To use or not to use Anti Freeze

[CrazyCain]

The chill in the air around these parts got me thinking about winterizing the unit in the very near furture. Looking through all the threads and didnt get my answer...Just wondering what RV Pink Antifreeze is the best and which ones are the devil! More expensive the better??

:cool:
:popcorn:
:confused:(ty)

[chuckster57]

We don't winterize here, but I was looking and found this:
https://rvtechwithrvrob.com/2015/12/22/choosing-rv-antifreeze/

Hope it helps you decide.

[sourdough]

I don't know that I can assist given your geographic location. I'm in W TX so brutal winter temps aren't usually a problem...and now we winter in FL so that makes it even better. I have always used the cheap RV anti freeze from Walmart and we have never had a problem...but again, we don't have extreme winter temps so those in that environment will probably be able to shed more light.

[theeyres]

No longer need to winterize but when I did any of the pink stuff worked. Buy the cheapest and you will be fine. The whole point is to get the water out of the lines a replace it with the pink stuff. It will all work way down to whatever temp the label says.

[MattHelm21]

Up in New Jersey I need to winterize. I use the Walmart brand but thought for a bit about just blowing the lines out with air. Many do this with success but I've read a few cases where some water remains in low points and the Antifreeze is the best way to displace or worst case dilute it. Last winter was the first time I did this myself and I had no problems in the spring. The negative is that on a 43 footer, it uses a lot of Antifreeze but the cost is way less than the potential repairs to fix damages caused by water freezing in the system.

[steve eboe]

I have been winterizing campers for 30 years here in Wisconsin's cold winters.
I have always used the pink stuff and have used numerous brands over the years and have found them all to work equally well.
I just buy a couple of gallons from wherever I happen to be at the time I'm out shopping--Walmart, Menards, Fleet Farm--they have all worked for me with no problems.
Here in Wisconsin, we winterize pretty early. Temps will be dropping below freezing overnight soon!
steve eboe

[SummitPond]

... I have always used the cheap RV anti freeze from Walmart and we have never had a problem ...

I buy the WM antifreeze and use it to winterize the house in Maine; no issues.

[jerseyphil]

Have my 318SAB 7 years now. I blowout the lines, and put anti-freeze in sink drains, shower drain, & toilet, enough to go into holding tanks.

Had ONE problem in the 7 yrs. When blowing out lines, I put a weight on the toilet foot pedal to blow out that line. Forgot to do that 1 year. The plastic valve cracked. Luckily, the replacement is cheap and easy to do.

[SteveC7010]

The chill in the air around these parts got me thinking about winterizing the unit in the very near furture. Looking through all the threads and didnt get my answer...Just wondering what RV Pink Antifreeze is the best and which ones are the devil! More expensive the better?
I'll agree with the others. I've never heard of "bad" RV antifreeze. I generally grab whatever is on the shelf when I remember to get some each year. This year one of our local merchants bought a couple pallets of the stuff and offers it for $3.99 a gallon or 3 gallons for $10.00. My wife needed something else from his store so I got 3 gallons while there.

I just posted a more detailed description of my winterizing in another thread yesterday. http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=255003&postcount=10 if you want the details. I am in the Adirondacks so full winterizing of the water system is essential.

[canesfan]

I never seem to think about it in advance and it usually turns into an "oh cr*p" moment, so I never seem to have more than half a bottle left over from last year. Ace is around the corner, Wmart is across town. Not worth my time and distance to go to Wmart to save a $ that I spent on fuel. Been using Ace stuff for several years with no issues.

Remember to do your black tank flush, city water check valve and outside shower.

And make sure to get those ghosts something to keep them good through the winter. :D

[CrazyCain]

Yep sometimes reading into something too much is a bad thing which I have a habit of doing sometimes LOL thanks for everyone's answers bring on the snow LOL press Northerners at least

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[CrazyCain]

I never seem to think about it in advance and it usually turns into an "oh cr*p" moment, so I never seem to have more than half a bottle left over from last year. Ace is around the corner, Wmart is across town. Not worth my time and distance to go to Wmart to save a $ that I spent on fuel. Been using Ace stuff for several years with no issues.

Remember to do your black tank flush, city water check valve and outside shower.

And make sure to get those ghosts something to keep them good through the winter. :D^^^^^^ ahhh yes to ghosts, I bet they can't wait for me to get back up there I'll keep that cheap stuff in the cabinet for them to sip on while I'm not up there probably gets a little slushy too. Thanks for the reminders on the black tank flush and all that stuff. I will put a line on my liquor bottles so I can actually see how much them little spirits and ghosts sip on my stuff while I'm not up there LOL

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[canesfan]

Be careful those bottles have enough alcohol in them that they don't freeze and break. We keep the white lightning in the freezer but it never has a chance to freeze at 110% octane or whatever it is. :D

[Desert185]

If its pink and says RV anti-freeze, we buy it without worrying about how it tastes or what the chemical makeup is. Walmart in NV and wherever we find it in AK (no Walmart near where we have a house).

NV: We blow the lines out in the trailer and only use AF in the p-traps with enough to flow into the tanks. The coldest I've seen is 9dF during Christmas last year. No problems.

AK: The house gets drained, along with the water line from the road, and AF goes in the p-traps. Washer and dish washer get pumped dry. Its coastal, so it doesn't get really cold like the interior.

