Water system winterization
- Thread starter HOGAN
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You need to blow the air in after the pump...Disconnect the line going out of your pump and blow the air in there...
Why are you winterizing now?..Is the river frozen down there?....
Why are you winterizing now?..Is the river frozen down there?....
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- May 25, 2003
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I didn't know that you had a city water inlet...So yes you can blow air through it...There should be a check valve that will not allow air or city water to get into your pump...
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Side Note:
By blowing air through your city water inlet will not clear your inlet line from your fresh water holding tank and your pump of water...
By blowing air through your city water inlet will not clear your inlet line from your fresh water holding tank and your pump of water...
Air might or might not work for the system, it does not replace the water it just blow it out. It can blow over the top of the water and it will appear as though the line is clear but the water can go and settle in a low spot later and break the line when it freezes. I've seen it both work and fail to work over the years, depends on the boats water system runs and lay out.
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Why do you want to do this? Aside from cost and spring flushing is there an additional benefit?
I have had line leaks over the last couple years and I don't want to take any chances with freezing cracks. It was a pia finding and repairing a leak this spring. I'm thinking I will winterize the system myself this year. I have heard and this may be wrong but using air doesn't clear all the water from the lines and water can find a low spot in the line and still freeze and burst therefore antifreeze is a safer choice.
I use an adapter to blow out my sprinkler lines I'm sure it could be adapted to work on the boat just need a gender bender. As mentioned above you would need to blow out the feed to the pump as well in addition I would suggest disconnecting the output of the pump and blow this out as well or there will be a section of pipe that will remain full and nowhere for it to go.
Good luck with whatever you decide but if you need a hand I would be happy to help just to see how well it works. Do you have a compressor? You have a lot of lines to blow out.
I have had line leaks over the last couple years and I don't want to take any chances with freezing cracks. It was a pia finding and repairing a leak this spring. I'm thinking I will winterize the system myself this year. I have heard and this may be wrong but using air doesn't clear all the water from the lines and water can find a low spot in the line and still freeze and burst therefore antifreeze is a safer choice.
I use an adapter to blow out my sprinkler lines I'm sure it could be adapted to work on the boat just need a gender bender. As mentioned above you would need to blow out the feed to the pump as well in addition I would suggest disconnecting the output of the pump and blow this out as well or there will be a section of pipe that will remain full and nowhere for it to go.
Good luck with whatever you decide but if you need a hand I would be happy to help just to see how well it works. Do you have a compressor? You have a lot of lines to blow out.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2001
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Dave,
How was you system winterized in the past? With pink?
This is what I have done for the past 5 years with zero problems.
Drain the water tank completely with your pump.
Then drain the water heater and close it up.
Pump the air into the dockside fitting, you do not have to bypass the heater, it will blowout thru the heater and all the water lines.
Use up to 50 psi and it will push all the water out of the lines, no problem with that.
There will be no water left after you let the air blow out for a few minutes.
If you have an ice maker, leave the system pumped up with all faucets closed and the ice machine will cycle and all the water will blow out on one or two cycles.
If you have a clothes washing machine, pressurize the system with air, turn on the machine on warm water mode and it will blow out all the water. Dump a gallon of pink into the machine and go to spin cycle to let the pump in the machine send the pink down the line.
Vacuflush heads, when you do the water system step on the pedal, air will blow out. Pour a gallon or two in the bowl and step on pedal again sending pink downstream.
You then have to disconnect both side of your water pump and drain those lines and let the pump drain out. You do not have to connect the lines back up until spring if you are paranoid.
Pour pink to the shower drains until you hear the sump cycle a few times. Pour some pink into the sink drains until pink comes out the thru hull.
Pour pink (I do 5 gallons total) into the holding tank, macerate the pink out to winterize that side of the system.
If you have salt water washdown you can use air to blow that out.
I also blow out my a/c system with air no pink at all, 1" hose on my system.
Done.
Sprinkler companies do the same thing to winterize every one of their customers without problems. It works, 50 psi will blow out all the water.
Go to marineeast and get their hose to garden hose fittings for the a/c hose size and any other hose size you have to blow out.
Go to homedepot or Lowes and get the fittings to take the air compressor end (usually 1/4") and get it up to garden hose male fitting, I put 1/4" ball valve before the garden hose end so I can control the air flow easily.
How was you system winterized in the past? With pink?
This is what I have done for the past 5 years with zero problems.
Drain the water tank completely with your pump.
Then drain the water heater and close it up.
Pump the air into the dockside fitting, you do not have to bypass the heater, it will blowout thru the heater and all the water lines.
