How to Winterize Your RV Using Compressed Air

[dalamarjj78]

Our owners manual said not to exceed 30 psi so last year I kept it just below that and had no issues. It was definitely much easier than the antifreeze method and also allowed us to easily go camp for an unusually warm weekend and re-winterize without much hassle.

I do have one question, though. After rechecking my manual I noticed it said you should blow out the black tank flush line, too. Last year I skipped this step because we hadn't used it but this year I'll need to.

When I winterize it's done in my back yard without any sort of access to a dump station. Is this step done by simply hooking the compressor to the black tank flush and letting it run for 30 seconds? And can I blow out the black tank flush with the drain valve closed?

Obviously, I'd like to avoid a rookie mistake and not end up blowing any residual contents of the black tank up into the toilet or through the vent onto the roof so I thought I'd ask.

[linux3]

Originally Posted by Marineman

This post is going to explain how to winterize your RV using compressed air. I live in the great Northwest where the winters are very cold and where all who have RV’s must winterize their unit before putting them in storage.

Cold he says... Funny

We get weeks when the temp is below 0.
Pumping pink stuff into the lines and drains is the only way to go.
The Northwest has puppy winters compared to the Northeast.
You need to look at the weather in your location and adjust yor winterizing plans.
Folks in Texas just blow out the lines.
People in the Northeast don't get really cold so..... Whatever.
If you live in the Northeast take all options and do all plans.

[FlyboyD8]

This is very similar how to perform this process each year. Four campers ago back in the early 80s, I made my own adapter to go from the female hose fitting of the city water hook up to the quick disconnect of my portable air compressor. There were no known bypasses for the water heater at that time that I was aware of.

I regulate the air pressure to 40psi.on the air compressor. It wasn't until the last 2 campers that I had them nifty low water drains.



I also remove the water restriction aireators at each faucet and take the nozzle off the shower hose to have un restricted blow out.



Your mileage may very but air has always worker for my units and I do not miss the red antifreeze in my drinking water.


Lets go Branden,


Ken

[P&DZ]

Remember to release the pressure on the hot water tank before removing the anode. I made that mistake once. The anode came out like a rocket.

[Marineman]

Originally Posted by rlh1957

Yes I have done this on my 5’ver. Keystone Cougar Half Ton 29RKS

I even went back through the blow out procedure
again to make certain no residual water had settled back somewhere.
All good.

From past camper experiences the RV antifreeze took Forever to remove the residue and taste from the lines. Water would foam and wife wasn’t happy at all.

Nothing wrong with making sure all the water is out of the system.

And your reason for not using the antifreeze method is why I don't do it. And IMO, I believe using compressed air takes way less time, on both the process of blowing out the lines and filling up and charging up the system in the Spring.

[Marineman]

Originally Posted by dalamarjj78

Our owners manual said not to exceed 30 psi so last year I kept it just below that and had no issues. It was definitely much easier than the antifreeze method and also allowed us to easily go camp for an unusually warm weekend and re-winterize without much hassle.

I do have one question, though. After rechecking my manual I noticed it said you should blow out the black tank flush line, too. Last year I skipped this step because we hadn't used it but this year I'll need to.

When I winterize it's done in my back yard without any sort of access to a dump station. Is this step done by simply hooking the compressor to the black tank flush and letting it run for 30 seconds? And can I blow out the black tank flush with the drain valve closed?

Obviously, I'd like to avoid a rookie mistake and not end up blowing any residual contents of the black tank up into the toilet or through the vent onto the roof so I thought I'd ask.

I've had 2 travel trailers over the last 14 years and they both had black tank flush valves. I've never blown air through that valve because they are self draining. But other RV's may have a different setup than mine.

And when using the black tank flush, at least on mine, there is no way you could blow enough air through that line to send contents from your black tank up through the toilet or roof vent.

The spray nozzle sits on top of your black tank and when you connect it to water it simply sprays downward to help break up solids, while also allowing fresh water to fill the tank. When I use this flush system, I drain the tank completely, close the drain valve, hook up the water to the black tank flush, and then I'll let it almost fill the black tank again for a complete fresh water flush.

And while the black tank is filling with water I drain my grey tanks. By the time I'm finished with draining the grey tanks my black tank is at least half full and I'm almost ready to open the black tank valve again. This also cleans out the sewer hose. And I'll also leave the water on while the black tank is draining for a little added cleansing.

[Marineman]

Originally Posted by linux3

Cold he says... Funny

We get weeks when the temp is below 0.
Pumping pink stuff into the lines and drains is the only way to go.
The Northwest has puppy winters compared to the Northeast.
You need to look at the weather in your location and adjust yor winterizing plans.
Folks in Texas just blow out the lines.
People in the Northeast don't get really cold so..... Whatever.
If you live in the Northeast take all options and do all plans.

Well, I've lived in Eastern Washington for 24 years and we also get below zero temps, plenty of snow, and it gets damn cold here. We not only winterize our campers we also must blow out all and any irrigation systems.

And like I've stated in earlier posts, I've used the compressed air method for the last 14 years and I've never had a problem.

And I do use antifreeze in the pee traps.

[Marineman]

Originally Posted by FlyboyD8

This is very similar how to perform this process each year. Four campers ago back in the early 80s, I made my own adapter to go from the female hose fitting of the city water hook up to the quick disconnect of my portable air compressor. There were no known bypasses for the water heater at that time that I was aware of.

I regulate the air pressure to 40psi.on the air compressor. It wasn't until the last 2 campers that I had them nifty low water drains.



I also remove the water restriction aireators at each faucet and take the nozzle off the shower hose to have un restricted blow out.



Your mileage may very but air has always worker for my units and I do not miss the red antifreeze in my drinking water.


