De-Winterizing 2021 T@B 320 S

gbod

Our brand new 320 S was winterized by the dealer before we brought him home.  We will be taking him out for his maiden voyage next week, and we need to de-winterize him.  I haven't been able to find any explain-it-to-me-like-I'm-5 instructions or videos online.   I've gone through all the manuals, but I'm still not sure I totally understand all the steps.  One thing I'm not sure about is if you are supposed to open the low point drains under the Nautilus to empty everything out before starting the sanitation and de-winterization process?  Thanks!

Sharon_is_SAM

Do this where you can connect your gray tank to a sewer outlet.  

To de-winterize:

1.  First, leave the red Alde bypass valve knob turned up in the Bypass mode until after sanitizing.
2.  Use a pressure regulator and hook up a potable water hose to the city water connection.
3.  Place your blue and green valves in the “City Water” position.
3.  Turn on the city water spigot, then run each sink, indoor shower, outdoor shower until clear.  The lines are short, so it won’t take much.  If you want to be thorough, you can flush the toilet, too.
4.  I am not sure how much antifreeze will be left, but you can briefly open your low point drains to rinse.
5.  Turn off the city water spigot, but leave the hose connected as you will need it to fill the tank later with sanitizing.

To sanitize:  Leave the Alde Bypassed.  You will need either battery or shorepower for the Nautilus pump.

1.  Dilute 1/4 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water in a clean bucket.
2.  Turn your valves to Sanitize.
3.  Use a short section of potable water hose and connect to the Sanitize/Winterize outlet.
4.  Place the other end of the hose in the diluted bleach solution.
5.  Turn on the Nautilus pump.  It should suck up the bleach solution.  Turn off pump when bucket is emptied.  
6.  Disconnect short hose.
7.  Valves are the same for Sanitize and Tank fill so they should be set.
8.  Turn on the city water spigot and fill the tank.  If water starts coming out of the fresh tank overflow, it is filled.
9.  Turn off the spigot and disconnect the hose.  

10.  Place valves in Dry Camp mode.  Turn on the Nautilus pump.
11.  One by one, open each sink and shower faucet and run bleach water from the tank until you you can smell bleach.  Then close the tap.  This will fill and sanitize the plumbing system.
12.  Let it sit a few hours.

To flush:

1.  Open your fresh tank drain to empty the tank.
2.  Fill your fresh tank again (steps 7-9), then again drain your fresh tank.  Repeat until no further bleach odor.
3.  To clear your plumbing lines, leave the city water hose connected and place your valves in the City Water position.
4.  Open the water spigot and then open the sink and shower faucets until no further bleach odor.

After your plumbing is clear of bleach, then move your Alde Bypass to Normal and fill your Alde tank by opening a hot water tap until it flows freely and no longer sputters.

Good luck.

gbod

Thank you!

WayneW

I’m a total newbie on this trailer (2021 320s). I did the dewinterize/sanitize a week ago. It took me a while to figure out where the fresh water tank drain was. It’s behind the rear of the passenger tire with a clearly marked label. 

Oyaji

Thank you, gbod, for posting a picture of your Nautilus.  I looked at the Nautilus on my 2021 320S, and it's exactly the same as yours.  Oddly, I checked the Nautilus website, http://www.bandbmolders.com/index.php/nautilus/, and found that none of the models depicted and listed there correspond exactly to the Nautilus in the 2021 T@b.  (the P2.5 is very close but not exactly the same).  Go figure. 

And thank you, Sharon-is-SAM, for your clear instructions, which I have printed out and added to the stack of materials that came with my trailer.  You have saved me a bunch of frustration.  

Kamate

Sharon_is_SAM said:

Do this where you can connect your gray tank to a sewer outlet.  

To de-winterize:

1.  First, leave the red Alde bypass valve knob turned up in the Bypass mode until after sanitizing.
2.  Use a pressure regulator and hook up a potable water hose to the city water connection.
3.  Place your blue and green valves in the “City Water” position.
3.  Turn on the city water spigot, then run each sink, indoor shower, outdoor shower until clear.  The lines are short, so it won’t take much.  If you want to be thorough, you can flush the toilet, too.
4.  I am not sure how much antifreeze will be left, but you can briefly open your low point drains to rinse.
5.  Turn off the city water spigot, but leave the hose connected as you will need it to fill the tank later with sanitizing.

To sanitize:  Leave the Alde Bypassed.  You will need either battery or shorepower for the Nautilus pump.