Use up to 50 psi and it will push all the water out of the lines, no problem with that.
There will be no water left after you let the air blow out for a few minutes.
If you have an ice maker, leave the system pumped up with all faucets closed and the ice machine will cycle and all the water will blow out on one or two cycles.
If you have a clothes washing machine, pressurize the system with air, turn on the machine on warm water mode and it will blow out all the water. Dump a gallon of pink into the machine and go to spin cycle to let the pump in the machine send the pink down the line.
Vacuflush heads, when you do the water system step on the pedal, air will blow out. Pour a gallon or two in the bowl and step on pedal again sending pink downstream.
You then have to disconnect both side of your water pump and drain those lines and let the pump drain out. You do not have to connect the lines back up until spring if you are paranoid.
Pour pink to the shower drains until you hear the sump cycle a few times. Pour some pink into the sink drains until pink comes out the thru hull.
Pour pink (I do 5 gallons total) into the holding tank, macerate the pink out to winterize that side of the system.
If you have salt water washdown you can use air to blow that out.
I also blow out my a/c system with air no pink at all, 1" hose on my system.
Done.
Sprinkler companies do the same thing to winterize every one of their customers without problems. It works, 50 psi will blow out all the water.
Go to marineeast and get their hose to garden hose fittings for the a/c hose size and any other hose size you have to blow out.
Go to homedepot or Lowes and get the fittings to take the air compressor end (usually 1/4") and get it up to garden hose male fitting, I put 1/4" ball valve before the garden hose end so I can control the air flow easily.
- Joined
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air is better.
It keeps the pink out of your water tank and if you have a ice maker like me, it is preferred.
No reason to put pink in.
If done right, air works fine.
It keeps the pink out of your water tank and if you have a ice maker like me, it is preferred.
No reason to put pink in.
If done right, air works fine.
Who knows what is right? You by-pass the waterheater no matter how you do it air or pink. I'm up at the boat right now and 3 boaters with 30+ years each all say the same thing, if you try it with air it is an hour or two of blowing air to make sure. Bottom line is I know how to do mine and will help anyone that asks but I have never done air and won't because failure is a real problem in the spring.
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I'm so confused I'm not sure what to do and I would like to do it myself this year, if for no other reason to be thorough being I have had problems in the past. I'm thinking of doing it tomorrow but it may have to wait.
- Joined
- May 25, 2003
- RO Number
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I use the air method and don't bypass the water heater...I drain the heater by opening the drain on it...I then close the drain and charge the system with air and re-open the heater drain...I keep doing this untill just air comes out...Works for me...I do the same for all the taps both hot and cold...
Carver it might work for you, as long as you can drain the water heater. Like I said at first for some boats it will for some boats it won't work. I will continue to by-pass and drain the water heater and run the pink. After 25 years with this boat no problems.
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Dave,
They used pink in the past and you still and problems right??? The air method is such a simple and easy process it's a joke.
They used pink in the past and you still and problems right??? The air method is such a simple and easy process it's a joke.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2001
- RO Number
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You're right Jim, I just drain mine, I will edit post.
But blowing the lines works every time.
For my sprinkler system too, and my neighbors pool as well.
But blowing the lines works every time.
For my sprinkler system too, and my neighbors pool as well.
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2001
- RO Number
- 4846
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No. You will just blow the air into the water tank. You do have to disconnect both sides of the pump and drain.
Remember one side of the pump goes to the water tank, the other into your system. If you connect both sides together your system will never build up pressure.
Remember one side of the pump goes to the water tank, the other into your system. If you connect both sides together your system will never build up pressure.
I do both a blow out and the pink stuff.
First I drain everything, including the HW heater.
Next I turn off the water system breaker, otherwise the pump keeps running if it's just sucking air.
Then I blow the system out from the city water hook up.
Then I bypass the water heater.
Then pour a couple of gallons of pink in to the fresh water tank.
Then I turn the water system breaker back on.
Turn each faucet on until pink comes out. (I recapture the pink that comes out for use with the bilge pumps).
Re-connect the water heater.
I do double the work because it only takes an extra few minutes, but I know I could get away with just doing either one.
First I drain everything, including the HW heater.
Next I turn off the water system breaker, otherwise the pump keeps running if it's just sucking air.
Then I blow the system out from the city water hook up.
Then I bypass the water heater.
Then pour a couple of gallons of pink in to the fresh water tank.
Then I turn the water system breaker back on.
Turn each faucet on until pink comes out. (I recapture the pink that comes out for use with the bilge pumps).
Re-connect the water heater.
I do double the work because it only takes an extra few minutes, but I know I could get away with just doing either one.
