[Pcsullivan]

Do the 2011 230 rs have low entry valves. I do not remember seeing any when we winterized. Also I see all this talk about putting a bypass by the pump to directly suck up antifreeze. I followed directions where we bypassed the hw tank, took the drain plug out added antifreeze to fresh water tank , then had all faucets, shower head, toilet go til pink stuff came out.put in city water inlet and then pressed check valve til , pink stuff came out and shot me in the eye!!!then added the antifreeze to all drains and toilet. We have had a mild winter. Does this not work??.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

You almost had it....

You use the bypass to divert the antifreeze from the hot water tank....then it flows directly to the faucets. While you won't hurt anything by putting the antifreeze in the water tank, the bypass avoid the need to do this. Plus you don't have antifreeze sitting in the tank all winter.

BTW...What state do you live in? I have not put antifreeze in my water lines for >8 years now in Oregon. I simply blow out the water lines with an air compressor and then pour antifreeze in each drain.

 

[Pcsullivan]

We live in south wester b.c. yes I am going to flush out tanks with lots of water. So if we have a simple aircompressor we can blow out our own lines? Do you just get a special fitting and attach at entry ports?(fresh water tank, cut water) what about grey and black tanks? Also are there low entry drain ports?

 

[Oregon_Camper]

We live in south wester b.c. yes I am going to flush out tanks with lots of water. So if we have a simple aircompressor we can blow out our own lines? Do you just get a special fitting and attach at entry ports?(fresh water tank, cut water) what about grey and black tanks? Also are there low entry drain ports?

First...you just empty the grey/black tanks as normal...no need to winterize them. BTW...you would NOT want a low point drain on the black tank...that would create a horrible smell and mess.

To blow out your lines, you would set your compressor to 40-45 PSI and attach via an adapter shown below. This is a 2 man project, as one person needs to hold the air hose to the adapter and the other person opens everything (one at a time) until just air is coming out. Don't forget the toilet, outside sink/shower and grey tank Quickie Flush. You'll need to take adapter over to quickie flush line as this is an independent connection.

 

[Pcsullivan]

So you just need the adapter on the fresh water and quick flush,not city water? Then just put antifreeze in drains for p traps and some in toilet.? Plus make sure you have bypassed hwt remove drain?

 

[Oregon_Camper]

So you just need the adapter on the fresh water and quick flush,not city water? Then just put antifreeze in drains for p traps and some in toilet.? Plus make sure you have bypassed hwt remove drain?

Does your trailer have the city water connection (standard hose) as well as the big opening that you just put the hose into (doesn't screw into anything), like shown in the image below?

If so, the large opening (show on left in image below) is only for filling the holding tank...no need to blow air into this. You empty the holding tank by opening the drain valve, which is typically directly below the fresh water holding tank.

The city water connection is where you will attach the adapter. I remove the plug for the hot water heater and let it drain for a bit...then hit it will some air...helps speed up the process a bit.

Then I put the plug back in, and engage the bypass valve. Then I call my wife over to hold the hose to the adapter and I start the process of opening faucets. Once I have all that done, I move over to the quickie flush...hit it with air for a few seconds (very short water line). Put everything away...come back and pour antifreeze into the P-Traps. (sinks, and shower).

Grab a cold beer and call it a day.

[sharedmedia=gallery:albums:2217]

 

[Leedek]

All good information from Oregon_Camper. It is good to use correct names for each port and connection on your trailer. The Fresh Water port is as O_C states. You fill the on board fresh water tank with water from a potable water hose that is shoved into the filler connection. In the photo below the white hose is connected to City/RV Park water and should be connected using a water pressure regulator. NOTE: High water pressure from the RV spigot can blow your trailer water line connectors and cause damage and expense. The open connector to the right is the fresh water filler connection port..

I don't like the term "Low Entry Drains" "Entry" and "Drain" just seem opposite to me. It sounds like an oxymoron. The term "Low Point Drains" is more specific and denotes exactly what they are. They drain the water lines of any trailer and are located at the "Lowest Point " of those lines. Low point drains, black/gray water drains, and the fresh water drain are shown in the photo below. Water on the ground under your trailer should only be there when raining or after having washed you trailer or adjacent surface. Water on the ground in large quantities leaking from the underside will mean your spouse will probably break your face because you broke something else.

