Trojan Boat Forum

Hello sorry if already covered this subject but looking for advice on winterizing fresh water system.was told it was hard to get rid of anti-freeze smell in fresh water tank the following spring so wondered if way to drain tank then blow out system with air? or way to get rid of smell?

I started doing it that way because I was sick of the mutiple tank flushes in the spring as well. I use a pancake compressor and set it to around 20psi connected to my dockside fill. The connection is a short piece of hose and then I duct tape it to the compressor fitting (zip tie on the trigger so it stays running). Do one faucet at a time otherwise the pressure won't be high enough. Leave it open for a few minutes until you basically see vapor/spray.

I went from using about 9 gallons to about 3 now.

Bob

P.S. - run all of the faucets out with the FWP first, then use compressor.

You don't say if you have a water heater as well or just the cold side. I rigged up a drain setup at the water heater using essentially handheld shower diverters. I only use antifreeze in the head and holding tank, and have that sucked out during final pumpout.

My typical process (for my F32) is
- turn off water heater breaker!
- open faucets to drain main tank, turn off water pump switch when pump starts sucking air
- drain water heater enough so water level is below the hot (output) valve
- remove shower head and connect compressor hose to shower hose
- turn on hot shower tap and run compressor to blow out hot line back to water heater (through upper shower diverter), then close diverter and alternately open and close head and galley hot taps, and repeat, to get he hot side empty
- turn compressor off and start draining water heater (using lower shower diverter)
- disconnect hose (from main tank to pump) at main water tank to drain it and let anything else dribble out of tank as possible
- disconnect hose from output side of water pump
- close hot shower tap and open cold shower tap, and turn compressor back on
- let it run to blow out main cold feed line (back to pump)
- reconnect hose to output side of pump
- open feed valve for head and listen for air bubbles in head, then close valve
- alternately open and close head and galley cold taps, and repeat, to get he cold side empty
- flip lower shower diverter to allow flow in to water heater and listen for bubbles to know that line segment is clear (line is protected by a one way valve so once line is full of air backflow from tank will not enter it)
- flip diverter on bottom of water heater to drain mode again
- close shower cold tap and open hot tap
- ensure upper water heater diverter is set to let pressurization of hot side pressurize water heater
- let compressor run for a bit to pressurize water heater, and force it to drain until empty

Then I transfer head contents to holding tank (my head is original recirculating model) and put 3.5 gallons of plumbing antifreeze in the head, flush it several times to make sure lubricated, clean, and no sitting water... then get pumpout.

sorry yes do have 5 gal water heater, I do have a connecting fitting for heater tank hoses. also failed to mention its a 87 36' tri-cabin trojan. thank you guys so much for ur response new to the larger boats wasn't happy with marina winterizing last year with cracked exhaust manifold last spring!

so are you guys saying that pumping out fresh water tank with pump through faucets till sucking air is enough for tank or need to drain some additional way?

I have a DIY fitting onboard that has a male air fitting on one side and a female hose fitting on the other. That allows me to connect a compressor directly to the water input fitting for the boat.

1) I disconnect my water heater, drain it and then connect the input line to the output line to bypass it using a double male fitting that I keep onboard.
2) Then, I turn on the 12V water pressurization pump and run a faucet until the tanks are empty and the pump is sucking air. The previous owner stopped there, but I actually remove the hoses from the bottom of the water tanks, drain them and reconnect. This is probably overkill, but replacing those tanks would be very difficult, so I don't mind being a contortionist and spending 15 minutes on this extra step.
3) After connecting the fitting, I use a compressor set to 40 psi to blow out all my hot and cold water fixtures/devices, going to each one and opening the faucet or valve and releasing air until no drops come out. I leave the compressor on until the ice maker has cycled a couple of times and removed water from its lines. I then shut off the ice maker and drain my water filter housing.
4) Using an extra hose, I connect the 12V water pressurization pump to a bucket of potable antifreeze and run antifreeze through all the lines until it comes out nice and dark. This may be excessive, but I sleep better over the winter knowing that there is no chance that water will collect in a low spot and freeze. The antifreeze does not go into the water tanks because there is a one way check valve between the tanks and the pump.

This is neglecting the engines and toilet systems, which are particular to each boat. For my fresh water cooled engines, I run antifreeze through them until the exhaust is flowing pure antifreeze. You can't tell this by looking at it -- you need to test it with a refractometer like this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GD ... UTF8&psc=1. Most likely your marina failed to do this last year, or there was not adequate flow through that manifold due to incorrect plumbing or rust.

In the spring, I fill the 80 gallon fresh water tanks with water and a cup of bleach (1/8 cup per 10 gallons). After letting it sit for half an hour, I flush through all the lines until the tanks are drained. I then refill the tanks and flush each line for about a minute. Our marina has well water, so leaving a little residual bleach in the tanks keeps the water from getting stagnant. If we were on city water with chlorine or chloramine already added, I would flush the tanks a bit more.

Many ways to skin a cat. Regardless of how it's done, if you use antifreeze, you could get rid of the odour in the system come Spring time by using a product such as TastePure Spring Fresh Cleaner/Deodorizer.
http://www.camco.net/ecom/productpage/a ... lang=en-US
You can use this to maintain a fresh system throughout the season but I use it when I commission my system in the spring. Rinse your system of all the antifreeze, pour the Spring Fresh into the water tank, add enough water to fill your entire system, run it through all your faucets, then let it sit overnight. Flush out a few times the next day and you'll be surprised at how much more pink water you'll get through the taps as it'll do a good job of cleaning the tank and all the lines.

If you can't make your own fitting to blow out your system with air, look for one of these at a retailer;
http://www.camco.net/products-search?qs=blow+out+plug

While you're at it, get a hot water heater by-pass kit. You'll appreciate every time you winterize.

In Florida, we winterize by adding long sleeve shirts to the boat, and switching from Corona to a more full bodied beer to combat the cold.

Thanks alot U guys been a world of help to me !!! well except that clown from florida Hahaha No i really do appreciate the help!

Hotchie, you are a quick study!