Winterizing/Hose Adapters

[Fender]

Does anyone have a good recipe for RV Antifreeze? I share the same issue as a couple of other people have mentioned - don't like the smell or taste of the store bought stuff.
We have Hepvo traps in ours which should cut down on a bit of the odour but I'm wondering if there is a safe alternative.
I blow out the lines but in this neck of the woods I've always relied on antifreeze for backup.

[cpaharley2008]

We seldom drink water from on board, used mainly for toilet or cooking/boiling items. I usually fill a 2.5G or 5G container at home and take with us for coffee/drinking.

[chesaka]

I ordered that adapter from Amazon and am now feeling encouraged to try the compressed air blowout method. Thank you for the guidance.

[Keith3]

Originally Posted by Fender

Does anyone have a good recipe for RV Antifreeze? I share the same issue as a couple of other people have mentioned - don't like the smell or taste of the store bought stuff.
We have Hepvo traps in ours which should cut down on a bit of the odour but I'm wondering if there is a safe alternative.
I blow out the lines but in this neck of the woods I've always relied on antifreeze for backup.

Cheap vodka should do the trick. Not sure if you would want to dilute it a bit.

[Fender]

Originally Posted by Keith3

Cheap vodka should do the trick. Not sure if you would want to dilute it a bit.

Apparently vodka will freeze at around -16 F.
That won't cut it around here!

[Donna D.]

Use RV anti-freeze, buy some olives and make martinis with the vodka! Where I live there is no such thing as 'cheap' vodka. There's just expensive and more expensive.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by mfschu

Here's my nice little Walmart 12V compressor. Works well for me. Nice and compact/lightweight and fits in this nice little bag.

I really liked your plan on saving space with a small tire inflator.

Most videos on YouTube show compressors with tanks being used, which I happen to have one of the top 5 recommended for RV winterizing, works for most other jobs too. Also many of the small compressors, are oil less, including mine.

The best I comparison video I could find was with a guy showing that even a bike tire inflator could be used, but it will leave a small amount of water in the low spots of your lines.
But no videos doing a demonstration on the air tank vs the tankless.

So I tested a new Milwaukee air pump, batter powered-at this time Milwaukee may be making the best cordless tools out there, but not cheap.

I ran the Milwaukee then followed up right behind it on the same line with the Dewalt tank compressor, both set at 40.
The Dewalt was able to extract a half a cup full more water.

So the next trial I did it back to back with the Milwaukee and then tested it with the Dewalt, the half a cup was gone.
For me doing a double blowout is well worth the convenience, and no power cord is always a plus.

It has a nice feature, memory settings you can preset for your trailer, TV, bikes…

You will need the tire valve to camper water adapter available on Amazon for like $7.

It’s a newer item, Home Depot, but not yet at all of them.

[mfschu]

Thanks Ooshkaboo for the research and analysis! So it sounds like your conclusion is the battery powered Milwaulkee does the job, but blow it out a couple of times to be sure all the water is out. That's how we blow out ours as well, doing several cycles of letting the pressure build and then opening the fixtures one at a time to make sure the water is out. I get the 12V power I need for my Walmart compressor from a 12V socket I installed in the refrigerator compartment. This modification was posted by Eggscape. There's big 12V line that runs to the refrigerator that basically is never used in my case. It's a good modification Eggscape came up with if. Handy to have an outdoor 12V accesible plug without being exposed to the elements when not in use.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by mfschu

Thanks Ooshkaboo for the research and analysis! So it sounds like your conclusion is the battery powered Milwaulkee does the job, but blow it out a couple of times to be sure all the water is out. That's how we blow out ours as well, doing several cycles of letting the pressure build and then opening the fixtures one at a time to make sure the water is out. I get the 12V power I need for my Walmart compressor from a 12V socket I installed in the refrigerator compartment. This modification was posted by Eggscape. There's big 12V line that runs to the refrigerator that basically is never used in my case. It's a good modification Eggscape came up with if. Handy to have an outdoor 12V accesible plug without being exposed to the elements when not in use.

Thank you for your info, it way lightens my load this winter, I’m going to avoid as much of winter as I can.

I found a rare can do shop off Woodson road, they took care of a axle and brake issue for me.
You can get there early and wait or drop it off if you’d ever need, I go hard on preventive maintenance.
Very good work and honest, but I wouldn’t leave it there overnight…

[mfschu]

Ooshkaboo, Thanks for passing the tip along for the axle and brake shop! So far I haven't had any brake or axle issues, but good to know there's a local resource if needed.

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by mfschu

Ooshkaboo, Thanks for passing the tip along for the axle and brake shop! So far I haven't had any brake or axle issues, but good to know there's a local resource if needed.

