Dear Gary,
How do I winterize my ice maker? I have a Norcold refrigerator in a Fleetwood motorhome. —Larry R.
Dear Larry,
Here are the steps, as recommended by Norcold:
To winterize the water valve and water line:
1. Shut off RV water supply to the ice maker.
2. Raise and lock shutoff arm in OFF position.
3. Disconnect the water inlet adapter from water valve.
4. Disconnect the ice maker water line from water valve.
Here’s an additional tip I recommend for owners of ice makers when the incoming water connection is located high up on the rear of the refrigerator.
In some instances, it’s virtually impossible to perform step #4 above without partially removing the refrigerator. Simply install an in-line, 1/4-inch compression-type shut-off valve in the ice maker tubing running up the rear of the refrigerator cabinet at a location that is easily accessed through the lower exterior refrigerator vent. In this manner, shutting off the valve and disconnecting the tubing going up to the ice maker will drain residual water in the tubing line going up to the inlet valve and still provide a means of shutting off the line when inducing RV antifreeze up to that point.
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I make sure there is no ice in the maker that hasn’t come out yet. I turn the water off, empty the ice bucket and then monitor how much ice is made. It usually cycles in an hour or two. Typically I get 8-9 cubes. Also my water line to my ice maker is plastic and the nut does not rotate freely. I had to disconnect the wires and the inlet line in order to disconnect the water line.
I remove the filter in the refrigerator, install a “bypass” filter cannister. Run the “pink” antifreeze thru the water dispenser and let the icemaker make cubes until I see pink “slushy” ice cubes. Much better alternative, IMHO.
The rear of our residential fridge (with ice maker) in our 2015 Holiday Rambler Ambassador 38DB is not accessible. So disconnecting the water line at the ice maker is out of the equation. The first time I went to winterize our coach it took me awhile to locate the cold water connection for the ice maker. It was in an area where the water and electric lines transition to and from the Galley slide where they moved in and out of the main coach body. Fortunately the connection to the main water supply is a T style compression fitting with a shut off valve for the small plastic ice maker line. To winterize the ice maker we (1) turn the ice maker off: (2) turn the water supply valve for the ice maker to off: (3) using the proper wrenches I disconnect the plastic water line to the ice maker from the valve: (4) then let that water line drain into a small cup. There is no way to know if all the water is out of the line but what little water that comes out will allow any residual water left in the line to expand and not cause any damage. To de-winterize we just (1) reconnect the water line to the valve: (2) open the valve to provide water to the ice maker: (3) toss out the first few series of ice to make sure any residual RV antifreeze from the flushed main water lines has gone through the system. Works for us.
Thanks for the detailed instructions, Dick and Sandy. I’m sure we’ll have some appreciative readers. 😀 —Diane at RVtravel.com