I try and buy it when I see it on sale, so we always have a few gallons on the shelf.

[Barbell]

In Northern AZ, we blow out the lines and add AF to the traps and black and grey tanks and call it good. No problems thru 4 winters.

[jkohler70]

I switched to blowout of lines only, with antifreeze in the traps 4 years ago, with nary a problem. I run the air long enough to nearly dry the lines completely out.

[Dave W]

I blow the system out, drain and bypass the HW heater with the 'switches' in the water compartment then use the 'Winterize' port and suck the antifreeze through the system using the RVs water pump. I add a cup full to the traps too. If you have a washer-dryer or even just the hookups, they too need to be drained and winterized. While I like my little pancake compressor, it doesn't do a very good blowout, lacking volume so use my large shop unit (and a lot of air hose to reach the 5er). Pink stuff - whatever is handy and cheapest the day I go to buy the needed couple gallons and have never had a problem. A caution about that pink stuff. If you end up with it in your HW heater or fresh water tank, it takes many, many gallons of water in the spring to get rid of the residual --- and it tastes terrible though is supposedly not harmful to you.

[Pick_PSD]

I have always blown my lines out as well but we have a new (and much bigger) camper this year and was curious how you guys blow your lines out. After draining the HW tank, I use a reducer similar to below and blow air from my compressor into the city water connection. I have the kids turn on one faucet at a time until no more water comes out. I never let my compressor get above 30PSI so I don't damage the pipes.

We have 2 full baths now so there is quite a bit more to blow-out. Just curious if it's easier to research how and use the "Freeze Guard"

https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/670750/670750704314.jpg

[SteveC7010]

I have always blown my lines out as well but we have a new (and much bigger) camper this year and was curious how you guys blow your lines out. After draining the HW tank, I use a reducer similar to below and blow air from my compressor into the city water connection. I have the kids turn on one faucet at a time until no more water comes out. I never let my compressor get above 30PSI so I don't damage the pipes.

We have 2 full baths now so there is quite a bit more to blow-out. Just curious if it's easier to research how and use the "Freeze Guard"
I use one of the ready made RV adapters to connect the compressor to the trailer, and then blow out same as you, one faucet at a time. There are two types readily available; one has the traditional automobile style valve stem, the other has the male quick-connect for compressed air systems. But, if you've got a piece of air hose floating around that will slide onto the barbed connector you showed, that will work just fine, too.

I would point out that bypassing and draining the HW tank before blowing out is probably a good idea. That way the compressor is not trying to blow out 6 to 10 gallons of water in addition to what's in the piping.

And as I've mentioned before, the remaining water in the HW below the drain plug is not an issue as it has plenty of space to expand when it freezes without breaking anything. However, if you have goop from the anode or water in the bottom, it's a good time to vacuum and/or flush it out.

[Desert185]

This is what I do and it works for me.

Ensure HW heater electric and gas heating is off.

When water is cold, drain HW heater by removing anode and closing bypass valve behind heater. If the overpressure valve is opened during the draining process, the flow increases, assisting in the removal of any debris inside the heater.

Drain all low point drains under trailer and replace caps.

Install garden hose/air hose adapter (mine is homemade) onto city fresh water port. Connect air hose limited to 30-35 PSI. A high volume air compressor works best, but the pressure needs to be regulated.

Open water faucets (hot and cold) one at a time to purge water, then close. I start at the closest to the air source.

Continue with each faucet. Don't forget toilet, black tank flush, washer hot/cold valves and outside shower.

Repeat a couple of times until all water is flushed from system.

Add RV antifreeze to p-traps (and water system, if desired). Do not add AF to HW heater. Leave anode uninstalled until de-winterizing or until HW heater has dried out. Use teflon thread sealing tape when re-installing anode. I clean all threads with a toothbrush or brass brush before reinstalling.

Black and grey tanks should be drained empty, but I add enough RV antifreeze to the p-traps to dilute any residual water that might have remained in the tanks. I've heard that some folks leave the black/grey tank valves open over the winter months, but I don't do that ensuring that there is sufficient antifreeze overflow from the p-traps.

[canesfan]

So I always wonder this - for those who only blow out with air and put AF in traps, etc, what do you do with the water pump? Do you take it apart and drain it or do you just leave it and hope for the best? I'm going to use AF either way because where I live it gets below freezing on a regular basis in the winter, but have always been curious.

[Desert185]

So I always wonder this - for those who only blow out with air and put AF in traps, etc, what do you do with the water pump? Do you take it apart and drain it or do you just leave it and hope for the best? I'm going to use AF either way because where I live it gets below freezing on a regular basis in the winter, but have always been curious.

I run the pump dry for about 10 seconds or so during the blowing out process. Seems to be OK for the winter temps we experience here.

[MontanaMike]

Cheap walmart pink stuff for me. Montana's winters can be pretty dang cold (-40 sometimes) and since owning my Carbon, I've blown out the lines as best as possible and ran a few jugs of antifreeze through it to be sure. 1st year I did it I didn't put nearly enough and ended up with a cracked rear toilet valve (40 bucks at my dealer because I was in a hurry but 25 at Amazon) so the next year I doubled the pink stuff.

don't forget to blow the santiflush line(s) out as well. Blackwater tank work can get expensive.

Still too early up here. Overnight lows have to get into the 20's before I start to get ansy.