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Old 02-15-2006, 02:36 AM   #1
G McCall
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Draining water in Trailer



Recently I opened all valves and faucets and let the water drain from the trailer. Then I turned the water pump on and blew a little air through. I know the books says running pumps dry can damage the pump, but instructions on the same pumps at a store says the pumps can be run dry.

Anyway, several days later with valves still open and no water is draining, I raised the front of the trailer to get a little more room under it to do a little looksee. Water poored out of the fresh water tank for a minute or so. Not sure how much, but maybe a gallon or so. I know it was enough to freeze if this water was accumulated some where.

How do you drain water lines in your trailers ?
 
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Old 02-15-2006, 02:48 AM   #2
old turbo
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You could have been a little off level when you did all of the above. Also the tank may not be mounted level to the trailer.Remember these trailers are not rocket science, everything is not level or perfect. You just found something that you will remember to check each time you drain your lines and tank.
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Old 02-15-2006, 02:49 AM   #3
richfaa
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With a air compressor.
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Old 02-15-2006, 03:00 AM   #4
stiles watson
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It sounds like the fresh water tank was not level at the position you had it when draining. Water seeks the lowest point. when you raised one end of the unit, you changed the lowest point and the trapped water ran out your drain, which became the lowest point. Moving the unit up a few inches and then down from the apparent "level" position may be one way to ensure the tanks are emptied. All speculation on my part.
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Old 02-15-2006, 03:06 AM   #5
Wrenchtraveller
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An air compressor works but I just use the RV anti freeze and pump it through the unit after I close the hotwater by-pass valve and drain the hot water tank.

Now the units come with a valve to turn and a short hose to stick into a gallon of antifreeze so winterizing is easy. Also make sure that every trap in the unit has a cup or so of antifreeze in it and make sure you see pink when you flush the toilet and open every tap, hot and cold, until a little pink runs out and don't forget the outside shower. I usually do the furthest taps from the pump first, and toilet last.

I have a full sewer hookup that I plumbed in a couple of years ago so I do a real good flush of the holding tanks before I winterize.

I can hardly wait to dewinterize this unit as it was winterized for me when I picked it up in November so I want to prove out the integrity of the plumbing before I use the rig in April.

Even if you use an air compressor to drain your water lines, don't forget your drain traps .
You could blow those out but pouring a little anti freeze into every drain is a lot easier.

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Old 02-15-2006, 03:42 AM   #6
richfaa
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Agree with wrenchtraveller about winterizing and I alwyas overdo it on the amount of anti freeze, also dump abou 1/2 gal in each tank and lower the nose of the camper. However your question was "how do you drain your water lines in your trailers" and the only way to get ALL the water out , if that is what you want to do, is with a air compressor,However if you are winterizing as Wrenchtraveller says, Anti freeze is the best way to go or a combination of both.
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Old 02-15-2006, 04:46 AM   #7
VanMan
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Wrenchtraveller (and others) - don't forget to check and see if the water heater was "bypassed" by the dealer when they winterized and open it so the water will flow through the heater. You MUST have water in the heater before running the electric element !!
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Old 02-15-2006, 04:54 AM   #8
OntMont
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You don't really have to get every last bit of water out of the tanks, even if it freezes it won't do any harm if there is a bit of water left behind in the tank.

I prefer to blow out the lines, pump antifreeze through all the lines to the drains, add some additional antifreeze to each trap, let the excess run into the holding tanks. I leave the tank drains open during winter storage. If you have a washer, that is probably the most vulnerable thing for ice damage, make sure you get it protected according to the mfr's instructions. You will probably need 120 volt power for this, so don't wait until you get to the storage place to do your winterizing, (like I once did). Don't forget to drain and flush out the hot water tank, you need to remove the anode rod to do this, and that requires an 1-1/8 socket, then set the valve to by-pass the water heater before pumping antifreeze through the system.
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Old 02-15-2006, 08:52 AM   #9
G McCall
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Okay....looks like I have found a source for water after draining trailer.
The trailer was level when I drained the tanks.

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Old 02-15-2006, 11:10 AM   #10
Wordsmith
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Wrenchtraveller does his very similar to what I do, and, like Rich, I err toward putting extra antifreeze into the traps, etc. Even then I hold my breath come time to dewinterize, which will be in the next two weeks as we are taking the Montana out for the first weekend in March. Marsha and I have cabin fever!
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Old 02-15-2006, 11:19 AM   #11
Montana Sky
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I have the shop winterize and dewinterize my coach for me. That way the liability is on them and not me. =) I also leave my fresh water low point drain cap off for a few days to allow any additional water to run out before I put the coach away for the winter. I am not very concerned if there is a little water left in the holding tanks as it will not do any damage if it freezes. When water turns to ice it expands and if your entire tank is empty minus even a gal or so there is still enough room inside the tank for the ice to expand. If the tank was almost full I would be very worried. Just my thoughts...
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Old 02-17-2006, 09:21 AM   #12
sreigle
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I agree with OntMont a little water in the tank will not hurt anything. The fresh water tank holds 60 gallons and each of the waste tanks hold 38 gallons. Plenty of room for a couple of gallons of water to expand when frozen.

You probably did this but... when you opened the drains did you also open the low point drains as well as the fresh water tank drain and the dump valves?
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Old 02-17-2006, 02:21 PM   #13
Montana_738
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Becareful if you use a compressor, you can blow your lines apart. Make sure you PSI is turned down on the compressor.

Bill
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Old 02-21-2006, 08:24 AM   #14
sreigle
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by accuprep

Becareful if you use a compressor, you can blow your lines apart. Make sure you PSI is turned down on the compressor.

Bill
To add to a good point, the first time I used air to blow out the lines I destroyed the one-way valve in the fresh water hookup where the air adapter is placed. The next time I reduced psi to 30 and that worked just fine.
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