winterizing water tank

[Jim Seamans]

Thinking of doing something different this year. Instead of pumping out as much water as I can, then dumping anti-freeze in and pumping through the lines. I would like to use air to blow out the lines instead of all of that antifreeze. How do you do this.
How do you seal off the tank to pressurize it to flush the lines.l

 

[Andy1237]

Let me make a suggestion. Go to an RV store and get a winterization kit. It puts a divertor valve between tank and the pump. Pump all you can overboard. Use a wetvac to suck out water between valve and tank. This valve comes with a screw on fitting with clear tube that screws on to the diverted valve side. Put the tube in a jug of pink (or vodka) and open each faucet until you get pink or vodka. Done

 

[Maine Sail]

Blowing out..

Jim,

While blowing out the lines may work some of the time on some boats it is not something that is readily reliable at least way up North. For you, in MD, it may work fine but I would not pressurize the tanks. I've been through your thought process, and in an ideal world it world it would work. I've blown out my lines and I have a valve in my barn to remind me to not do it again. Again it's probably fine in MD but with the 10+ below zero stretches we get it can be a bad idea up here.

Another option is to drain the tanks, bypass the water heater and suck antifreeze only into the pipes. My boat yard winterizes about 200 boats, uses this method, and does not use air. To quote Alan, the owner of the boat yard, "Shuah I'll blow outcha ya lines and I'll charge you to fix the leaks in the spring too". Mainers have such a way of making a point don't they..

Here's one way of skinning the cat:

Winterizing The fresh Water System

 

[sailingseadragon]

Jim,

The following process has worked well for me over the last 5 years... It may not work for others or for those further north.

http://www.sailingseadragon.com/winterize.htm

Good luck
Garner

 

[seadaddler]

Re: Blowing out..

Hi Jim
I have been blowing out RVs and boats for a lot of years now and never had a problem.
Drain your water tank by running opening all faucets and than disconnect the water line from tank under the vee berth and suck the rest out with shop vac.
I bypas the water pump and heater which should be empty but check and open the drain value to make sure.
Hook up your air pressure where tank and water line connect under vee berth,open one of the faucets and turn on air until you open all faucets to blow out all water,I re do a few times just to make sure all water is out,I throw some pink into the sink drains,and I did this in cold old NY.
Now that I am in Florida (YA HOO) I left my compressor with my son in NY to do my RV.
Nick

 

[shemandr]

Re: Blowing out..

What approximate PSI are you using to blow out the water lines?

 

[RAD]

Here's what I did today
First I disconnected the input from the water tank to my water pump and drained the water tank and when it got to the bottom I hooked up a pump to suck the little bit left in the tank
Bypassed the hot water heater hose's with a barbed hose coupling and let the water heater drain
Took a small section of water hose and inserted it to the input on my water pump and the other end into a jug of pink antifreeze, then went to the breaker and turned on the pump and opened the faucet in the galley and the head till pink stuff came out.
I used one gallon to do the whole system and without the antifreeze in my new water tank.
The only difference between last year and this year is I saved 3 gallons of anti freeze and it will be easy to flush just the plumbing than the whole water tank in the spring