC Eastern States Charter Member
GMCGL Tech Editor
GMCMI
78 GMC Buskirk 30’ Stretch
1975 GMC Avion (Under Reconstruction)
Michigan
> On Oct 14, 2018, at 10:39 AM, Billy Massey wrote:
>
> If you have fittings at low points, they will collect residual water after
> you use only 15psi to clear the lines. I know cuz it happened to me. I
> then started using full pressure/flow but make sure to have a valve open
> (in turn) so that you won't blow up the system. Never had a problem after
> that.
> Best way is to bypass and drain the water heater, pump the lines full of
> Pink and let some run into traps. Don't forget the shower & trap.
>
> bdub
>
>
> On Sun, Oct 14, 2018, 12:00 AM Bob Dunahugh wrote:
>
>> Live in Iowa. And never have winterize any of our 78 Royales. As it sits
>> in a heated A/C shop. Now I have a 73 Canyonland. And it's not going
>> inside. Need to do it tomorrow. As I see it. There must be a drain on the
>> bottom of the water heater. And drain the fresh water tank. Put a hose from
>> an RV antifreeze container to the input of the water pump. A qt of
>> antifreeze should fill the water line to the city input line. Then set my
>> compressor to 15 PSI. Attach air line to the city water inlet. Then blow
>> the water lines out. Put antifreeze in the traps. I saw some manual
>> drains. But don't trust them.
>>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] Winterize a GM completed coach [message #337884 is a reply to message #337858] |
Sun, 14 October 2018 14:57 |
lqqkatjon
Messages: 2324
Registered: October 2010
Location: St. Cloud, MN
Karma: 5
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Understand your coach.
Those of us that have installed a dometic/sealand 310 toilet. Blowing out lines will not protect the toilet valve in those toilets.
Jon Roche
75 palm beach
EBL EFI, manny headers, Micro Level, rebuilt most of coach now.
St. Cloud, MN
http://lqqkatjon.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] Winterize a GM completed coach [message #337886 is a reply to message #337858] |
Sun, 14 October 2018 15:24 |
Larry
Messages: 2875
Registered: January 2004
Location: Menomonie, WI
Karma: 10
|
Senior Member |
|
|
I have found that blowing out lines with air does not get all of the water out. It would seem that it would get enough out to keep things from freezing/expanding and breaking things, but no...it doesn't. Last winter in spite of my extended efforts to blow things out, the water pump froze and broke internally. Buy a gallon of RV antifreeze. Drain the water heater. Install the water heater bypass and pump antifreeze through all of the water lines Do not allow antifreeze to get into the water heater. Antifreeze, even in small amounts in the water heater, will effervesce when you fill the heater, taint the water and fizz for long time until all of it has washed out. Been there...done the air thing. Found there is no guarantee you will get all or enough water out to keep something from freezing. If you have a macerator, you also need to drain the tanks and pour at least two gallons into the tank, and then run the macerator until you see the pink stuff come out. If you don't do this, you run the risk of breaking the macerator. JMHO
Larry 
78 Royale w/500 Caddy
Menomonie, WI.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] Winterize a GM completed coach [message #337892 is a reply to message #337886] |
Sun, 14 October 2018 16:25 |
Rob
Messages: 651
Registered: November 2013
Location: Victoria, BC
Karma: 3
|
Senior Member |
|
|
I've talked to RV owners that blow their lines out with air AND then use
antifreeze. I asked why bother blowing them out in the first place, if
they're then pumping in AF and they could not answer... Seems like a make
work project, to me.
I bypass the water heater and use the appropriate AF (I've got metal and
plastic pipes) and run until I get pink from every tap. I'll have to
protect my newly installed macerator this year as well...
Rob
76 Royale Twin Beds, Dry Bath
Victoria, BC
On Sun, Oct 14, 2018, 1:25 PM Larry wrote:
> I have found that blowing out lines with air does not get all of the water
> out. It would seem that it would get enough out to keep things from
> freezing/expanding and breaking things, but no...it doesn't. Last winter
> in spite of my extended efforts to blow things out, the water pump froze and
> broke internally. Buy a gallon of RV antifreeze. Drain the water heater.
> Install the water heater bypass and pump antifreeze through all of the water
> lines Do not allow antifreeze to get into the water heater. Antifreeze,
> even in small amounts in the water heater, will effervesce when you fill the
> heater, taint the water and fizz for long time until all of it has washed
> out. Been there...done the air thing. Found there is no guarantee you will
> get all or enough water out to keep something from freezing. If you have
> a macerator, you also need to drain the tanks and pour at least two gallons
> into the tank, and then run the macerator until you see the pink stuff
> come out. If you don't do this, you run the risk of breaking the macerator.
> JMHO
> --
> Larry
> 78 Royale w/500 Caddy
> Menomonie, WI.
>
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
Rob -
Victoria, BC -
76 Royale - Rear Twins/Dry Bath
|
|
|
|
| Re: [GMCnet] Winterize a GM completed coach [message #337936 is a reply to message #337858] |
Tue, 16 October 2018 19:24 |
BobDunahugh
Messages: 2465
Registered: October 2010
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Karma: 11
|
Senior Member |
|
|
I turned the drain valve counterclockwise on the original electric water heater. Nothing drained out. Thinking that there's deposits inside blocking the drain port. Thinking that blowing some air into the valve may do it. Or pull the valve out. This GMC hasn't had water in it since 1984. Bob Dunahugh
________________________________
From: Bob Dunahugh
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2018 11:59 PM
To: gmclist@list.gmcnet.org
Subject: Winterize a GM completed coach
Live in Iowa. And never have winterize any of our 78 Royales. As it sits in a heated A/C shop. Now I have a 73 Canyonland. And it's not going inside. Need to do it tomorrow. As I see it. There must be a drain on the bottom of the water heater. And drain the fresh water tank. Put a hose from an RV antifreeze container to the input of the water pump. A qt of antifreeze should fill the water line to the city input line. Then set my compressor to 15 PSI. Attach air line to the city water inlet. Then blow the water lines out. Put antifreeze in the traps. I saw some manual drains. But don't trust them. Bob Dunahugh
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
|
|
|
|
GMCforum
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