1.  Dilute 1/4 cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water in a clean bucket.
2.  Turn your valves to Sanitize.
3.  Use a short section of potable water hose and connect to the Sanitize/Winterize outlet.
4.  Place the other end of the hose in the diluted bleach solution.
5.  Turn on the Nautilus pump.  It should suck up the bleach solution.  Turn off pump when bucket is emptied.  
6.  Disconnect short hose.
7.  Valves are the same for Sanitize and Tank fill so they should be set.
8.  Turn on the city water spigot and fill the tank.  If water starts coming out of the fresh tank overflow, it is filled.
9.  Turn off the spigot and disconnect the hose.  

10.  Place valves in Dry Camp mode.  Turn on the Nautilus pump.
11.  One by one, open each sink and shower faucet and run bleach water from the tank until you you can smell bleach.  Then close the tap.  This will fill and sanitize the plumbing system.
12.  Let it sit a few hours.

To flush:

1.  Open your fresh tank drain to empty the tank.
2.  Fill your fresh tank again (steps 7-9), then again drain your fresh tank.  Repeat until no further bleach odor.
3.  To clear your plumbing lines, leave the city water hose connected and place your valves in the City Water position.
4.  Open the water spigot and then open the sink and shower faucets until no further bleach odor.

After your plumbing is clear of bleach, then move your Alde Bypass to Normal and fill your Alde tank by opening a hot water tap until it flows freely and no longer sputters.

Good luck.

Thanks for the post, it helps a lot with understanding the Nautilus (and as a total newbie to all of this).  One question (though not sure if you could answer for the '21 Tab 400 BD), where is the "Fresh thank overflow"? that's not the same as the "Fresh water tank drain" is it?

Sharon_is_SAM

@Kamate - the drain is different from the overflow.  The fresh tank overflow in the 2021 models are built into the tank.  It allows escape of air and water.  Important to keep it free of bug webbing.  There is a thread here that I will try to find.  https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/140466#Comment_140466

Here's the answer from NuCamp customer service for a 320S:

"while the nautilus does warn against overfilling we have a setup to where it will not damage the tank / lines if you overfill. There is an overfill line outlet that’s located right behind the Nautilus panel itself that will spit out water when the tank is overfilling .... {extraneous text removed}.... I made sure to check with Quality Control on this as well and they say the same thing."

Kamate

Sharon_is_SAM said:

@Kamate - the drain is different from the overflow.  The fresh tank overflow in the 2021 models are built into the tank.  It allows escape of air and water.  Important to keep it free of bug webbing.  There is a thread here that I will try to find.  https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/140466#Comment_140466

Here's the answer from NuCamp customer service for a 320S:

"while the nautilus does warn against overfilling we have a setup to where it will not damage the tank / lines if you overfill. There is an overfill line outlet that’s located right behind the Nautilus panel itself that will spit out water when the tank is overfilling .... {extraneous text removed}.... I made sure to check with Quality Control on this as well and they say the same thing."

Thank you so much for all your help.  I've read many of your posts and now you've helped me on a few issues, I hate to bother you since I'm certain you have better things to do, but wanted to say "Th@nks" again!!!  Stay safe!!

Sharon_is_SAM

@Kamate - no worries.  We all had to learn about the 2021 models since it is all so new!

GeorgiaMB

Thank You, Sharon!!!  These are the best (only) step by step instructions I have found for dewinterizing my 2021 320 BD!

Travelbugs

Do these instructions apply to my 2020 320s?  Thank you!

Denny16

Yes, they apply to any TaB320 with a Nautilus, and the TaB400 with a few minor changes (location of Alde bypsss valve).

Some areas do not allow dumping of antifreeze into the sewer.  You can use the low points drains(red arrows on gbod’s original post above), with all faucets open, and drain the antifreeze into a bucket, then drain the fresh water tank, and black/gray holdings tanks into a bucket to get most of then antifreeze out. Then follow Sharon’s suggestion to flush water through the system.  

Antifreeze in many areas, needs to be taken to a recycle or hazmat disposal site, and not dumped on the ground or through a sewer system.  This includes the Alde glycol, and so call safeRV antifreeze (pink stuff).

If you do not have a sewer drain setup at home, you can flush the system into the holding tanks, and dump them at an RV dump station on your way to the campsite.
 Cheers 

Sharon_is_SAM

@Travelbugs - here are detailed instructions for non-Nautilus (pre-2021) 320 models (also includes Nautilus models).

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/8904/dewinterizing-and-sanitizing

Juju

Hi, I live in north Florida, where we might get an occasional brief freeze, but all the campers I know here only drain their water lines--they don't use antifreeze. So, though I winterized successfully, I'm not sure how to de-winterize my 2021 Tab320, since all the instructions I've read begin with draining and adding antifreeze. I did add about a cup of antifreeze to the cassette toilet, mostly to keep the seals from drying out.

But does anyone have dewinterizing instructions for someone who did not use antifreeze? How do I refill the fresh water tank? Is there really anything else I need to do other than ensure that the drains are closed and the Nautilus levers are in the correct position for City Water? What about the Alde water line that I drained?

