winterizing 2016 oakmont 345rs

[jjd]

is their a access panel to get to hot water heater shut off vavles and pump ? i see water heater through bottom of kitchen sink cabint but cant reach it to bypass water heater what are the correct steps to winterize this rig

[danemayer]

Hi jjd,

Hopefully someone with an Oakmont can guide you to the bypass valves.

Our owner-written Winterization User Guide will step you through the rest.

[Trophy_fish]

Unfortunately Heartland did not put the water heater bypass valves in the control box that is easily accessible from the outside. What you have to do is remove the back panel in the pass through storage to get to the by-pass valves. The pump should already have the hose for pumping anti freeze into the system with a valve to shut off the hose inlet. Removing the panel and getting into the area to winterize is a royal pain.

After 2 years of this type of pain, I have now remodeled my back panel to make it easier to winterize. What I did was remove the panel and cut an "access" panel of about 2 1/2 feet wide to get me into the water heater area. I then mounted the remainder of the panel to the floor and ceiling using 1/2" aluminum angle along with the backside of the control panel area having a sound mounting. The access panel can be slipped in and out using small window bolt latches to hold the access panel in place.

I had to buy some extra carpeting to cover the access panel. It is not the same color but will work. In doing this process I was able to get an additional 1/2 to 2 inches of extra room by moving the back panel. Even with the different shade of carpeting, it does look fairly decent and have had compliments on the project.

Sorry, I did not get any pictures of my project, but it was a fairy cheap modification. Actually should have been done at the factory.