Winterizing complication

[Dumboldles]

Hi folks, the weather forecast looks like it’s going to get cold in My region of the country so time to winterize the 2016 BH. Drained the water heater, switched over the bypass switch then filled the bucket with antifreeze. Had DW turn on the pump and I switched over to winterize on the Andersen valve system; pumps working but not getting the sucking from the bucket as it pumps the antifreeze up into the coach as it has done the last two times I have winterized. Any suggestions...could it be that darn Andersen valve?

oh, I just reviewed the post, Where did my antifreeze go?, had some good info there.

Thanks, Dumboldles

 

[danemayer]

Dumb question: Did you open a faucet while the pump was on?

If yes, you'll need to isolate the problem because it could be a pump suction problem, or an Anderson Valve problem.

You can check the pump suction by disconnecting the pump suction hose on the backside of the Anderson Valve. Put the disconnected hose into a small container of water to see if the pump is working.



If the pump is working, reconnect the hose and remove the center cartridge from the Anderson Valve to check for o-ring damage. The removal procedure is in this folder.

 

[Dumboldles]

Yep the faucet was on. I’ll go back tomorrow and check out the suctioning from the pump.

Thanks for the reply with the picture/diagram.

 

[maldds1981]

I ended up giving up on using antifreeze and blew out the lines with a compressor. I really liked winterizing that way better. I'm still guessing that either my hot water heater bypass valve or hot water heater check valve is defective, but as long as I can eliminate using antifreeze I will. Still need to make sure to use antifreeze in all drain traps though.

 

[farside291]

And, don't forget the flush valve on the toilet. They hold about a thimble of water, just enough to crack the valve. Ask me how I know. I blew out the lines and still cracked the valve in the Dometic 320, luckily not the bowl. Makes for a nice Geiser in the bathroom.

 

[dennyb143]

I have a 2019 Mallard M252. Have been unable to locate the water pump and can not find any hot water by pass. Any ideas?? TKS

 

[danemayer]

I have a 2019 Mallard M252. Have been unable to locate the water pump and can not find any hot water by pass. Any ideas?? TKS

The water heater bypass valves are typically close to the inside of the water heater. So look for the outside cover on the water heater, then go inside in that area and look for a removable panel. I don't know about your floor plan, but sometimes it's next to the kitchen drawers

 

[Dumboldles]

I’m following up on my earlier post: decided to change out both the Sureflo 4008 and the Anderson valve. I was getting pressure built up coming out the place where you put the hose, this made me think it may be a check valve issue (I am far from being very knowledgeable on RV pumps) so picked a new one at CW... Probably can get it cheaper on line

Since I was messing around with the water lines decided to order the new all brass Anderson valve from ABCO. Very nice folks, they seem to have the new valve on the shelf so was able to get it within 8 days, 170$.

I replaced the check valve and diaphragm on the old pump thinking to use it as a backup, these old untrained eyes could not see anything that was obviously damaged when putting the new parts into the pump.

anyway did get my rig winterized and amazing no leaks. Sorry for the long post.

Dumboldles

 

[Lyndar]

We have a 2011 heartland and are trying to winterize it. But the antifreeze came out where the nano rod goes. Hubby turned the bypass valve. I don’t know what we are doing wrong?

 

[danemayer]

We have a 2011 heartland and are trying to winterize it. But the antifreeze came out where the nano rod goes. Hubby turned the bypass valve. I don’t know what we are doing wrong?

It would be helpful to know which Heartland model you have.

If you have a bypass valve in the Universal Docking Center, and it was set to bypass, but antifreeze still went into the water heater, there's one of two possible causes: 1) many water heaters have a check valve on the hot outlet (top) of water heater. If stuck open, water or antifreeze can flow backward and go into the water heater tank. 2) the bypass valve could be leaking.

If you don't have a single bypass valve, you probably have a 3 valve system where 2 of the valves get closed and one opened in order to bypass the water heater. If that's what you have, one of the valves may be set incorrectly.

Our owner-written Winterization Guide details the two setups with pictures.

 

[RVFun4Us]

While on the subject of winterizing, was wondering how many folks both use an air compressor to blow out the lines and also add anti-freeze to the lines? Saw a couple of YouTube videos that both suggested to do both. I usually do one or the other but not both. So what do you all do out there?

 

[gwalter]

While on the subject of winterizing, was wondering how many folks both use an air compressor to blow out the lines and also add anti-freeze to the lines? Saw a couple of YouTube videos that both suggested to do both. I usually do one or the other but not both. So what do you all do out there?

I do both and suck enough antifreeze through the pump to fill the strainer bowl. I also put several cups of antifreeze into each trap. I also open low point drains on hot and cold and leave faucets open when done.

 

[JohnDar]

I do both and suck enough antifreeze through the pump to fill the strainer bowl. I also put several cups of antifreeze into each trap. I also open low point drains on hot and cold and leave faucets open when done.

I did the same but did not leave the faucets open when done. Having a washing machine required running it to get the AF into it. Michigan might not be the Arctic, but it can get below freezing or lower and stay there for an extended period. Sitting idle in storage exposed the rig to it.


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