Winterizing Fresh Water System

MattB92 said:
Also, you say no need to bypass the water heater with this method, but I'm wondering how well the air would go into the tank then through the out hose for your hot water lines. I question how much pressure would even be going through those? I guess you've done it enough times without any issues though, so clearly it works
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Pressure is pressure is pressure, so even though the HWH tank is large, pressure will still build up in it and work just fine.

FYI, Brad has the fancy shmancy air adpater - I never even knew they made one that nice! Another option... search for "Camco blow out plug".

Personally, I just like seeing that pink color come through everywhere so I know there are no pockets of water that gather somewhere. But air can certainly work.

Keep in mind, you'll still have to pour AF into all your drains, including a couple pours into the shower drain for your step-down pump to activate a few times. Also a couple flushes with the head.

If the marina winterizes your engine, pink may or may not push all the way through the HWH heating lines if they don't first drain the hoses.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Pressure is pressure is pressure, so even though the HWH tank is large, pressure will still build up in it and work just fine.

FYI, Brad has the fancy shmancy air adpater - I never even knew they made one that nice! Another option... search for "Camco blow out plug".
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Thats the one i linked earlier that costs about $5. Been using it about 6 years now
 
MattB92 said:
Thank @b_arrington for another perspective. I do have an air compressor so might be another method I may do.

You noted you used to disconnect the line after the pump. Any little bit of water left in the pump then or the line from the tank to the pump? or did you just not worry about it.

Also, you say no need to bypass the water heater with this method, but I'm wondering how well the air would go into the tank then through the out hose for your hot water lines. I question how much pressure would even be going through those? I guess you've done it enough times without any issues though, so clearly it works
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For the water pump, you can just let it run for a short time after you disconnect the hose. Any small amount of water will come out. You could also disconnect the feed hose to the pump and let any remaining water there drain by gravity.

For the HW tank, you can bypass if you want. My method was to open the drain knob on the bottom then apply the air. Or if the system has some air pressure, then open the drain valve. This is allow the air to force the water in the tank out the drain rather than pump it through a faucet. It's quicker and more thorough than a gravity drain. Once that is done the air will flow through all the hoses and clear out the lines to the faucets, etc.

As to pressure, the system will pressurize up to whatever you have the compressor set to. 35 psi should be fine - don't over do it and blow out your fittings! The compressor will cycle on the provide makeup air.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Pressure is pressure is pressure, so even though the HWH tank is large, pressure will still build up in it and work just fine.

FYI, Brad has the fancy shmancy air adpater - I never even knew they made one that nice! Another option... search for "Camco blow out plug".
Click to expand...

For those not familiar with the Camco blow out adapter, this is it.
shopping

And a brass one.
shopping

The pointy bit is a Shraeder-type adapters, like a car or bike tire. You hold an tire filling adapter on the stem to put air into the system. The reason I got my fancy adapter was that it fits securely into the chuck on my air hose, and it has a valve to regulate the air going into the system. With the Camco adapters you still need to hold the air hose onto the end. My tire inflation adapter is a simple press on - it doesn't lock onto the adapter. That means running back and forth to the faucets to open and close them.

With the one I'm using I can stand next to the faucet and simply open it and ensure the water is out. More practically, when draining the air out of the lines to the head I have to either push the foot pedal or hold down the flush button. I can't do that if I also need to hold the air hose on the adapter. My boat also has a windshield washer system that draws from the domestic water tank - I have to hold down a button to open a solenoid and let air flow through that too.

For those reasons paying the $19 for the fancy one makes sense to me. Plus it saves time and lets me do the procedure without a helper.
 

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Brad, just to be clear, I wasn't making light of the one you have. It does look very nice and I can see the advantages it offers. I honestly just had never seen that one before. Camco does make one with an air adapter - but it's basically the same style as the other one, meaning w/o the valve. It's good to have options!
 
b_arrington said:
For those not familiar with the Camco blow out adapter, this is it.
shopping

And a brass one.
shopping

The pointy bit is a Shraeder-type adapters, like a car or bike tire. You hold an tire filling adapter on the stem to put air into the system. The reason I got my fancy adapter was that it fits securely into the chuck on my air hose, and it has a valve to regulate the air going into the system. With the Camco adapters you still need to hold the air hose onto the end. My tire inflation adapter is a simple press on - it doesn't lock onto the adapter. That means running back and forth to the faucets to open and close them.

With the one I'm using I can stand next to the faucet and simply open it and ensure the water is out. More practically, when draining the air out of the lines to the head I have to either push the foot pedal or hold down the flush button. I can't do that if I also need to hold the air hose on the adapter. My boat also has a windshield washer system that draws from the domestic water tank - I have to hold down a button to open a solenoid and let air flow through that too.

For those reasons paying the $19 for the fancy one makes sense to me. Plus it saves time and lets me do the procedure without a helper.
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That shiny brass thing is exactly what I bought last fall. Screws into the cockpit water connection. Hook up a tire pressure pump and water system is done.
 
b_arrington said:
This is exactly what I do. I used to circulate the AF through the water hoses, but the residual taste was bad. Then I realized I've got a 10 gallon compressor in the garage, let's use that to blow out the lines! Just like an inground sprinkler system.

For a while I was simply disconnecting the water line after the pump and sticking a blow gun adapter in there - opening one drain at a time. Was time consuming climbing in and out of the bilge, but saved on the antifreeze cost and the bad taste. Most any portable compressor should do the trick.

The real epiphany was when I realized I could use the dock water inlet connection to blow out all the line. I got the adapter below. One side screws into the dock water inlet, and the other chucks into the compressor hose. It has a valve to turn off the air. Simply connect hook up the compressor and open all the faucets in turn. Do keep the pressure under 35 PSI though, to avoid blowing out a hose. With this method bypassing the water heater isn't needed either. Just open the bottom drain to let out the water. I've been using air to blow out the water system for probably 10 years.

I'll just note that if you have an ice maker you may need a special procedure. It can be difficult to get the solenoid to open on command. My ice maker had a detailed winterizing procedure that specified a disassembly process.


81erRx9Nl7L._AC_SL1500_.jpg
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I have one of those also. I used it before last winter and it worked well.
 
Pirate Lady said:
That shiny brass thing is exactly what I bought last fall. Screws into the cockpit water connection. Hook up a tire pressure pump and water system is done.
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I used this style (BArington posted)for 25 years, now I use this (valve and short hose), just hook the compressor at reduced pressure and open the valve, can blow mine out by myself
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I turn my regulator down to 25-30PSI and have a clip on style fitting so I clip mine on to the valve and leave it there until I'm all done.
 
Lazy Daze said:
Brad, just to be clear, I wasn't making light of the one you have. It does look very nice and I can see the advantages it offers. I honestly just had never seen that one before. Camco does make one with an air adapter - but it's basically the same style as the other one, meaning w/o the valve. It's good to have options!
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No problem Dennis! You’re a good dude, no matter what Rusty says. ;)
 
Nater Potater said:
NWMDC

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NTH90524?impressionRank=10 Been using this for years in conjunction with the less expensive adapter, plus it's great for when you're doing tire work.
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Those are very handy for tires, but for the negligible price difference ($10-$15?) the one b_arrington posted is so much better. If you have a transom mounted hose or dock water hook up, I highly suggest getting one. The ability to turn the air on or off on deck with the simple lever makes it so much nicer.
 
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