Winterized and Need Water...

[JudyJB]

My motorhome has vents from the furnaces into the water tank spaces. As long as I keep my furnace running on low, it will prevent the tanks from freezing. Water hose to your RV is another story.

So you might want to find out if you have a furnace vent in your tank area.

[Aggiemom]

No joke! I have heard of using vodka as an antifreeze, but don't know how to go about it. Would it work to run a bottle through the fresh water tank and some through the hot water tank? I could then put some pink stuff into the black and grey tanks. In the spring all I would have to do is drain the fresh water tank and go. Does that make sense? Last winter I just drained the tanks and turned on the furnace a couple of times. But I'm thinking we are due for a hard freeze soon in central Texas and this winter may be it, I could also learn how to blow out the lines. But then I wouldn't get to drink the vodka in the spring! Any thoughts?

[judi]

Why couldn't you drink the vodka? It would run out of the sink taps. You could even shower in it!

[MelissaD]

I don't use the pink stuff per say. We blow the lines out with air. (fitting at Walmart for $2.50 if I remember right) Put pink stuff in the P-traps drain lines and a little in each toilet to keep the seals wet. Drain my fresh water, gray and black tanks (about 1 gal plus chemicals to fight the stink in the blacks) and call it done. Don't want to flush lines in spring. We drink bottled water but still wish to avoid chemicals. If it's only dropping below freezing at night (say 25) and up into the 40's or 50's during the day I don't worry about it. My tanks are enclosed in the belly of my camper and the heat ducts (when running) keep the plumbing from freezing by heating the underbelly. What the real concern is a hard freeze that will bust valves or P-traps in the drain lines. The tubing they use will expand and tanks will expand if they only have a little bit in them. It takes a good freeze to cool the camper off to hard freeze everything in it. Unless temps drop below freezing and stay there for a couple of days I don't worry about it.

If your sleeping in it and only dipping below freezing at night I would not worry about it. Also if you are moving things will tend not to freeze. Often times if you had a freezable load in the semi if you idled the truck the vibration from the engine would keep the liquids from freezing.

Since it's already winterized I'd take a gallon of water to flush my toilet and flush it all out when I got to Vicki's

Vodka could be a DUI issue Sorry office just drinking water

[longdog2]

As Mitch already pointed out, you don't put antifreeze in either the hot water tank or the fresh water tank.....only the lines. It would take an awful lot of vodka to fill the tank. I never travel with more than I need to flush the toilet a number of times and use some in the sink. At about 8 pounds per gallon, it adds a lot to your payload. Now, if you are heading off to a boondocking (or bad water site), then you would just have to deal with the extra weight trying to fill up closer to destination. Trailers and 5vers are a little different than motorhomes as they don't have heat going while you travel down the road so it depends on what the daytime temps are while traveling.

Replacing water lines that freeze is a messy and expensive job so I would rather error on the safe side and winterize if I have any doubts. It is very easy to do in my rig.

[dayspring39]

I did not think my lines would freeze with only temps in the 20s over night but they did… now am dealing with thawing and seeing if there is any damage… good luck Mitch all will be fine… you have more on the ball than most of us oldies do…

[sharon]

The only antifreeze, including the one made for RVs (still has bad chemicals) I would put in my fresh water tank is vodka.

I like the way you think!!

[Deeann]

I can only imagine the temperature effect from the wind flowing past on an icy trip on I-75.....[/quote]

This is not something you need to worry about. Wind chill only affects living beings. It does not affect inanimate objects. When the temperature outside is 35 degrees your tanks won't freeze even if the wind chill is 20.

[Deeann]

You don't really need an air compressor to blow out your lines. You can buy an air tank at Harbor Freight, some auto parts stores, and other places. Then you just have to fill the tank at a gas station and take it to your rv location. If you have a large rv you MIGHT have to fill the tank twice to blow all your lines. I have a shoe-box-sized Black and Decker air compressor that I use to fill my tank. Then I head to the lake and use the pressurized tank to blow the lines. I take the mini air compressor along in case I need more air but one tank does the job for me just fine. But you don't have to have a compressor. Any auto repair place, gas station, tire store, etc. should let you fill your air tank.

[JoanE]

What is blowing the lines?

[mitch5252]

..
Joan, you use an air compressor to blow the water out of your lines instead of using the Pink Stuff for winterizing. I've never done it (although I bought a fitting to use with my small compressor), and you must be very careful to not apply too much pressure - you can picture the results! I've also heard/read (?) that, that method allows for seals to dry out.

As easy as it is for my little trailer to put the pink stuff in, I'm sticking with that.

..

[Travelinana]

The only antifreeze, including the one made for RVs (still has bad chemicals) I would put in my fresh water tank is vodka.

I don't have any vodka, will gin do?

[BirdbyBird]

Blowing out the lines one winter several years ago....The pottery man also blew out the back flow valve on my city water intake opening....I read up enough to know that the valve could be replaced but instead I travel with an extra solid connector that I have to put on the city water intake every time i disconnect from city water or the water pump will just push all the water from the fresh water tank out the city water intake opening every time I try to use the water fresh tank.....