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Topic ClosedWinterizing Issues
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voisj View Drop Down
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Posts: 471 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Winterizing Issues
    Posted: 04 Oct 2017 at 10:15pm
+1 I have had my sink screens clog up with what I can only assume is the plastic drilling debris from when they drilled to attach fittings to the fresh water tank. Cleaned it out and all is good now.
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Posts: 70 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Oct 2017 at 6:07am
Originally posted by Tars Tarkas

[QUOTE=jato]You might use more pressure than I did or I might have simply forgotten to run the air out through the toilet.  I think it would be fairly easy to leave an ounce of water in the lines that might gravitate into the pump or the toilet valve if all you do is blow the lines out.  Obviously, blowing the lines works for you and others.  At this point that doesn't provide me with the comfort level I want, so I'm doing antifreeze.

TT

Something else to consider is mold.  I blew out our pop-up lines for 15 years and only once had a freezing problem.  But I DID have considerable visible mold (the line was clear and I could see the mold) growing inside the line to the sink faucet.  We never used it for drinking water so I wasn't that bothered by it.  My best guess is that when you blow out the lines and then store the camper for a long time, the residual moisture and air in the lines allows mold to grow where it would not if the line was completely filled with water.  I doubt mold can grow in the presence of anti-freeze, so I figure anti-freeze is preferred for several reasons.....

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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Oct 2017 at 8:24am
This is why I sanitize with the bleech solution.
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Posts: 592 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Oct 2017 at 9:19am
Seems the consensus of this topic is to each their own! If after blowing out the lines you still feel uneasy then add some RV antifreeze. I have yet to use the water pump in our Pod since I've always been camping where there is a water connection so I don't have the concerns of water in the pump. Since I live in central Carolina we normally don't experience and long periods of sub-freezing weather. So with that in mind I think I should be okay with just blowing out the lines and adding antifreeze to the traps. As the saying goes "we shall see"!  
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Posts: 592 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Oct 2017 at 9:30am
[/QUOTE]

Something else to consider is mold.  I blew out our pop-up lines for 15 years and only once had a freezing problem.  But I DID have considerable visible mold (the line was clear and I could see the mold) growing inside the line to the sink faucet.  We never used it for drinking water so I wasn't that bothered by it.  My best guess is that when you blow out the lines and then store the camper for a long time, the residual moisture and air in the lines allows mold to grow where it would not if the line was completely filled with water.  I doubt mold can grow in the presence of anti-freeze, so I figure anti-freeze is preferred for several reasons.....

Paul
[/QUOTE]

Black mold, a problem here in the South, is usually only found in drain lines but I can see where it could happen in supply water lines that are drained but have condensation. I'm sure RV-antifreeze will prevent it if you have that problem. You can also try eliminate it by just adding a cup of distilled white vinegar and 1/2 cup of backing soda to a few gallons of fresh water in your holding tank and after it froths up and settles down run your pump and drain the solution and followed that by clean water. 
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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Oct 2017 at 3:00pm
I am going to be working on the r-Pod this weekend and will let you all know what I find. Thanks to all who have offered solutions. 
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Posts: 65 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Oct 2017 at 10:43pm
Since I live in Minnesota, I always blow out the lines then follow with antifreeze. I usually get a slug of water out of the faucet before the antifreeze, so it would seem just blowing out the lines does not clear out all the water. If you use the fresh water tank, blowing out the lines will not clear the water in the line from the fresh water tank to the pump. For those of you in a more mild climate, blowing out with air is probably sufficient though.
This was my first time winterizing a pod, I was pleased that it only took 2 1/2 gallons to do a thorough flush, and this included a generous amount in the traps. I did not enjoy removing the access panel for the water heater valves though, next time the bed decking comes off! 
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Posts: 70 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Oct 2017 at 5:50am
Last year I blew the lines and followed up with antifreeze, but how do you protect the fresh water tank intake line?  I don't think I have seen a specific method anywhere.  Does it just naturally drain into the empty fresh water tank?  

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Posts: 7 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Oct 2017 at 6:13am
Finally had a chance to look at the filter and indeed it was plugged. Seems obvious now, but I am surprised it was so clogged that it wouldn't even allow air to get through. Thanks to all for your suggestions. 
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Oct 2017 at 7:40am
Originally posted by pgoelz

Last year I blew the lines and followed up with antifreeze, but how do you protect the fresh water tank intake line?  I don't think I have seen a specific method anywhere.  Does it just naturally drain into the empty fresh water tank?  

Paul


it's just a flexible pipe heading down to the holding tank. It doesn't hold water.

However, if you have not been doing it, the city water connection DOES need to be winterized if using anti freeze, and not air. (I know you said you did both, but this part is for later readers..  :) )

To do that, with the system pressurized by the pump pumping anti freeze, remove the debris screen at the connection on the side of the pod, and wiggle the little nub you see under it.. anti freeze will come out.. under pressure.
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