Winterizing 101.....

Happy Tuesday afternoon everyone.  We hope everyone's week is sailing along smoothly.  Our week has been good so far, but tomorrow afternoon Rob is going to an Oral Surgeon for a consultation, so keep your fingers crossed everything will be OK.

Right now it's 68 degrees, humid, and cloudy outside.  Those conditions are supposed to change rapidly over the next 24 to 48 hours.  It's going to finally get cold around these parts.  So this afternoon after school, Rob winterized the Pod.

Since our freezing temps are not super, super low, and generally last only a few hours during the early morning hours, Rob doesn't have to take some of the extra precautions those of you in other parts of the country have too.

He did take his camera with him and took a few pictures to document the steps taken.

#1.  Find the left over RV antifreeze from last winter.

#2.  Open the taps on the sink and shower. 

#3.  Pour about a cup of pink stuff down the drains.

Now our holding tanks are empty, so this is basically to protect the p-traps on the sink drain, and any liquid in the tank drain pipe extensions themselves.

#4.  Remove the "low-point" drain caps on the outside of Pod.

  
Now on our 175 model, these are located directly over the axle on the "street-side" of Pod.

 Here's a picture of the drain caps and the 7/8's wrench you may need if the fitting just turns in your hand.  The first time Rob took the caps off, they were on Gorilla tight.  Now he only tightens them hand tight.

Here's what your water heater looks like with the access panel removed.  

Now if you've opened the low point drains, and opened all the water taps in the Pod, there should be no pressure in the WH.  It's still a good idea to not to skip step #5.

#5.  Open the pressure release valve at the top of the WH access, to release any pressure left in the WH tank.

Rob keeps a dedicated socket and ratchet in Pod just for this next step.

#6.  Remove the anode rod from the WH to drain the WH tank.

STAND BACK.....or you will get wet!

The socket size is 1-1/16th's.

Here you can see water calmly pouring out of the WH.  

IF you forget to release all pressure on the WH before performing step #6, this release of water will NOT be so calm!

You have been warned!!

Here's a picture of the anode rod and the socket/ratchet used.

Rob just stores the anode rod and low point drain caps in the back of the water heater.  

All that's left is......

#7.  Hold the flush valve open on the toilet for at least 15 seconds to let any water in that line back-flow out of the system

#8.  Run the pump for about 15-20 seconds to make sure all water is out of the system.

Now the lines won't be perfectly dry, but in our climate, the moisture left won't cause any issues.

Also, since we have trips planed in November, December, and you never know possibly January and February, it's easy to reverse the above procedure and be able to use our water system.

Thanks for checking in today.  

Until next time, stay safe out there.....-R,T,&J.