Motorhome-101: Winterizing

Chapter 6-Winterizing
(and DE-winterizing)
your rolling home

Start by locating the drain valve at the low-point of the plumbing system. This is often found at or near the city water inlet, and it may be hard to reach. Open the valve, then get back into the motor home and open all of the sink and shower valves and press the toilet flush pedal so that water in this piping can drain. Operate the bath faucets and shower head so that these drain too.

Dewinterizing is much easier: If you worry about stuff growing in the potable water tank, clean and flush it out now. Put a cup of chlorine bleach in the tank, add 5 or 10 gallons of water and take a short drive to slosh the stuff around. You can do this before or after flushing the antifreeze out of the plumbing. We usually (leaving the water heater bypassed) run each faucet (including the shower) until the water is clear and we can smell chlorine at each outlet. The water and antifreeze that this puts into the RV's holding tanks will help in rinsing out those tanks and cleaning their level-sensors.

IMPORTANT! Be sure to open the low-point drain long enough to get rid of ALL of the antifreeze in that line, or it will contaminate the rest of the system (not much, but enough to notice.) Your hot water will "fizz" and you will have strangely tasting coffee until you finally get all of the potable antifreeze out of the plumbing!

If you still have musty tasting water, dissolve several heaping tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda - not baking powder) in a pint of water, dump that into the tank, add 5 gallons of water and do the drive & drain cycle again.

The last step before traveling: Set the water heater bypass valves "normal" position. Don't worry about air trapped in the tank; it will compress enough to allow plenty of water in there.

O yes! Don't forget to replace any filters that were removed! You are ready to go.

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Chapter 1	What is this thing called Motorhome?
Chapter 2	Contemplating the spirit of the Motorhome
Chapter 3	Grasping the soul of the Motorhome
Chapter 4	Learning to love the Motorhome - while hating its parts .
Chapter 5	Shakespeare on Motorhome Maintenance
Appendix 1	Links to further knowledge

	Chapter 6-Winterizing (and DE-winterizing) your rolling home
If you live (or travel) anywhere that might experience temperatures below freezing, you may have to drain the water from the motor home's plumbing systems and protect piping by filling the plumbing with potable (not automotive!) antifreeze. Start by locating the drain valve at the low-point of the plumbing system. This is often found at or near the city water inlet, and it may be hard to reach. Open the valve, then get back into the motor home and open *all* of the sink and shower valves and press the toilet flush pedal so that water in this piping can drain. Operate the bath faucets and shower head so that these drain too.
STOP! Before putting the hose into a gallon of antifreeze, close all of the water faucets and close the low point drain valve or you will pump the antifreeze out onto the ground.	If you don't already have one, install an antifreeze installation kit like the one at left. This is easy: Remove the inlet line from the water pressure pump and insert the valve as seen here. Typically, when that valve points along the "usual" path of flow (as seen here) the pump pulls water from the tank as usual. When the valve handle points upward toward the transparent hose, the pump pulls in whatever the hose is stuck into -- which could be a fifth of Burbon, but a jug of potable antifreeze will work better and cost much less.
	To avoid having to fill the water heater with antifreeze every winter, install a water heater bypass set. This shows a typical set: The valve handles line up with the bypass piping to bypass the heater. To use the heater, they line up with the outlet and inlet piping respectively, valve 2 blocks the bypass line when set to "cross" it.
	Don't forget that there is water in the heater itself that will freeze and can burst the heater! To dump the heater contents, open the drain petcock on the heater (left.) These little finger operated vlaves are often hard stuck after being heated a number of times, so be prepared to be firm, yet gentle.
	Unless you are willing to wait hours for the heater to completely drain, open the relief valve on the heater to let air in. Remember to close both the drain petcock and the relief valve. If you don't do this now it may be hard to remember next spring when you de-winterize.
	Now you can stick that water pump intake hose into the antifreeze container, turn on the pump, and open each faucet (hot, and cold, both) until you get nothing but antifreeze. Shut off that valve and go to the next. Allow enough antifreeze to run so that all sink traps and drains into the holding tank(s) are flushed out too.
	When flushing the shower plumbing, use the taps and the shower wand to be sure that it is purged of fresh water too. If you have a drinking water filter system, do NOT run antifreeze through the filters as it will make them unusable. We remove our faucet-mounted filter and take it to our home-base.
Dewinterizing is much easier: If you worry about stuff growing in the potable water tank, clean and flush it out now. Put a cup of chlorine bleach in the tank, add 5 or 10 gallons of water and take a short drive to slosh the stuff around. You can do this before or after flushing the antifreeze out of the plumbing. We usually (leaving the water heater bypassed) run each faucet (including the shower) until the water is clear and we can smell chlorine at each outlet. The water and antifreeze that this puts into the RV's holding tanks will help in rinsing out those tanks and cleaning their level-sensors. IMPORTANT! Be sure to open the low-point drain long enough to get rid of ALL of the antifreeze in that line, or it will contaminate the rest of the system (not much, but enough to notice.) Your hot water will "fizz" and you will have strangely tasting coffee until you finally get all of the potable antifreeze out of the plumbing! If you still have musty tasting water, dissolve several heaping tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda - not baking powder) in a pint of water, dump that into the tank, add 5 gallons of water and do the drive & drain cycle again.
Tired of fumbling around under Bye Way to find the drain valve, I added flexible hose to extend and stow it inside the quarter-panel where it is easy to reach.	Don't wear out the pressure pump flushing the potable water tank. Use the water tank drain just as you did when winterizing.
The last step before traveling: Set the water heater bypass valves "normal" position. Don't worry about air trapped in the tank; it will compress enough to allow plenty of water in there. O yes! Don't forget to replace any filters that were removed! You are ready to go.