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Old 10-27-2019, 08:03 AM   #1
jbrosecity
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what is this Winterize switch?

Hi - below is a photo of my water bay on the outside of my

2019 Keystone Avalanche 382FL 5th Wheel

I understand the water heater bypass and have marked it with marking pen for clarification. I'll switch it to OFF when I do the winterization. I am not really clear what the "Tank Fill Power Fresh" switch is but it is in the position it has been since purchase and since I do not ever use the fresh water tank, it is semi-irrelevant... I drained the fresh water tank at the low point and leave it empty. (Our 5er is stationary - I do not own a pickup truck). I am about to do the winterization and watched the video on
https://www.keystonerv.com/owners/how-to-videos/

This is very helpful but makes no reference to the "winterize" switch, and of course the owners manual is utterly useless. Can someone explain to me what that switch does and what the meaning of on/off is? The position shown is again the position it has been in since purchase... so I don't know if that means I should be turning it to "OFF" when winterizing with compressed air or what it does. Can anyone explain it? Thanks in advance
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Old 10-27-2019, 02:59 PM   #2
Tbos
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That winterize switch may allow you to suck antifreeze directly into the lines without filling your tank. Just switch it and turn the pump on.
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Old 10-27-2019, 04:29 PM   #3
jbrosecity
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tbos View Post
That winterize switch may allow you to suck antifreeze directly into the lines without filling your tank. Just switch it and turn the pump on.
Thanks for the reply... I did a test run today... I disconnected city water, attached the air compressor hose with 30psi to the city water connection, then opened the outside shower valve right there in the water bay, and then turned on the compressor. Nothing happened. Hmmm... I am at a loss to figure out why exactly, but when I turned that winterize switch to the horizontal position or ON position then immediately water started flowing from the shower handle and then air sputtering out. Then checked the kitchen and same thing. I switched it back to the vertical position, and connected the water again for now. I will be winterizing later this week so I guess that is how it is done but I WISH someone could explain to me how that works.

I went out and checked the bay and now have confused myself... not really SURE if I connected the air compressor to the city water inlet which is partially hidden in my photo or to the inlet ABOVE it which has that orange "Warning" label next to it. That is apparently the fresh water tank filler connection, as the label says something about "potable water only" - I have never used it as we are stationary with this 5er and only use park connections and city water. So there is some small chance I connected the air to that one by mistake and got the above results when switching ON the Winterize switch. But I am 90% sure I connected the compressor to the city water connection... I KNOW for a fact I disconnected the city water host from it.

Love to hear from someone with lots of experience with this setup who can clear up the confusion.
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Old 10-27-2019, 04:56 PM   #4
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If I read your second post right then YES with the winterize valve in horizontal position labeled ON the water pump will draw liquid into the water system lines and not the water tank... it’s working exactly like it should.
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Old 10-28-2019, 08:58 AM   #5
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If I read your second post right then YES with the winterize valve in horizontal position labeled ON the water pump will draw liquid into the water system lines and not the water tank... it’s working exactly like it should.
Thanks, but I'm not sure I follow this. Since purchase, over the course of the summer, the winterize valve has remained in the vertical position as shown in my photo, with the RV Park water connected to the "City water connection." And we had normal water flow all summer with nothing filling the tank as expected.

Now it is time to winterize the system until spring. I just went out there in the 31 degree morning air, disconnected the water again and this time for sure, I connected the air compressor hose to the city water inlet, and turned on the outside shower. Water came out briefly and then started to spit compressed air. Then I turned the "winterize" switch to the horizontal position. It made no difference... air continued to spit out the shower fitting.

So apparently blowing out the lines could work either way. But I was left wondering what the "winterize" switch is designed to do? Again it is not explained in the manual.... thanks Keystone! But I called the local dealer RV Corral and talked to a service guy who explained it... that "winterize" switch is connected to a clear hose somewhere behind or below which you stick into an antifreeze bottle and when you turn it on, then it is supposed to suck up antifreeze into the lines. SO it sounds like Tbos nailed it in the first comment above. It is supposed to be a convenience as opposed to the time honored practice of disconnecting the water pump intake and sticking that in a bottle of antifreeze which I have done in the past with other RV's. Since I am now using compressed air, I do not need to worry about it and can leave it off.

He also mentioned a caution about blowing out the toilet... sometimes apparently even after they blow air thru the lines and no water is forthcoming any more, a small amount of water has remained in the valve and it cracked over the winter. I told him I replaced the OEM toilet in both my rigs with the Dometic 320 with sprayer hose and they said they had not had this problem with that one... only with the 310. So, a word to the wise for you Dometic 310 owners.
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Old 10-28-2019, 09:28 AM   #6
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All your winterize valve does is dictate where the pump draws water from. Has nothing to do with the city water inlet. If you pressurized the water tank and then opened the shower faucet nothing would happen unless the water pump is on. It sounds like you didn’t use the water pump this season so if it was left in the winterize position you would not have known.
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Old 10-29-2019, 11:20 AM   #7
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As stated above the winterize valve causes the pump to draw antifreeze in through the winterize port.

With water connected to the city water connection the tank fill porwefresh valve will allow water to flow into the freshwater tank when it is switched to fill. for normal operation keep it on normal flow.

To winterize I first bypass the water heater and drain it by opening the relief valve removing the anode. Then I connect my compressor set at 40 PSI to the city water connection and open the low point drains and all the faucets, don't forget the toilet and outside shower. After all the water is blown out close all the faucets and drain valves. Switch the powerfresh valve to the fill position momentarily to blow out the line to the freshwater tank. Blow out the black tank flush line also.

Connect a hose from the winterize port to a jug of antifreeze. Set the winterize valve to winterize and turn on the water pump, the pump will suck the antifreeze into the plumbing. Open each faucet one at a time until antifreeze is flowing, then close it and go to the next one. Have someone switch antifreeze jugs before the first one runs out. Open and close the low point drains also.

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Old 10-29-2019, 04:34 PM   #8
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Gary... that was the best explanation so far and thanks for reminding me about the tank fill line and the saniflush line. I'll be sure to blow those out also. It seems you are a very thorough winterizer... Most manuals recommend either the compressed air method *or* the rv antifreeze method. Seems you do both. I had the local RV Corral dealer winterize our motorhome and they used the compressed air and then only added AF to the p-traps. I may stick with that approach since our coach is pretty simple... no icemaker, washing machine or dishwasher. And the climate here is pretty mild anyhow. But thanks to your photo which I saved to my winterization folder I now also understand exactly which ports and switches to use to add AF to the lines should I decide to do that as well. thanks again!
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Old 11-13-2019, 06:05 PM   #9
Windsorray
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I have a 2019 cougar and it as the same type of system but mine would not pump the antifreeze out of the jug. I had to put it into the fresh water tank to get it to come through the lines I’m calling keystone tomorrow
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Old 11-15-2019, 05:18 AM   #10
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I have no experience with this at all being a new owner myself. But I agree with you the vagueness of Keystone and the operations of their products has little to be desired..... I am struggling with the same issue...
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