Help with plumbing winterization?

Post your technical questions or solutions about your boat's plumbing here.

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johnthejetpilot
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2017 12:29 pm

Help with plumbing winterization?

Post by johnthejetpilot »

Looking for some input and help...I did as indicated below(in previous forum advice on winterization) and thought I had everything squared away (as in past years). I somehow managed during the course of winterizing the water system to have the antifreeze that I sucked out of bucket and thru water pump under galley, find it's way to the HOT Water tank under aft starboard seat. I did use a short piece of hose to jump cold feed to hot water tank by connecting the two manifolds in bilge - blue cold feed to hot water tank to the hot feed for red manifold (located on the end of manifold). When I turned on the water press at panel, pump pressurized and quickly sucked all the antifreeze out of the 2 gallon bucket, then all the water from the hot water supply came spraying out in bilge from red line. I then realized I had a problem and opened the relief valve and drain on the hot water tank and let antifreeze drain out into bilge.. I think before pressurizing system, I should have drained the Hot Water tank by opening the relief valve and drain on the bottom interior..Any thoughts?

Yes, you can drain system from manifold. I have used following procedure for last five years without any difficulties. Pump both water tanks dry, disconnect feed from tanks to pump, suck any surplus water from from feed with "shop vac" , use short piece of hose to jump cold feed to hot water tank at manifold to hot feed to manifold. Connect water pump inlet to jug of RV fluid. In turn open each faucet until pink fluid appears. Both forget the deck shower. Suck open feed line to hot tank dry with shop vac. Alternatively the drain valve on water tank can be opened,however you have to be a bit of a contortionist get at that valve. In spring pump clean water through through system before reconnecting to tanks, note none of the tanks contaminated with RV fluid.
Other items: For the electric head, disconnect water inlet, suck dry and pour RV fluid in bowel and pump dry. Pour RV fluid in shower drain, bilge and frig drain and pump dry.
Fully charge batteries and then disconnect terminals to avoid parasitic losses.
I'm on Great Lakes so have experienced very low temperatures without problems.
Ave Maria
Hull 212
Kenosha, WI
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Olivia Mae
Posts: 94
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2018 1:19 pm

Re: Help with plumbing winterization?

Post by Olivia Mae »

My method.... Drain hot water tank. Disconnect both lines from it and blow out any remaining water from tank using a shop vac.

I made easy to disconnect line ends with adapters and steel braded lines from plumbing dept. of home depot that thread onto the 1/2" tank connections. This way I can just unscrew them by hand and install a 1/2" threaded nipple as a union to bypass the water heater. I then run antifreeze through the hot and cold lines from both tanks.
Scott and Linda

Olivia Mae
C350 Hull #53
Erie, Pa.
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