If your RV experiences freezing temperatures, you need to study how you can winterize your RV. A giant a part of that course of is utilizing RV antifreeze, and there are numerous questions on what to decide on and how you can use it accurately.
For starters, let’s provide you with a quick overview of the RV winterization course of:
Now that you simply’re acquainted, right here’s every thing that you must learn about RV antifreeze.
What is RV Antifreeze?
Some RV homeowners name it “the pink stuff,” however antifreeze could be many colours. More importantly, it’s a liquid with a a lot decrease freezing level than water. Replacing the water in your plumbing strains with RV antifreeze protects it from freezing, increasing, and probably bursting.
Most RV antifreeze options are both ethanol or propylene glycol-based. Both decrease the answer’s freezing level, however propylene glycol additionally raises the answer’s boiling level. The sorts of RV antifreeze used at most Camping World Service Centers have a freezing level of -50℉.
Is RV Antifreeze Toxic?
It depends upon the antifreeze you’ve chosen. Propylene glycol RV antifreeze is a non-toxic resolution protected for RV plumbing methods and holding tanks. That mentioned, care have to be taken to utterly flush antifreeze and sanitize your RV’s contemporary water system when de-winterizing your RV.
Here’s a fast video explaining how you can sanitize your RV’s contemporary water tank:
You ought to by no means dump RV antifreeze on the bottom whenever you flush your system. It ought to be disposed of correctly (extra on that beneath), as it may possibly hurt vegetation and animals if consumed.
Is RV Antifreeze Toxic to Animals?
When utilizing antifreeze or different RV chemical compounds, your first step ought to be studying the warning label. While it’s non-toxic in your RV’s pipes, taps, and fixtures, it may be poisonous to people and animals if consumed.
This is very true for cats, which may expertise antagonistic results if uncovered to RV antifreeze in small portions. Dogs are much less delicate however can nonetheless undergo unfavorable results if giant portions are consumed.
Fortunately, you have to be utilizing antifreeze when prepping your RV for winter storage and never dealing with it once more till it’s time to de-winterize it. So hold your pets in the home throughout these processes, and also you’ll be effective.
If your animals unintentionally eat RV antifreeze, please search speedy veterinary consideration.
How Much RV Antifreeze Do I Need?
The really useful quantity of RV antifreeze in your motorhome or towable depends upon the dimensions. You’ll discover within the article and video on RV winterization we suggest bypassing your water heater. This is especially since you’ll want much more antifreeze in case you don’t.
Most RVs will use roughly 2-4 gallons of RV antifreeze. This consists of what goes down the sinks to make sure any remaining water within the P-traps doesn’t freeze.
Component Definition: P-traps are the U-shaped sections of pipe beneath your sinks that maintain water to stop odors out of your gray water holding tank from getting into the cabin.
How Much RV Antifreeze to Put in Holding Tanks
Part of winterizing your RV is pouring antifreeze down the sinks to fill the P-traps. Naturally, this can lead to some antifreeze touring via your plumbing and into the gray water tank.
Pouring 1-2 cups down every sink is really useful. Additionally, you possibly can pour one other 2-4 quarts into your RV bathroom after which flush the bathroom to depart a small quantity in your black tank. This can forestall the freezing of residual waste and prevent from having to unclog your black tank within the spring.
Adding antifreeze to your black water tank isn’t required, however it may possibly forestall leftover tank waste from freezing and inflicting tank harm. Even in case you often use your black tank flush to scrub your tank as totally as attainable, RV holding tanks virtually all the time maintain residual waste.
How to Get Antifreeze Into RV Lines
When your RV is winterized at a Camping World Service Center, your skilled technician will make the most of the T-valve earlier than your water pump and join a hose to tug antifreeze from the bottle into your RV’s plumbing strains.
You can do that by including a water pump bypass or disconnecting the road to the pump and connecting a three-foot hose. You’ll want the right becoming to attach the hose to the pump, after which you possibly can insert the opposite finish of the hose into your bottle of antifreeze to pump it via the system. Before pumping via the system, guarantee your water heater is successfully bypassed.
We don’t suggest including antifreeze to your freshwater tank as a result of it may possibly require as much as 10 gallons earlier than the pump can decide it up, particularly in case your tank has a facet pickup. The antifreeze might want to utterly cowl the pickup opening to maintain the pump from sucking air. You’ll additionally want to spend so much of time flushing the contemporary tank when de-winterizing your RV to get it to cease foaming on the taps.
How to Flush Antifreeze Out of an RV
Once you’ve winterized your RV, you’ll have antifreeze all through your plumbing strains, within the P-traps, and a small quantity in every of your holding tanks. Before you possibly can safely use your RV’s water system for showering, washing dishes, and ingesting, you’ll must flush all traces of antifreeze.
