When should I de-winterize??

[Controller23]

Bought my new passport in a winterized state. When should I de winterize to prepare for the season? SE Wisconsin and also want to make sure stuff works before taking her out.

Also, what all do I need to do? Water heater, fresh water tank?

[xrated]

Dewinterizing time depends on where you live and when the last cold snap of the season is. If you've lived in Wisconsin for a while, you should have a pretty good idea, or maybe do a google search and find out when the last freeze (average) normally occurs. I'd much rather wait a week or two longer than maybe necessary, rather than risk something freezing up and doing some damage....but I'm kind of conservative that way.

Dewinterizing involves either or both...hooking up a hose to city water and flushing the hot and cold lines....Hot And Cold. If the water pump was used to pump antifreeze through the system, put some city water in the fresh water tank and use it to flush all the lines, one at a time, both hot and cold. When everything runs clear for a a minute or so, then it's time to take the water heater out of bypass mode and let the tank fill up. DO NOT TURN THE WATER HEATER ON YET THOUGH. Then go to each and every faucet, hot and cold and bleed any air that is in the lines. When every faucet runs without spitting air out, you should be good to go. Make sure you low point drains get flushed also when doing all the faucets.

[Salt Life]

Don't dewinterize yet. They're talking a blizzard landing somewhere this week. I just got back from the Gulf yesterday and have to winterize. Talking 30s highs and teens, 20s lows. I live in NW WI....

[notanlines]

Troy, let me bring back a bad memory for you: From the Milwaukee Journal, May 3, 2013.
"The storm started Wednesday and continued Thursday. It could be the biggest in Wisconsin this year, and by Friday morning it's expected to have dumped 15 to 20 inches in some places, National Weather Service meteorologist Rusty Kapela said.
School districts canceled classes in Menomonie, River Falls, Chetek, Rice Lake, Barron and Durand. Ashland had more than 16 inches early Thursday, while Sawyer, Bayfield and Iron counties had more than a foot in some places."
My parents lived in Chetek and my dad measured 16 inches on the deck. For an 86 year old man he uttered quite the expletives while looking at his golf clubs by the back door.
I can't really add to the advice given so far. If you have access to an air compressor you could simply blow the lines reasonably dry after the week-end.

[Salt Life]

Remember it well, Jim. I'm in Bayfield Cty. I had a plow business then.

I drained the hotwater tank, opened the low point valves and turned on all the faucets. Dumped antifreeze in the traps and calling it good. Normally I blow out the lines since air cant freeze, for winter.

[Wingerdinger]

I live in Minnesota, we pretty much have the same weather. I have been camping for years, and can tell you that it's risky to de-winterize this early.
Two signs that I look for, one, when the big lakes have the ice out, and the frost is out of the ground. About that time the temps don't generally drop below freezing overnight. Watch for the lows to stay above freezing for a week or more.
For us, the beginning of May is about the earliest. Even then, watch the forecast. My parents owned a campground, and they turned the unprotected water to the campgrounds on the second weekend in May. Once in a while they had to wait a week.

[JRTJH]

We do a lot of camping in the Michigan UP. Bass season opens the Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend and I can say that I've had to launch the boat through "blown in ice" as often as not. On those trips where there was ice on the lake, there was also ice on every puddle in the campground. De-winterizing and having an unprotected water system (without heat in the RV) on those trips would have probably resulted in damage.

We de-winterize the Thursday before that "Memorial weekend" trip and keep heat on the trailer until around mid-June or so. Some years are a bit warmer, some a bit cooler, but for us, it's around the end of May before we "let the pink stuff out".....

[spade117]

I just started my de-winterization process on Sunday. Hoping to have everything complete by this weekend.

Really hoping to be able to get out for a short trip the last weekend of the month.