Lets go Branden,


Ken

I live in Eastern Washington where we've always blown out our sprinkler/irrigation systems with compressed air. Then I bought my first RV in 2007 and I didn't understand why people filled their water lines with antifreeze. I thought, why not just use compressed air like I do with my irrigation system.

And I read the owners manual and it advised I could use air or antifreeze so I used the air method. Once and done. I've never used antifreeze (accept in the pee traps) and I really don't see the point in using it.

[cenders]

Originally Posted by Marineman

Seventh; Use a 2 foot piece of ¼ inch tubing to extract any remaining water at the bottom of the water heater by siphoning it out. When done, inspect the anode to make sure it doesn’t need to be replaced and then install it back into the water heater. Go back to the input line to the water heater and open the bypass valve back up.

I have never sucked the remaining water out of my heater. And it has never burst. Whatever remains in the bottom freezes without a problem.

I also leave all of my taps and low point drains open while traveling to the final storage destination. Any remaining water will hopefully work it's way through the lines and out the low point.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by linux3

Cold he says... Funny

We get weeks when the temp is below 0.
Pumping pink stuff into the lines and drains is the only way to go.
The Northwest has puppy winters compared to the Northeast.
You need to look at the weather in your location and adjust yor winterizing plans.
Folks in Texas just blow out the lines.
People in the Northeast don't get really cold so..... Whatever.
If you live in the Northeast take all options and do all plans.

OK Robert, if the NW has "puppy" (sounds soft and cuddly) what are the other categories other than all other, not so cuddly, descriptions I've heard? Why can't we have "puppy" winters in TX and something different for the NW??

[ENJ]

I have found this type valve works much better for me.

[Bandit12]

Originally Posted by KimNTerry

I do basically the same except I use a blowout adapter to connect the compressor to the city water connection.

Don't forget the black tank sprayer if you have one.
doing this today in fact.

I take the blow out adapter plug one step further. I set the compressor output at 50 PSI since that's the pressure I set on my adjustable water pressure regulator. I attach a white fresh water tank hose to the city water connection, put the blow out plug in the other end and I can be inside the rig at each spigot to observe the water and or air flow while running the air to it. I do one at a time, and I include the outdoor shower. When I'm done with each of those, I disconnect the blow out adapter from the hose and attach it to the black tank flush and blow air in that for 3-5 minutes. Then continue on with adding the pink RV antifreeze to each drain. For those with double sinks in the kitchen, I add some to each side of the sink. Might be unnecessary, but I feel its cheap insurance, better safe than sorry.

Edit to add: Just looked at an online manual and it DOES state when using the compressed air method of winterizing to set the max pressure to no more than 30 PSI. I guess I'll be revising my procedure.

[Corkballman]

I believe the Keystone website mentions not to set PSI to over 30lbs in a video on winterizing.

[Marineman]

Originally Posted by cenders

I have never sucked the remaining water out of my heater. And it has never burst. Whatever remains in the bottom freezes without a problem.

I also leave all of my taps and low point drains open while traveling to the final storage destination. Any remaining water will hopefully work it's way through the lines and out the low point.

I never used to do it either and I also never had a problem. But once I tried using the 1/4 inch tubing to siphon the water out of the bottom of the tank, and it was so easy and quick, I guess I do it for peace of mind. I have also used a hose to rinse the tank and flush out any debris that settles at the bottom.

Good idea on leaving your taps open. I don't do that because my RV is parked at the house.

[Marineman]

Originally Posted by ENJ

I have found this type valve works much better for me.

I like it!!

[Marineman]

Originally Posted by Bandit12

I take the blow out adapter plug one step further. I set the compressor output at 50 PSI since that's the pressure I set on my adjustable water pressure regulator. I attach a white fresh water tank hose to the city water connection, put the blow out plug in the other end and I can be inside the rig at each spigot to observe the water and or air flow while running the air to it. I do one at a time, and I include the outdoor shower. When I'm done with each of those, I disconnect the blow out adapter from the hose and attach it to the black tank flush and blow air in that for 3-5 minutes. Then continue on with adding the pink RV antifreeze to each drain. For those with double sinks in the kitchen, I add some to each side of the sink. Might be unnecessary, but I feel its cheap insurance, better safe than sorry.

Edit to add: Just looked at an online manual and it DOES state when using the compressed air method of winterizing to set the max pressure to no more than 30 PSI. I guess I'll be revising my procedure.

I would think that if you lower the pressure according to the owners manual specifications you should be able to just leave the pressure constant even with a water line closed. 30 PSI will not harm the plumbing system and you could just move from one line to the next. I may try this next year.

Not sure why you blow out your black water flush line for so long. I've never blown mine out because it's self draining. Maybe your unit is different than mine.

And if you open up your cupboard below your double sink you'll see there is only one pee trap.

[Marineman]

Originally Posted by P&DZ

Remember to release the pressure on the hot water tank before removing the anode. I made that mistake once. The anode came out like a rocket.

I've done that too! lol Nice little spray in the face...

[Jmill8]

Ah, Moses Lake. I live in Port Angeles and don't get the cold in your area but still use this system.

[Marineman]

Originally Posted by Jmill8

Ah, Moses Lake. I live in Port Angeles and don't get the cold in your area but still use this system.

Yes, good old Moses Lake. lol Nice big storm heading our way. Should get interesting. And you can get the rain, lots of rain...

It can still get very cold where you are and I would winterize my RV if I lived over there. You're right on that cusp where you could get away with not doing it, but, a good blast of arctic air could have you wishing you did.

[Jim2366]

I use a compressor to blow out all the lines. Then I use the RV antifreeze method too. Why not do both then you have any water mixed in with the anti freeze so it's full strength.

Don't forget por antifreeze in the drains to fill the traps.