:sign0013:

Your hot water tank holds at least six (6) gallons of fluid. If your are pumping pink stuff and using GALLONS then your bypass valve is in the wrong position or non-existent. A good setup is something like this:

Now... ain't this trailer stuff fun?!!

 

[Pcsullivan]

Thanks!! That makes total sense! I am actually the wife who just likes to understand all this stuff for myself! This is our first trailer and I am trying to find out as much as I can. We have a 2011 230rs and love it! It sounds like maybe we just have to blow out with air and add the pink stuff to the drains which would be easiest. Then I won't have to worry about the check valve squirting pink stuff in my eye!!thanks again

 

[thefulminator]

I live just North of Seattle and always use antifreeze. A few years back we had a two week stretch where the temperature never got above 25F. I have a friend that always did the compressed air blow out until one year when the valve on his toilet froze and cracked. I was the one who noticed the leak on the first trip of the year when I saw water running out the side of his trailer. I figure that the antifreeze is cheap insurance to not have the expense and waste of time that doing plumbing repairs would cause. it seems that every fall my local Ace hardware has RV antifreeze for $2 per gallon. Two gallons will do my whole trailer.

I installed a winterization valve at the water pump. First I drain everything as well as I can without using compressed air. I added an extra long piece of polyethylene tubing to the inlet on the winterization valve so that I can just set a gallon of antifreeze on the floor of the trailer and rung the tube to it. The polyethylene is rigid enough that I can puncture the foil seal on the antifreeze bottle with it the end sits at the bottom of the bottle without coiling up. I turn on the pump go to each faucet running the pump until I have solid pink coming out of the faucet on both hot and cold including the shower hose. This makes sure that the traps are filled too. I then run the toilet until it is solid pink plus a little more to get it into the black tank. I finish off whatever is left in the second antifreeze bottle running down one of the sinks to be sure the grey tank has some in it.

When it comes time to dewinterize, I do the same thing in reverse. This time I use some empty milk jugs that have been cleaned out and run fresh water through the system using the winterization valve. Wherever there was pink stuff there is now fresh water rinsing it out. This includes opening the low point drains to be sure the pink stuff is those pipe stubs. On the way to the first camping trip of the year, I pull into a rest area and drain the tanks.

 

[Canadian_250TRS]

I'd suggest using the "pink stuff" even if you do first blow out the lines with air. No matter how much air you push thru, it's going to be tough to get all the water out. The pink stuff is cheap insurance.

To avoid getting the pink stuff blasted at you next time, I've done the same thing, try turning off your pump before you depress the check valve in the city water connection. That way the pressure will deplete much quicker rather than your pump trying to maintain the pressure in the system and you get blasted. Could even open a tap for half a second after turning off the pump before you do the city check valve.

Sounds like you did bypass your water heater, which is what you want to do. You don't want pink stuff in the water heater, bypass it and drain it and it's good. The other "bypass" you've read about is an alternative to adding the pink stuff to the freshwater tank. You can put in a valve and some hose on the inlet side of your pump that will allow you to control where your pump draws from. This gives you the option of having the pump draw straight from the newly installed hose / antifreeze bottle. The reason a lot of people do this is that it can be tough to get all the antifreeze (flavour) out of the fresh water tank. How difficult it is to install this "bypass" (alternate pump suction line) to your pump will depend mostly on where your pump is located.

Two things to remember when you winterize:

1 - outside facets/showers - easy to forget them.

2 - black tank flush - it's a good idea use a hand pump to put antifreeze into the black tank flush.

 

[Canadian_250TRS]

To answer your original question, yes you should have low point drains. You should have two, one for hot and one for cold. Look under the trailer for two water lines sticking out with caps on the end, those will be the low point drains.

 

[Leedek]

To answer your original question, yes you should have low point drains. You should have two, one for hot and one for cold. Look under the trailer for two water lines sticking out with caps on the end, those will be the low point drains.

 

[Canadian_250TRS]

Ahh, yes. Couldn't see the pictures you posted on my office computer (blocked).

 

[Samantha Nichols]

The Camco antifreeze is working well we have had cold temps in Colorado 15 to 20 below and my RV pipes are just fine. I winterize several RV's and like to keep enough on hand to complete the process without running out, this just makes it easier as its half the weight until I use it.