Another 2021 320 Winterizing Question...sorry.

andyboy

I'm confused about the winterizing process for my 2021 320 Boondock. I've blown all the water out my lines, and drained the tanks. Easy so far. I'm really confused about the Alde yellow pressure relief valve to empty it. I didn't touch it and seems as though there's no hot water left after the blow out and open faucets. I hate to assume, but it seems like the tank if empty. True?

Now this is where I'm really, REALLY confused. The antifreeze! After blowing out the lines, it sounds like many are not adding antifreeze to the lines but simply adding some to traps, tanks and toilet. The traps, I get. Just dump some down the sink and shower drains. Now, in doing so, will that be sufficient for winterizing the gray water tank? Is there anything special that needs to be done to the tank and its hose hook-up cap area? How much antifreeze to put in?

And then the toilet and toilet cassette. Just dump some antifreeze in both? And how much to use here? And the big mystery, what about where the flush water comes? Is that anything that needs to be addressed?

There's lot of info about earlier models but not so much about the 2021....

Sharon_is_SAM

Go ahead and lift the Alde relief valve and open a faucet.  If you don’t get anything out, don’t be surprised.  Another 320 owner noted that the Alde water tank actually drained via the low point drain.

If you go the route of using AF for the traps and valves, pour enough down the shower to get it to flow towards the tank outlet valve.  Then, with the cap still on the single outlet, quickly open and close the grey tank gate valve.  This will get some AF on both sides of the valve.  After you do that just don’t open the outlet!  The hose hook up area does not need anything special.

If you are only blowing lines, then there is nothing left to do to the toilet plumbing - just make sure you opened the flush valve and thoroughly cleared the lines.  The cassette just needs to be drained.  No need to add AF to the cassette.

Adding AF throughout the system with the Nautilus has some appeal as it eliminates AF in the fresh tank which is a pain to rinse out.  I think if it were me, I might try the AF route.  The lines are short enough that it would be easy to rinse out in the spring.  

Just remember to keep the ALDE bypassed in the spring when you rinse and sanitize.

andyboy

Really? The whole system? Hmmmm. I've been debating for about a week what to do. Should I opt to just to the traps and valves, about how much antifreeze should I add? Especially..."pour enough down the shower to get it to flow towards the tank outlet valve?' And thank you for all your help.

I need to follow up on an earlier post. This forum saved my marriage!

VictoriaP

Hmmm...is the water for the cassette part of the overall plumbing? I thought I remembered seeing it gets added to a separate holding area that is part of the cassette toilet itself and not hooked into the pipes. If so, that must be drained and yes, I’d add a little antifreeze to that holding tank and draw it through by flushing the toilet. 

To me, whether or not to use AF in the pipes is a judgment call based on climate in your area. If you live in a place where snow and freezing temps are the norm, AF through the system is a sensible move to protect your trailer investment, and it’s only a little more work. If you live on the coast where freezing is rare, you can easily get away with just a blow out and AF in the traps. If you live in Florida or SoCal, you probably aren’t even reading these posts. 😁

In my case, I live right on the edge between a mild climate and a moderate one. Some years, we see no snow at all. But I bought the trailer during the worst snow we’d had in more than a decade, and that definitely influenced my decision to push antifreeze through all the lines!

Sharon_is_SAM

@VictoriaP - JKJenn asked Creed of muCamp and he said to just push the flush valve to run the AF through until you see pink stuff in the tank.  So, that is like the non-cassette TaBs.  I know what you mean about the separate water holding tank for the toilet.  I think the TaB model is different.

VictoriaP

Sharon_is_SAM said:

@VictoriaP - JKJenn asked Creed of muCamp and he said to just push the flush valve to run the AF through until you see pink stuff in the tank.  So, that is like the non-cassette TaBs.  I know what you mean about the separate water holding tank for the toilet.  I think the TaB model is different.

Got it. I couldn’t remember where I’d seen that, if it was on a Tab video or not!

Sharon_is_SAM

I saw the holding reservoir on a YouTube video.

andyboy

So adding AF throughout the system lines with the Nautilus system and not getting into the fresh water tank, how much antifreeze will it take? Sorry if this has been answered. I searched and couldn't find anything.

Sharon_is_SAM

I can’t imagine that it would take very much.  I would pick up 2 gallons of RV AF.  It keeps.  Jerry’s camping center video said 2 gallons.  

ontheroad

@VictoriaP...the water for flushing the cassette comes from the freshwater tank...I too was confused after seeing numerous you tube videos...but a 2021 T@b 320 does not have the separate holding tank in the cassette area... haven't figured out whether that's a plus or minus with the trailer...

VictoriaP

ontheroad said:

@VictoriaP...the water for flushing the cassette comes from the freshwater tank...I too was confused after seeing numerous you tube videos...but a 2021 T@b 320 does not have the separate holding tank in the cassette area... haven't figured out whether that's a plus or minus with the trailer...

Yes, I can see mixed feelings on that. It would be easier to winterize just the toilet with antifreeze if it had its own water supply.

jkjenn

andyboy said:

I'm confused about the winterizing process for my 2021 320 Boondock. I've blown all the water out my lines, and drained the tanks. Easy so far. I'm really confused about the Alde yellow pressure relief valve to empty it. I didn't touch it and seems as though there's no hot water left after the blow out and open faucets. I hate to assume, but it seems like the tank if empty. True?

Now this is where I'm really, REALLY confused. The antifreeze! After blowing out the lines, it sounds like many are not adding antifreeze to the lines but simply adding some to traps, tanks and toilet. The traps, I get. Just dump some down the sink and shower drains. Now, in doing so, will that be sufficient for winterizing the gray water tank? Is there anything special that needs to be done to the tank and its hose hook-up cap area? How much antifreeze to put in?

And then the toilet and toilet cassette. Just dump some antifreeze in both? And how much to use here? And the big mystery, what about where the flush water comes? Is that anything that needs to be addressed?

There's lot of info about earlier models but not so much about the 2021....

I actually made a YouTube video about how to winterize the 2021 T@b 320. I ran antifreeze through the Nautilus, following the instructions. 

It so easy to do with the Nautilus that I may never blow my lines out with air, again 

andyboy

Thank you!! So helpful. I did that winterizing before seeing this video and kept thinking, "Is that all? Too easy!" Thank you for confirming. Of course I previously had blown out the pipes as well. I should be good. Thank you again!