Winterizing questions

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

Hard to believe that summer has come and gone and our coach is soon to go into winter storage.  A couple of questions:

1.  Do you recommend any fuel additives?  I will have a full tank.
2.  Although the coach will be in a heated facility, I do plan on running the pink stuff through the system.  Does the Aquahot require anything special?

Any other tips will be much appreciated.

Best regards,

Larry

[Joel Ashley]

A full tank should be enough, but I add Power Service's Bio-Kleen or Clear-Diesel at the last fill up just to be sure, because circumstances occasionally and unfortunately keep the rig parked for far more than a year.  The short trip home from the local Pacific Pride facility is just enough to distribute the additive completely.  Adding 5 gallons top-off once in awhile to allow for genset and HydroHot exercise won't really dilute the mix enough to hurt;  if I neglect topping off, the additive is there to protect even if there is room at the tank's top for humid air to invade.

As long as you see pink at the hot water taps, I don't know that you need to worry about any other AquaHot concern.

Joel

[Stan Simpson]

Bill Sprague taught me an easy way to make sure the Aqua Hot/Hydro Hot is winterized. Buy a 18in silver braided hose from any big box store or hardware. The kind that is used to connect a washing machine. There are varying lengths available.

Open the access panel to the water pump. Disconnect the inlet line. This will leave you with a female open connection on the water pump. Attach the silver braided water hose. Stick the other end in to the jug of pink stuff (have more than one on hand..generally this will use 2-1/2 gallons). Have someone turn on the water pump from inside the coach and open the faucet at the kitchen sink. First cold...when it's pink, switch to the hot water. Do the same thing for the bathroom sinks, and the shower..it's imperative that you have the pinks stuff coming out of the HOT for each faucet. When you are done with the water faucets, including the shower, step on the toilet flush until you get pink.

When the water pump comes on..it sucks the pink stuff out of the jug really quick. Becky and I use walkie talkies to communicate. I say STOP whenever the jug of pink stuff is almost empty. I have the other two ready to go ahead of time, and then just dip the hose in to a new one. Becky lets me know "cold good" and "hot good" for each faucet. Kitchen sink, hall bath sink 1 and then 2, and then the shower.

The whole process takes about 15 minutes. When finished, I combine the pink stuff l have left in to one jug. Then I bring that jug inside and dump a half pint or so in to each drain.

I use an 18 inch hose. Your mileage may vary. It depends on the distance from where you connect to the water pump to where you can comfortably sit 3 jugs of pink stuff and be able to switch the hose quickly without knocking them over, etc. My water pump access is in a bay that has a full length slide out tray. I slide it out to make a platform I can sit or lie on while performing this task. If we are parked at home on the concrete pad, I just have the jugs on the ground.

Thank you to Bill Sprague. Winterizing is easy cheezy.

[David T. Richelderfer]

Don't forget the Splendide.  Start it to wash with hot water until you see pink, then cold until you see pink.  Then turn the washer to spin to empty the diluted pool out through the drain.  Then dump some pink stuff from the jug into the washer and put the washer on spin again to make sure the drain valve is fully protected with full strength pink stuff.

Also, don't forget the insta-hot at the kitchen sink if you have one.  You may want to change the water filters at the sink and insta-hot before using them after winter.

Also, what about the ice maker in the fridge (Norcold LRIM 1200)?  The top end water line can be drained by opening the connection at the back of the fridge through the exterior access door.  Use a suction device or an absorbent towel to get the water out of the ice maker in the fridge's freezer compartment.  The lower end water line can be pumped full with pink stuff or drained by disconnecting the line down in the water pump compartment.  There is also a water filter for the ice maker line that you may want to change out after winter.

[Stan Simpson]

I didn't mention the Splendide because we never use it, and there has never been water in the lines in the 5-1/2 years we've had the coach. Thanks for adding that information, David.

[Bill Sprague]

Bill Sprague taught me an easy way to make sure the Aqua Hot/Hydro Hot is winterized. Buy a 18in silver braided hose from any big box store or hardware. The kind that is used to connect a washing machine. There are varying lengths available........
Thank you to Bill Sprague. Winterizing is easy cheezy.

Thank you for the credit and compliments.  I'm flattered. 

I'll add that if you don't have the pink stuff in the Hydro/AquaHot and it freezes, repairs will be frighteningly expensive.  If it doesn't freeze there is nothing to be feared.   

[Neal E Weinmann]

Would add that checking for pink water coming out of water manifold drains and insuring that the water bay outdoor faucet/sprayer/shower also has pink water coming out are important too. Been there - missed them once and then spent time changing freeze-damaged components in the Spring.

[Doug Allman]

As Gerald Farris would tell you, get it below I-10 and there is no need to winterize.
 If you do not all of the above is critically important as we have repaired or replaced all from winterizing the same method of blowing out we used on an earlier model Beaver. Blowing lines out does not work on the later model coach,s and costs are in the 4 digit range not 3 digit or 2 digit. Neals advice is very important as at 15 below for 2.5 hours over pass into Salt Lake it split the brass neck of the outdoor faucet.