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Winterizing question

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jato View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote jato Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Winterizing question
    Posted: 29 Oct 2021 at 8:37am
OG, being left handed I tend to do things backwards a lot.Smile  I will make a note of this and try doing this next spring as a test to see.  Up to this point I have only done it once whereas I used compressed air and then opened up the low point drains only to find a couple drops of water in each. 

The beauty of this approach is two-fold:  no after taste in the lines (yes we use our FW tank for drinking) from the antifreeze and only use 16 oz. RV antifreeze each winter to winterize.  On the 177 each of the three traps get 5oz. and the toilet gets 1oz. to keep the seal moist.  Northern Michigan winters are a good test and so far, after 10 winters no problems encountered.
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'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Oct 2021 at 7:32am
The low point drains are for sure intended to be used without needing compressed air. That plus antifreeze is the standard approach, I doubt FR even considers that someone would use compressed air and no antifreeze.   Whether gravity draining using the low points is sufficient to not need antifreeze is something someone braver that I am might be willing to test. If you use the standard gravity drain procedure and then follow up with compressed air does much additional water come out?
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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jato View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote jato Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Oct 2021 at 7:09am
I just learned something new from your post.  Funny thing is that the low point drains were never used on our 177 until the 5th year of ownership.  The sticker was a good 3 feet away from where they actually were and the other problem was that they were both covered by a good 4 inches of foam all the way around, looked like a hornet's nest!

When they were finally located and after using compressed air to blow out the water lines, each cover was taken off, and much to my surprise about 1 to 2 drops of water came out of each.  Apparently the compressed air was able to evacuate the water out as far as the low point drains.  Since then, they haven't been used or accessed.  Maybe the plumbing on the older pods (ours was built January 2011) was engineered in such a way that they were only needed if you didn't use compressed air.  Only for the first year did we use the 2 gallons of RV antifreeze and suck it through the system - and even though we never opened the low point drains - fortunately never had leak or freezing issues.
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Oct 2021 at 6:33am
It must have drained from the low point. If you take out the anode and open the PRV any water left in there should drain. If it bothers you you want to be 100% sure you could refill everything and this time take out the anode before opening the low points. If water drains out of the tank doing it that way then you'll know.
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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steveterrynpoppy View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote steveterrynpoppy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Oct 2021 at 4:45am
Going through the process for the first time.   Curious:  I felt pretty certain that the hot water tank would not be empty.  We used our 2021 171 pod a week ago and had plenty of hot water.   We released the pressure valve, removed the anode rod ... and no water drained.  Not a drop.  

Is it possible that this tank drains from the low point drain somehow?   We had already drained those. 

Just want to make sure there is no water in the tank during our cold VT winter!   
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