Here are the short steps to flushing RV antifreeze:
- Position your RV close to a sewer connection and join your sewer hose.
- Connect a potable water hose to your contemporary water inlet and fill your contemporary water tank.
- Turn in your water pump to pressurize the system.
- Open all sink and bathe fixtures to run water via your system and into the gray water tank. You may also depress the pedal in your RV bathroom to run water via your bathroom’s plumbing and into the black tank.
- Open all exterior showers and low-point drains to allow them to run till clear water comes out.
- When your gray tank reaches two-thirds capability, flip off all fixtures and shut down the water pump.
- Go exterior and open the tank valves to empty your holding tanks (black, then gray).
- Repeat this course of not less than 2-3 instances till the water popping out of your fixtures is obvious and utterly freed from any coloured residue that matches the unique colour of your antifreeze.
Additionally, return to the video above to make sure you sanitize your contemporary water system totally after flushing the antifreeze.
How to Dispose of RV Antifreeze
Sure, RV antifreeze isn’t poisonous in your RV’s plumbing, however you possibly can’t simply dump it on the bottom when flushing your system within the spring. Even antifreeze merchandise labeled ‘biodegradable’ ought to be correctly drained right into a dump station, septic tank, or residential sewer clean-out.
If you can’t transfer your RV to get rid of antifreeze in one among these areas, you may additionally empty it right into a moveable RV waste tank. You’ll then want to move that tank to one of many aforementioned areas to get rid of it correctly.
Does RV Antifreeze Evaporate?
Yes, however RV antifreeze evaporates way more slowly than water. This is one purpose antifreeze successfully protects your RV’s plumbing whenever you aren’t utilizing it for an prolonged interval.
Under the appropriate situations, nonetheless, the antifreeze will evaporate. The first situation is that if the temperature of the antifreeze rises above 223℉ – not not possible, however extremely unlikely throughout winter RV storage.
The second situation is that if antifreeze is combined with water to realize a 50/50 ratio. This just isn’t really useful for winterizing your RV, however the impact will likely be a diluted resolution that evaporates slower than water however extra shortly than an undiluted resolution.
Does RV Antifreeze Go Bad?
Most RV antifreeze lasts anyplace from 1 to 4 years as soon as opened. Depending in your product alternative, your bottle(s) could or will not be labeled with an expiration date. If yours aren’t, a easy check is to shake the bottle and observe the liquid inside. If bubbles seem, your antifreeze has expired.
Here are some tricks to maximize your RV antifreeze’s shelf life:
- Only open bottles whenever you’re prepared to make use of them for winterization.
- Store RV antifreeze in a cool, dry, shaded location.
- Avoid leaving it exterior in direct daylight, particularly when temperatures exceed 50℉.
Can You Use RV Antifreeze in a Car or Truck?
No, RV antifreeze and the really useful antifreeze in your automotive will not be interchangeable. You shouldn’t use RV antifreeze in an automotive, and you’ll’t use the identical antifreeze you utilize in your automotive to winterize your RV.
This is as a result of RV antifreeze is designed in your plumbing, whereas automotive antifreeze is designed for the engine. Automotives normally require ethanol-based antifreeze (or an ethylene glycol base), which is poisonous and will by no means be utilized in your RV’s freshwater system.
So when you have a motorhome, you’ll want separate antifreeze options in your engine and your RV’s plumbing. The backside line – discover an antifreeze really useful by your automotive’s producer and use a much less poisonous propylene glycol antifreeze to maintain your RV’s plumbing strains protected in the course of the winter.
Where to Buy RV Antifreeze
Find your nearest Camping World location to choose up RV antifreeze earlier than it’s time to winterize once more. Our really useful product is the Champion RV & Marine Antifreeze, however in case you’ve by no means winterized your RV earlier than, our RV winterization bundle offers you every thing that you must get the job finished.
Check out Camping World’s number of RV antifreeze merchandise.
Knowing the place to seek out and how you can use RV antifreeze is essential to protecting your water strains wholesome when temperatures dip beneath freezing. Hopefully, these solutions will assist together with your future winterization efforts, however please don’t hesitate to achieve out when you have others.
Do you could have different questions on RV antifreeze or how you can use it? Share them within the feedback beneath!
Tucker Ballister is our Technical Content Writer. He’s a lover of the open street and the proud proprietor of a 2021 Sunlite Classic journey trailer (his third RV so far). Check out extra of his RV adventures, gear evaluations, and outside recommendation at thebackpackguide.com.