No water pressure after de-winterizing

[FT RV]

Winterized for my first time by trial and error a month ago, understood the steps but not all the valves etc. Finally got it done but now heading south and de-winterized and very little water pressure at kitchen sink and bathroom sink (what comes out is foamy and smells of the antifreeze), running off fresh tank and city water. However, the shower works fine . Seems like I may have forgot about a valve or ???

[Morich]

I am assuming no big puddles underneath to show you've left a drain open?

Two first thoughts jump out at me. Both faucets mentioned have strainers/aerators but the shower doesn't!

Any chance the two which are problems are simply semi-plugged with debris or hard water deposits?

Maybe a first look for simple things may be to unscrew the aerators and see if you get good flow then at that faucet? I might favor doing this with pressure water as it tends to have fewer things that could be involved but if no hookups handy, the pump should also prove out this being right or wrong?

Assuming you used pink antifreeze? That often takes a while to get the lines cleared and it does foam, especially where it goes through aerators/strainers which cause bubbles!
Likely will clear on it's own!

See if those ideas help and if not we can go to drawings to sort where the lines run and what might need changed, etc.
Parts interactive drawings here and go to plumbing to take a look?
https://catalog3d.winnebagoind.com/menu/Parts.htm

However it does take a bit of learning curve to move around easily and I've done it enough to give some hints if needed!
Let us know which way to go and how to help! No point in straining the brain if a few hints can ease the trek!

[FT RV]

Thank you, I will check the aerators in the faucets and that does make sense as the shower does indeed work, its just that they all worked before being exposed to the pink stuff. I'll check them and report back, just in transit to warmer pastures. (oh and yes, I left both drains open but they have since been closed and still same issue)

[Morich]

Yes, fully admit that it is a guess but I also know that small things like stopped up faucets can happen at most any time on RV. One problem is that we tend to use the house faucets so often that the faucet doesn't get much chance for minerals to dry and set up like concrete but in the Rv, when we store it, things can dry and set up more.

But if it is a stoppage, iot might also be caused by what we do as we winterize. If there are hard water deposits on lines and all the plumbing parts and we go through, moving valves and generally banging things around, we can break loose some stuff that has collected and then those chips can move to faucets and get stuck!

Head South, enjoy when you can and check things when it fits!
Don't play in the water when it's cold!!!

[tim myers]

If you are still seeing pink foamy stuff the antifreeze has not been cleared from the system. Could you share the steps you used to de-winterize and sanitize your water system?

[FT RV]

Originally Posted by tim myers

If you are still seeing pink foamy stuff the antifreeze has not been cleared from the system. Could you share the steps you used to de-winterize and sanitize your water system?

First I just put a couple gallons into the fresh tank and then ran the pump, but I forgot about the water heater bypass and it started to fill. Drained it, turned the bypass switch, also drained fresh tank and used the equipped winterization hose by the water pump, again with 3-4 more diverter valves with no labels. 2 of them drain the fresh tank, one I believe also does the lines. Those are closed now, winterization valve also turned back to normal.

[Morich]

One easy thing to overlook is putting that suction line cap back on and turning the valve to the "normal" position. Possible that valve is not right to operate normal?

But the idea that the shower works but not faucets, still makes me lean toward stopped up aerators! the shower outlet is often higher, there fore takes more pressure to force water up to it than the faucets?

[TravatoJohn]

After reading your replies to Morich I agree fully with his recommendations. One more thing to consider. Be sure you water heater is full as all water in your tank goes there first. You said you put a couple gallons in fresh water tank. It takes a lot more to fill the water heater and lines to get full pressure. If pump can be heard running and not stopping look to putting more water in system. Good luck.
Travato John

[tim myers]

Originally Posted by FT RV

First I just put a couple gallons into the fresh tank and then ran the pump, but I forgot about the water heater bypass and it started to fill. Drained it, turned the bypass switch, also drained fresh tank and used the equipped winterization hose by the water pump, again with 3-4 more diverter valves with no labels. 2 of them drain the fresh tank, one I believe also does the lines. Those are closed now, winterization valve also turned back to normal.

