| RV Winterizing Methods To Blow or Not to Blow? | | | | 3. Air compressor air can be dirty and contaminated |
| Using an air compressor to blow out your RV water | | | | with traces of oil - without a very good filter, do you |
| lines vrs winterizing with RV antifreeze. | | | | want this in your water lines? |
| The debate rages on, as it has for years - Do I blow | | | | 4. RV water systems are designed to operate at 45 |
| out the water lines with compressed air or use RV | | | | PSI pressure - any air pressure used should be |
| antifreeze to winterize the RV water system. | | | | regulated to not exceed 45 PSI - you can't just run |
| Many people argue that they have "blown out my | | | | down to the gas station and use the tire filler to |
| RV water lines for umpteen years, and never had a | | | | blow out your RV lines! |
| problem" | | | | 5. Most RVs will take about 2 gallons of antifreeze to |
| This article is meant to express my opinion, as a | | | | winterize - at $2.50 or $3.00 a gallon, that's 5 or 6 |
| certified RV technician (15+ years), who has | | | | bucks. And the time for either method is about the |
| personally winterized in excess of 3000 RV's over | | | | same. |
| the years. | | | | I live and work in central BC, Canada where winter |
| 1. Compressed air does push most of the water out | | | | temperature go to -30 and lower. I have worked for |
| of the lines, but not all. Any remaining water does | | | | 4 separate RV dealers in my career and all of them |
| what water naturaly does - it runs downhill and | | | | use the antifreeze method to winterize the lot units. |
| collects in the lowest point. RV plumbing has many up | | | | (maybe 100 to 300 RVs per dealer!) The cost to |
| and downs as it runs through various cabinets and | | | | winterize these units with antifreeze is substantial. If |
| over various obstacles and the water that collects at | | | | they could just "blow out the lines", don't you think |
| these places will freeze. | | | | they would do that? |
| 2. The compressed air does not blow out the water | | | | The final choice is up to you, of course, but I am |
| that is inside the water pump. It can't do this | | | | reminded of that old TV commercial slogan - "pay me |
| because the pump has internal valves to prevent | | | | now or pay me later! |
| backflow and is designed this way. | | | | |