Every Wednesday we meet for a livestream called Talkin’ RV Tech. We not only answer technical questions, but we also share what we like to call “cool tools.” These are tools and gadgets that we actually use! We also believe they will be helpful to you. This clip shows one of our latest shares, the Blow Out Adapter.
DIY blow out adapter
In the video, Dave shares his experience with the blow out adapter on the current market in that it won’t always stay put while trying to winterize his unit. He made his own blow out adapter by taking about 1-foot length of an old garden hose with the male threaded end connected. He added an air chuck with a hose clamp on the opposite end.
How to winterize your RV
To winterize your RV using a blow out adapter, you will need to follow these steps:
- Connect your blow out adapter to your RV’s city water connection.
- Connect a high-pressure air compressor to the blow out adapter.
- Turn off the water pump and all water faucets in your RV.
- Open the lowest faucet in the RV to allow air to enter the plumbing system.
- Turn on the air compressor and adjust the pressure to around 40 psi.
- Start at the furthest fixture from the city water connection and open each faucet one at a time until water stops flowing.
- Move to the next closest fixture and repeat the process until you reach the city water connection.
- When the water stops flowing from all the faucets, close the lowest faucet and disconnect the blow out adapter from the city water connection.
- Depending on your location and weather climates, you may want to add RV antifreeze to the pipes through the traps and drains to prevent any remaining water from freezing.
Additional winterizing steps
Outside, even after draining your tanks, water heater and all the lines, you still have water in the following places:
- Water in the lines going to and from of the water pump
- Toilet
- Toilet sprayer
- Shower
- Ice maker
- Black tank flush
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More “Cool Tools”
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Dustin owns and operates California RV Specialists, an independent RV repair shop located in Lodi, CA. He thrives on sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm of RV repair and maintenance with his team, customers, and virtual friends.
Be sure to check out his YouTube channel where he shares what’s going on in the shop and the product offerings in the store. Dustin is also very active on Facebook. Join his group, RV Repairs and Tips – What’s in the shop!
Dustin proudly operates the business alongside his wife, Ashley; but the true pair that run the show are their Boston Terriers, Arvie and Hitch.
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Or you can go online and order a fitting with an airline adapter. They have them with the regular nipple fitting like those on a tire and also with a quick connect fitting to go directly to the compressor hose. Less than $8 on Amazon they screw into the city water inlet
I would suggest adding rv antifreeze to the system using a water heater bypass and the water pump to run antifreeze in the lines to each faucet and the toilet as well. Many systems have an easy way to suction the antifreeze from the bottle directly. Also you should drain the water heater. Not all trailers have low point drains, so great care should be used to protect your system if it will be subject to below freezing temperatures.
Low drain points. I drain the water, close the low drains, blow out all the lines, faucets, valves. And then with the compressor running, reopen the low drain points. There is almost always additional water ejected.
FYI- I replaced the cheap screw-on end caps on my low point drains with ball valves. MUCH easier to use. And I shortened the exposure below the belly and installed pipe insulation. It has so far eliminated ice blockage during cold season travel where the exposed lines froze and the ice climbed up into the belly.
Don’t forget the outside shower if you have one. And if you have a clothes washer do that too. I see some RVs even have a dishwasher so that’s one more thing. And be sure ALL the tanks are empty – fresh water, black water and as many grey water tanks that you might have.