• Welcome to Archive - Aluminium Camper Forum.
 

News:

SMF - Just Installed!

Main Menu

Winterizing and air compressors

Started by gbpack, October 24, 2015, 09:40:58 AM

Previous topic - Next topic
Print
Go Down Pages1 2
User actions

gbpack

October 24, 2015, 09:40:58 AM
We are still in the anticipation phase of owning our travel trailer., with about four more weeks to go.  We hope to head to the southern tier states in January and February. At any rate, we will have to winterize a couple of times and figure we may as well get a air compressor. We know we need an oil less compressor and we read we need a filter. Should we consider 12v or 110v? Any suggestions? We would prefer something portable (duh  ::))
Joan

ammobob

#1
October 24, 2015, 09:57:13 AM
Joan, I don't think you will need the filter with an oil less compressor. I would go with the 110v because it will build pressure faster and should come with a bigger tank. You will need both pressure and volume to blow out the lines. Most 12v compressors are made for airing tires and would provide neither. With our 16DB I used my 55 gallon shop compressor to blow out the lines and it did a good job clearing them. One thing I missed 2 winters in a row was the toilet valve and it froze up and cracked so make sure you pay extra attention to that area. You might even consider removing it and reinstalling as needed which is what I would have done it I had not gone the antifreeze route this year.

gbpack

#2
October 24, 2015, 10:32:37 AM
I am totally clueless about air compressors. Any brand suggestions to research? What is the lowest volume that would work? Am I crazy to think a portable would be an option?
Joan

gbpack

#5
October 24, 2015, 12:40:34 PM
Thanks! I saw that earlier this morning, but wasn't sure.
Joan

thudd3r

#6
October 24, 2015, 09:05:33 PM
do those pancake compressors have enough volume to blow all the lines out?  i would think you would be waiting for it to refill alot.

i use a 26 gal craftsman upright, but also need it to blow out my sprinkler lines and run air tools every now and then.  may be overkill for your needs though

whoofit

#7
October 25, 2015, 08:53:02 AM
[p]It is the flush valve that is the kicker. We also winterize a couple times per year as we have no indoor heated storage for our trailer. I installed a diverter Y at the pump intake hose down by the tank for this reason. That way I can suck the antifreeze easily up through the trailer and make winterizing less painful without disassembling anything other than the drain plug of the water heater.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I doubt winterizing could get easier than this...at the expense of some antifreeze. This method is also completely portable as if you were caught on a road trip in a cold snap. No compressor required. Some cheap potato vodka at a local package store if no RV antifreeze was available.... (rofl)[/p]

ammobob

#8
October 25, 2015, 09:10:09 AM
[quote source="/post/16288/thread" timestamp="1445773982" author="@whoofit"][p]It is the flush valve that is the kicker. We also winterize a couple times per year as we have no indoor heated storage for our trailer. I installed a diverter Y at the pump intake hose down by the tank for this reason. That way I can suck the antifreeze easily up through the trailer and make winterizing less painful without disassembling anything other than the drain plug of the water heater.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I doubt winterizing could get easier than this...at the expense of some antifreeze. This method is also completely portable as if you were caught on a road trip in a cold snap. No compressor required. Some cheap potato vodka at a local package store if no RV antifreeze was available.... (rofl)[/p][/quote]Same method I now employ in our 21BHS and agree it could not be easier. Did it last week and for $6 worth of antifreeze and 20 minutes no complaints. Having to wait for the compressor to build up enough volume to do the next line took a lot longer.

whoofit

#9
October 25, 2015, 09:27:44 AM
Quote from: @ammobob" timestamp="1445775009" source="/post/16289/thread[quote timestamp="1445773982" author="@whoofit" source="/post/16288/thread"][p]It is the flush valve that is the kicker. We also winterize a couple times per year as we have no indoor heated storage for our trailer. I installed a diverter Y at the pump intake hose down by the tank for this reason. That way I can suck the antifreeze easily up through the trailer and make winterizing less painful without disassembling anything other than the drain plug of the water heater.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I doubt winterizing could get easier than this...at the expense of some antifreeze. This method is also completely portable as if you were caught on a road trip in a cold snap. No compressor required. Some cheap potato vodka at a local package store if no RV antifreeze was available.... (rofl)[/p]
Same method I now employ in our 21BHS and agree it could not be easier. Did it last week and for $6 worth of antifreeze and 20 minutes no complaints. Having to wait for the compressor to build up enough volume to do the next line took a lot longer.[/quote][p]I scratch my head and wonder sometimes which is more harmful to humans, potato vodka or RV antifreeze?...![/p][p]
[/p][p]Also, in the process of winterizing, I pour a cup of antifreeze into the city line and manually blow it through while the low points are open  just in case.
[/p]

pjcd

#10
October 27, 2015, 09:34:52 AM
I don't understand why you need to winterize a couple times per year? I just do it around November and have never had an issue. I use a pancake compressor and it takes me about ten minutes to blow out the lines, I make sure the pressure is set to around 15lbs, never had a need to have more then that, you don't want to risk blowing out a line.

whoofit

#11
October 27, 2015, 11:54:21 AM
[quote timestamp="1445949292" source="/post/16315/thread" author="@pjcd"]I don't understand why you need to winterize a couple times per year?[/quote]Cold snaps. For instance it got well below freezing here last night. It will not freeze again for quite a while now. We will use it until it makes no more sense. Then we will camp without water for the remainder of the winter.

gbpack

#12
October 30, 2015, 03:30:20 AM
Ok, I looked up flush valve on google and saw toilet parts. Is there a certain kind we need to look at? I appreciate your feedback!
Joan

whoofit

#13
October 30, 2015, 06:54:52 AM
[quote timestamp="1446186620" source="/post/16365/thread" author="@gbpack"]Ok, I looked up flush valve on google and saw toilet parts. Is there a certain kind we need to look at? I appreciate your feedback!
Joan[/quote][p]The flush valve is the valve part of the toilet attached to the foot pedal of the toilet. If the trailer is winterized properly you will not need to replace the toilet flush valve because of freezing. Apparently the flush valve retains a small amount of water when the trailer is simply drained. [/p][p]
[/p][p]If only draining the trailer of water, the flush valve needs to be physically removed from the toilet and water dumped out of it.[/p][p]If using compressed air to blow out the lines, it is best to remove the flush valve and dump the water out to be sure.[/p][p]If using RV antifreeze to winterize, flush valve can be left in place and not removed.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Flush valves, like faucets, should last for many years as long as they are not frozen.
[/p]

gbpack

#14
November 01, 2015, 04:56:23 PM
Thanks Whoofit!  I understand now. After we receive the trailer in December, we intend on taking it South to work out some bugs. Of course we will work around the GB Packers schedule. But, our big winter trip might occur in January or February. That means we will winterize a couple of times. I like the idea of doing a combo of blowing out the lines and using a minimal amount of the pink stuff.

I'm sorry that I'm a little thick headed on the y valve, but any brass y valve will do?
Joan
Print
Go Up Pages1 2
User actions