I am not sure why you have an issue with pressure now, but we can work on a more effective way to winterize your piping systems. It is late and I don't have time to get into it right now. I am going to try to find your owners manual, it should have a detailed procedure for winterization, de-winterization and sanitation of your piping systems.



You can look for the above procedures in your owners manual and it sounds like you have found your siphon kit hose, which is the better way to introduce the antifreeze into your water system.

[FT RV]

Water heater works good, had a couple showers since. Toilet works fine too (although it had to foam / spit up the pink stuff first). I am in Florida now and plugged in so I can give a full systems check after I relax from all the driving.

[tim myers]

I have found that I need a checklist to use for winterization, de winterization and sanitation of my Journey's plumbing systems. Each change of season or whenever I am heading into colder weather I print out my checklist and perform the task at hand. The information is on your Owners manual chapter 7, but I find using my own list works better for me. Happy to share if you want it, it is word compatible so you can revise it to fit your exact motor home.

[Morich]

A shower and toilet, what more could we ask for?
Just eat out forever?

Fully agree with Tim on having my own list as just doing it once a year leaves lots of room for forgetting a couple points!

One I like is reading the manual for WHAT to do and then combine it with the Parts catalog" to find the WHERE if it is not something I've spotted yet like a specific drain valve.
Once we learn the tricks of "driving" the interactive part, it can get easy to spot a drain as they stick down under the RV! Then the valve is certain to be along the pipe and often just above the floor on many!
When I get a different RV, I now like to take a look at where the water comes in and how it gets from one spot to another. Sometimes I even print parts like the pump area out and do a markup of how the water flows to get different places. Just makes life easier if I need to know later!
Lots easier to figure on a nice clear day than if a pipe stops flowing and it's 25 degrees out!

[tim myers]

My Journey has three low point drains. Two are in the fresh water connection bay and though a reach are not hard to miss, The third however is up near the pump on the opposite side of the coach, Using my own notes I have that highlighted because this one is easy to miss. Other outlets that are easy to miss are the h/c washing machine faucets. We don't have a washing machine but they still have to be blown out, and antifreeze added. Yep, I am one of those guys, I blow the system out then add antifreeze to it. I also always try to sanitize overnight. Since we are part time I usually arrive home with 20 or so gallons of water in the tank. Part of my departure. load list is to dump the freshwater tank, fill it, dump it a gain then refill with fresh water. Also a good idea to run some of that fresh water in to the WH.

[FT RV]

My low point drains didnt match the owners manual. It said one was under the bed by the water pump (correct) and the other was behind the water heater that required panel removal. All that was back there was the bypass valve. The other drain was right beside the other one under the bed, but a totally different type of valve. The kitchen faucet came back online last night so we're all good except for the bathroom faucet, which is likely the aerator

[Morich]

Where things can often get confusing is when they have options and different build dates for early or late models of the same year.
I see several things on the drawings for your RV year and model which can change what you will find and often the owners manual doesn't get changed as those items change in the build!

A couple points that you might want to verify what you have and deal with potential freeze problems.

One is an ice maker option. Do you have plumbing there and a filter as well? Those might be easy to miss draining. But it will require knowing which options your specific RV had ordered when built!

Click for better view!


Part of the trick to DIY RV work is finding out what we have, not what the next guy may have! By the time an RV goes through several owners, it may be far different than any other on the road!

The drains appear to be normal for what I see. One hot, one cold?
Then this drawing shows the bypass option to set for water going into the heater cold and come out hot to the rest of the RV. RV with Pex is handy as the lines are color coded but the cold should always go in low while the hot comes off the top where the water is warmer!

But it may not have a bypass as this shows!


If you are a second owner of the RV, the "different valve" may say they let the first one freeze! That can mean there are other "secrets" to be discovered!

[Morich]

A closer looks shows a different idea as they used different valves for different uses and pipe size.


But it still may vary, depending on when built, etc.!