Winterizing water heater question

[game warden]

I am getting ready to put my trailer away for the winter months.Just had the dealer winterize it last week and opened up the water heater door to see what they did with the plug for the water heater and low and behold it was still in the heater. I decided to pull it out then the pink stuff started to come out of the drain plug hole. I put it back in but now i am confused,the dealer that did it last year took it out and put pink stuff in the lines. Which is correct? and what should I doo???

[outwest]

Sounds like the dealer did it the old fashioned way, where you drain freshwater tank, drain water heater, add the RV antifreeze to the freshwater tank, turn pump on, and run all of the faucets (both hot and cold sides) and toilet until pink comes through. Side effect is your hot water tank gets filled with pink stuff (because hot water tank has to fill before it'll send liquid down the hot water lines. This is how I have to winterize old Avion trailer family has had for years, because it doesn't have water heater bypass.

Assuming your freshwater and grey water tanks were emptied, your black tank flush line was blown out (black emptied, of course), and every line had pink run through it, you should be fine and can drain the hot water heater of pink or let it stay, but personally I'd drain it to protect the anode inside the heater from possible corrosion.

[JRTJH]

I'd contact the dealer and ask them how much antifreeze they used. If they only added a couple of gallons, then you've probably got a weak diluted solution in the HWH. I'd guess you have a 6 gallon water heater and that they only used a couple gallons. Possibly, your hot water lines are also diluted if that is what happened since the hot water lines are fed by the HWH and would have the same dilution of antifreeze.

Then, you'll face the problem of "Do you believe what the dealer said" and/or "Do you drain the HWH and run more antifreeze into the hot water lines"

If the dealer warrants their work, and you have the receipts, you may be able to get them to repair any freeze damage next spring. Then maybe you won't be able to get them to even acknowledge that they know you ?????

[outwest]

@JRTJH - good point. When I winterize the old Avion I go through 11 gallons of pink stuff to do it right, what with the 6 gallon heater size.

[ftwildernessguy]

It is definitely worth the time it takes to install a water heater bypass if your trailer doesn't come with one. It really doesn't take long, and will save on the antifreeze.

[hankpage]

I was under the impression that all newer Keystones came with WH bypass valves. I also remember reading in one of the manuals (silly me) that the antifreeze could damage the tanks on some water heaters. Why a dealer would intentionally not use the bypass is beyond me. Six additional gallons of antifreeze at a minimum of $3 per gallon does not seem like a sound business plan to me.
If it were my trailer I would turn the bypass valve and drain the WH tank and then read my WH manual again to see if Hank really is nuts or not. JM2¢, Hank

No comments Festus2 ... Okay, I could not find where I read about antifreeze damaging WH tanks but I did find this from a Newmar manual : You will want to avoid getting RV antifreeze in the water heater tank, and to a degree in the fresh water tank. Both tanks are very difficult to flush out, and RV antifreeze in them tends to foam when you de-winterize and add water in the spring. If you can avoid getting RV antifreeze in them, it is best, but if not, just remember to be thorough about getting the RV antifreeze out come spring.

[JRTJH]

Hank,

This may be what you were thinking about with regard to damage to the water heater by using antifreeze in it:

This is from the Suburban website:

http://www.rvcomfort.com/suburban/se..._questions.php

Are there any tips for winterizing my water heater?

If your water heater plumbing system is equipped with a bypass kit, use it to close off the water heater. Drain the water heater completely and leave it closed off (out of the system) in the bypass position, particularly if you are introducing antifreeze into the plumbing system. Antifreeze can be very corrosive to the anode rod. The result will be accelerated deterioration of the rod and heavy sediment in the tank. If the plumbing system is not equipped with a bypass kit and you intend to winterize by adding antifreeze into the system, remove the anode rod (storing it for the winter) and replace it with a 3/4" drain plug.

[hankpage]

JRTJH, Thank you for helping me show that I still have some long term memory left. Now, if I can only remember what this thread was about. ........ Oh, that's right ..... Game Warden, Turn the bypass valve (it should be there) and drain the water heater. Even if you question the dealer ... do you trust his answer??? I would open the faucets and shower (outside also) and remove the caps from the low point drains. This should drain any diluted antifreeze from the system and you will have that much less "pink" to flush out in the spring. Ahhh spring, warm weather, camping ... now we're talking. Until then I can dream.

[game warden]

Thanks for all the help on this. I agree with flip the valve and open faucets up and drain the hot water tank.