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Old 03-18-2014, 04:15 PM   #1
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Possible Problem After Winterization, Looking For Feedback

So, this past fall I winterized my Coleman CTS 262BH. I put about 3 gallons of antifreeze into the holding tank (there is no winterizing kit on this tt) and ran antifreeze through all the faucets. Mad sure the faucets were running well red. Dumped a cup down each trap and bypassed hot water heater. Now the puzzling part. I was at the camper this past weekend to let out the slide and start poking around to make sure all was okay. I discovered a couple of drips of antifreeze around the water pump and about four or five drips in a drawer that is directly below the kitchen faucet. The kitchen faucet is one of those types that has the built in sprayer in the faucet itself. Funny thing is, I KNOW I ran antifreeze through every line. Could it have still froze? I am really nervous about hooking up the city water this spring. If a pipe was cracked, would I not be seeing more antifreeze? Any ideas or advice is much appreciated.
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Old 03-18-2014, 04:53 PM   #2
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Two things.
The city line is a bit different from your winterized pump system.
Did you blow air through the city connection first? This would have cleared any water from the inlet to the pump which has a check valve in it to prevent filling your water tank while connected to city water.
RV anti freeze does not freeze. Unless water got in somehow I wouldn't be too concerned about a broken line. Look instead for a loose fitting causing the drips. I unhook my pump and attach a short hose to the pump from which I pump antifreeze from the jug. If you do the same perhaps the fitting wasn't fully locked onto the pump after you reconnected your water lines?

On a side note- Be sure to flush out all the lines with clean water BEFORE you open up your hot water bypass valves.
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Old 03-18-2014, 04:58 PM   #3
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I didn't blow out the lines, but I did open the low point drains. I didn't loosen any fittings. I just dumped the antifreeze directly into the fresh water tank and pumped it from there. Loose fittings may still make sense.
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Old 03-18-2014, 09:13 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wanderer View Post
Two things.
The city line is a bit different from your winterized pump system.
Did you blow air through the city connection first? This would have cleared any water from the inlet to the pump which has a check valve in it to prevent filling your water tank while connected to city water.
RV anti freeze does not freeze. Unless water got in somehow I wouldn't be too concerned about a broken line. Look instead for a loose fitting causing the drips. I unhook my pump and attach a short hose to the pump from which I pump antifreeze from the jug. If you do the same perhaps the fitting wasn't fully locked onto the pump after you reconnected your water lines?

On a side note- Be sure to flush out all the lines with clean water BEFORE you open up your hot water bypass valves.
One thing worth mentioning re the water pump. There is a check valve in the valve body of the pump. These water pumps are used for many applications, i.e., bug sprayers, marine just to name a few. I used this same type pump to pressurize my water system in my solar house. The pump's check valve is to prevent back flow from within the pump. The pump doesn't know from where it gets its water nor does it care where it goes.

I think you may find an external check valve on the output side of the pump that prevents the output from going into the tank. That's a completely separate check valve than what the pump has.
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Old 03-18-2014, 10:52 PM   #5
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The good news is with the pink anti freeze you now know exactly where to look. Fire up the system and start running water. Hopefully it's just loose connections. My camper sat in -17F or lower this winter (not constant of course!). Anti freeze held up fine.
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Old 03-19-2014, 11:58 PM   #6
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Just a thought....With the crazy sustained cold we've had here in western PA, is it possible that the pex and fittings may have contracted a bit with the temperature, thus allowing some anti freeze to leak out? It is a plastic product and plastic does contract. Curious to hear some feedback on this theory.....
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Old 03-20-2014, 12:14 AM   #7
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If the Pex were to contract the tubing would have gotten tighter on the fittings. For a leak due to contraction the fittings would have to had contracted smaller than the tubing itself.

Probably all you need is to get a bag of clamps and the crimp tool and replace the clamps.

I had a small water leak for no apparent reason after winterizing and vacant for two months. I chased it down to the kitchen sink supply line. The floor was wet but no visible drips on city water or pump. I finally found the leak by manipulating the tubing at the fitting. I cut the clamp off and replaced it and haven't experienced any more leaking in that area.

One thing to think about, like mechanic's tools and a lot of things, stuff wears out and doesn't work like new. Now, enter in a tool shed crimping tool that is used an unknown amount of times during a work day by a few different people that really don't care how well it crimps as long as there aren't any leaks with some cursory water pressure. A PEX crimping tool is a calibrated tool to ensure the proper amount of crimp on the clamp. You can imagine a tool that is dropped to the floor a few hundred times not to be within tolerance, hence, leaks happen.
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