You may have your own schedule, mfschu, and opinions vary, but I have my wheel bearings and brakes serviced every 10,000 miles or 2 years, whichever comes first. So far, after 6 years, and over 40,000 miles my bearings have only needed repacking and new seals each time. Brakes are doing good! Good Luck!

[mfschu]

That's awesome service! Maintenance pays off! And who wants to have trouble when out on the road!

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by mfschu

but blow it out a couple of times to be sure all the water is out. That's how we blow out ours as well, doing several cycles of letting the pressure build and then opening the fixtures one at a time to make sure the water is out.

If you study the flow of water in a clear plastic tube being propelled by air you'll see that there are two phases. The first is the "slug" of water that comes out. But the second phase is the remaining water sheets around and wets the internal perimeter of the tubing. It stays "attached" to the surface and flows. So in a long run of tubing it takes a good amount of continuous air to fully expel and dry the internal wall of the tubing or pipe.

Ron

[bristol5.0]

Originally Posted by Fender

Does anyone have a good recipe for RV Antifreeze? I share the same issue as a couple of other people have mentioned - don't like the smell or taste of the store bought stuff.
We have Hepvo traps in ours which should cut down on a bit of the odour but I'm wondering if there is a safe alternative.
I blow out the lines but in this neck of the woods I've always relied on antifreeze for backup.

Not all RV antifreezes are formulated the same. There are two main ingredients blended with water: ethanol (grain alcohol, the same as in liquor) and propylene glycol (a “double” alcohol.) Ethanol is flammable and more toxic and seems to leave an aftertaste that is more difficult to rinse out. Also, ethanol reacts with plumbing seals and makes them more brittle while propylene glycol acts as a lubricant. The main advantage of ethanol based formulations are that they are cheaper. Some brands, like Splash, have a cheaper formulation and a premier formulation (Splash 619527 about $4 and 619526 $10-15)- the difference being ethanol or propylene glycol formulations. I always check the ingredients. The lower the burst rating the more active ingredient and less water. Also, although water is familiar to everybody, it is unusual that its solid form is less dense and expands more than its liquid form leading to burst pipes and fittings. These antifreezes may start to form a slushy frozen state well before their burst rating. So a bottle of antifreeze may be frozen at 0⁰ F, but will not crystalize and expand until -50⁰ F.
Hope this helps.

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

If you study the flow of water in a clear plastic tube being propelled by air you'll see that there are two phases. The first is the "slug" of water that comes out. But the second phase is the remaining water sheets around and wets the internal perimeter of the tubing. It stays "attached" to the surface and flows. So in a long run of tubing it takes a good amount of continuous air to fully expel and dry the internal wall of the tubing or pipe.

Ron

Since we use a tankless air compressor we first blow the lines clean and then walk away for 5 minutes, with a faucet barely open and let the air dry the lines.

____________________________________________

But:
If we’re home, after using air to winterize, we then put a gallon of antifreeze in the entire system (the hot water heater is drained and bypassed). Within 5 minutes after the antifreeze comes out all faucets, shower, toilet, and outside faucets, I again blow all the lines clear.

We live in Minnesota and in 1994 it got to -50F in a January morning. Turns out that antifreeze that was good to -20 to -40F froze and caused damage to a number of campers (we had a pop up at the time).

We do use another gallon of antifreeze in our shower and sink traps and the remaining in our black tank. Oh, we learned a long, long time ago to never put antifreeze in the fresh water, just drain the tank.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Perry Butler

Since we use a tankless air compressor we first blow the lines clean and then walk away for 5 minutes, with a faucet barely open and let the air dry the lines.


Perry

Good solution. It is somewhat misleading to think that just because a slug of water shoots out that there's no more water left in the system.

Basically the more air that goes through, the drier the interior of the lines.

Ron

[kavm]

Originally Posted by 2Travelers

Does any one know the minimum compressor size needed to blow out the lines of an E19? My 12v portable Viair is rated at just over 1.0 CFM. Will that be enough?

Virair works well but 400 or 450p. There is a winterization kit that comes from Viair. We bought and used Viair 400 last year.

Alas, we will have to get the storage service do the winterization as I am recovering from an accident and surgery and it is beyond me.

[LarryB.]

Here is a link to an entry that I posted in the FiberglassRV web site that references a You-Tube for winterizing a Casita. That process should be equivalent to what you would do for your Escape.

I use an old Craftsman electric tire pressure pump for for the process. If you're concerned with the pressure from a tire pump you could always use a water pressure reducer between the blow out plug and the trailer's city water connection...

[Keith3]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Use RV anti-freeze, buy some olives and make martinis with the vodka! Where I live there is no such thing as 'cheap' vodka. There's just expensive and more expensive.

Off to get olives. Thanks!

[chesaka]

I bought this but the end does not fit with my little viar 88 air compressor. Do I need to buy a different air compressor or is there perhaps an adapter that would fit the end that normally screws onto the tire valve?