Antifreeze or blown out lines?

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Little early as I'll be up every weekend for the next few weeks but are you pumping antifreeze or blowing out your lines?  Ran antifreeze last year but it leaves a bit of a smell.  Just blew out my lines today as a test run and it seems pretty easy.  Any worry about water staying in the water heater?  If I'm level and just open my low point should it drain sufficiently by itself? 

[fishingstar]

I put antifreeze in. when spring comes I put some bleach in the water lines. that kills  

anything in the water lines.

you will get the antifreeze smell from the antifreeze you put in the traps any way.

you should be able to valve off your hot water heater after it is drained.

[mv61]

always run antifreeze just in case some, easier to clean anit freeze than repairing pipes, i also do it in my caper every fall

[Big Dave2]

I used to blow out the lines in an older camper I had many years ago but I don't fully trust it so I use the anti-freeze now. I bypass the water heater and just drain it and leave the plug out. I suck antifreeze straight from the bottle into the lines using the water pump but don't forget the shower, the toilet and outside shower if you have one. I por a little down all the traps and that's about it. I always feel good about putting it away when I take these steps.

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Sounds like that's the norm, just feels weird because we have been winterizing the cabin for 20 years with a compressor but I guess that's a different animal.  Copper feels safer knowing there aren't as many bows in the lines like you get with pex when you blow them out.

[leech~~]

I have had two RV's and two Park Model campers. Always just blow out the lines and put the "pink stuff" in the traps and toilet and call it good. Never ever had an issue. You just have to keep going back and forth opening and closing cold and then hot water lines until no more water at all comes out. After I do all the sinks and toilet I close them all then add pressure to hot water tank and hold my thumb over the drain hole to build up pressure then letting it out and repeating until no more water blows out.

It works for me and I only use two jugs of pink stuff and no bad tasting water in the spring!

[Walleyehooker]

Just blew out the RV lines today and got it ready to go into storage. Some good videos on u tube on how to do it both ways but I prefer to blow them out.

[Powerstroke]

I've always blown out with air then put the antifreeze in the traps. I've only had two issues and both were my fault 

- Make sure you leave all your faucets and spigots OPEN when you're done. This will allow any residual water to evaporate. One year I didn't open all the faucets and one froze and broke the mixing valve in the bath faucet. 

- Drain and pull the mini-strainer on your water pump. That little cup will freeze and break, possibly damaging your pump. It wil break the strainer cup, I know. 

Other than those two issues, I've been using air for the lines since 2008 and no issues. I just did our new camper and other than having to use google to find my low point drains, it went well. 

[Wanderer]

I was using antifreeze in the lines up until last year when I blew them out for the first time.  I liked that MUCH better.  

 

No problems so I did it again this year.  I don't expect to go back.