TIA for any advice anyone can offer!

Sharon_is_SAM

@Juju If your version of winterizing only involved draining the water lines, then you need to just sanitize your fresh water tank for the season and you are ready to camp.  The antifreeze in the toilet will move into the cassette when you run water through the 
lines and flush the toilet.

Just follow the instructions in the link just above your post to dewinterize then sanitize.

Juju

 @Sharon_is_SAM thanks so much! Does the water in the Alde tank also refill from the other water lines? I had to drain that separately.

pthomas745

@Juju, with the valves on your Nautilus in the correct position for "camping mode" the water will flow to the tank, either from the city water connection or from the fresh water tank.

Sharon_is_SAM

@Juju - as Pthomas745 noted, once you are hooked up to city water OR you have a full fresh tank, then to fill the Alde water tank, just open the hot water sink tap, let it run until the sputtering stops, then your Alde water tank should be full.  You can do that same thing filling from the fresh water tank with the pump turned on, but better to do it with a city water connection.

Juju

@Sharon_is_SAM Thanks again!

jkjenn

I have recently been contemplating another method for sanitization that I saw on the Crsativity RV channel. 

Robin suggested picking up some concentrated chlorine tablets and putting them on the hose for an easier method of sanitizing for rigs without a gravity fill. On a T@b, I believe you would simply set the Alde to bypass mode and use the tank fill settings on the Nautilus and rinse until you are free of the bleach smell.

Denny16

Afterward Sanitizing, return the Alde Bypass valve back to normal before filling the tank with fresh water.  Whilst you have the hose hooked up, switch to City Water setting, open the hot water tap and pressurize your YaB’s plumbing to fill the Alde tank with fresh water before heading out.  It fills quicker in City Water mode.
 Cheers 

Sonni

Have you seen this? I’m a little conflicted.
https://youtu.be/jsLbO3Fends

Sharon_is_SAM

@Sonni - you only need a 1/4 cup of household bleach per 15 gallon of water concentration to sanitize.  Also, you should add the diluted bleach to the fresh water tank, then fill up the remainder of the tank, then run it through the lines.  You should let the bleach work for 8 hours, then flush it all out. Also, you only need to use a short section of hose to siphon the bleach solution.

 I don’t blame you for being conflicted.

Sonni

thank youSharon_is_SAM said:

@Sonni - you only need a 1/4 cup of household bleach per 15 gallon of water concentration to sanitize.  Also, you should add the diluted bleach to the fresh water tank, then fill up the remainder of the tank, then run it through the lines.  You should let the bleach work for 8 hours, then flush it all out. Also, you only need to use a short section of hose to siphon the bleach solution.

 I don’t blame you for being conflicted.

Sonni

Thank you

Sonni

I’m having a big problem trying to sanitize my tank for the first time on my 2021 tab 320s Boondock.  My freshwater tank is not filling up. I have my hose connected to the city water connection outlet and the valves in Tank Fill position , and the Spigot is turned on. 

Also I’m not sure which way to turn my freshwater tank drain handle. It seems stuck in the position it’s at facing out and I don’t want to  force it. should I turn it to the right or to the left to open the freshwater tank drain? Thanks!!!

Sharon_is_SAM

Do you hear water flowing?  How do you know it is not filling?

If your drain looks like this, then turn the handle towards you (parallel to the stem) to open the valve and drain the tank.

If it looks like this, turn the valve handle down (perpendicular to the frame).

Sonni

I was going to put water in the tank through the pump but now the pumps not working well either. The blue valve handle is loose the green one is nice and snug and tight.  I’m thinking I need to tighten up The blue valve maybe it’s just not working correct. 

Sharon_is_SAM

Is the pump not priming?  Try setting the nautilus to sanitize, hook up a short section of garden hose and suck water out of a bucket into the pump to get it to prime.

Juju

It may also help to lift your bucket of water up a bit. I had to do this when I was sanitizing. The pump wasn't sucking up the bleachy water, so I lifted the bucket up to the level of the nautilus panel and that did the trick.

PNWtabber

Sharon_is_SAM said:

@Sonni - you only need a 1/4 cup of household bleach per 15 gallon of water concentration to sanitize.  Also, you should add the diluted bleach to the fresh water tank, then fill up the remainder of the tank, then run it through the lines.  You should let the bleach work for 8 hours, then flush it all out. Also, you only need to use a short section of hose to siphon the bleach solution.

 I don’t blame you for being conflicted.

Thanks for being clear about the time to let the beach work.  The instructions I have say "let the bleach water dwell for several hours" -- I was coming here to ask how many hours is "several?"  Appreciate the tip!