Help! Anti-freeze not pressurizing system during winterization...

johnVT

I’m having trouble winterizing my Cirrus 620. I've gone through all the steps laid out in Nucamp's Winterization video—everything's been drained and blown-out, drains and faucet closed, Nautilus toggles set to "Winterize". However, when I attach the hose to the antifreeze container and switch the pump on, I can hear the pump working, but it only sucks up about a cup or two of antifreeze (enough to fill the short hose I'm working with) and then stops siphoning.

Cold weather coming soon to Vermont so please Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

John

Gomers2

Hi John,

First, if you have truly blown every thing free of water you may not need antifreeze. I typically pour some in the drains after blowing out the system just to be sure.

Having said that I know it is good peace of mind to get that antifreeze in the whole system. Have you tried elevating the bucket above the intake? If you can pre fill the hose and elevate the bucket you may have better luck getting the pump primed.

(We have our first freeze warning tonight but I'm planning to camp this weekend!)

Good luck!

johnVT

Thanks Gomer… I'll give the elevated bucket option a try. I have also ordered a hand pump that will help pump fluid into the system. This was one of the options suggested in a NuCamp FAQ…

Happy camping in the cold! We just came back from a week on the Maine coast and my wife and I definitely appreciated the Alde heating system!

MuttonChops

@Gomers2 said: . . . have truly blown every thing free of water you may not need antifreeze . . .

After doing a full air blow, I only pump enough antifreeze into the system to reach the pump.

Like Gomers2 additional antifreeze is placed in the p-traps and about 1/4 gallon 50/50 mix of antifreeze is added to the black (n/a cirrus 620) and gray tanks to help the gate valve stay wet and not frozen.

johnVT

Success!

So, for anyone else having issues with winterizing their Nautilus System, here's what I found online that helped me succeed in getting the anti-freeze moving through the system:

1. I turned the input strainer around so that the bulgy part pushed open the spring stop valve inside the housing. Make sure to turn it back around with you're done;
2. I prefilled the short hose I was using using a funnel;
3. I opened one of the low-point drains to relieve air pressure inside the system. I closed it once the antifreeze cam out.

Not sure if the first two steps were entirely necessary, but several sources suggested them. I think it was the last step—opening one of the low-point drains to relieve air pressure—that made the difference.

Oddly, NuCamp's winterization video specifically states that all drains and faucets should be closed when starting the process. Apparently that's bad information.

Carry on!

BillCB

I had the same problem as the OP. Setting the antifreeze jug on a chair at the same height as the inlet solved the problem.

Nautilus says you should start the pump and then open one faucet at a time until the AF comes out. I have done this for several years and had no problem. (Don't forget the toilet flush.)

Bill

Gomers2

@johnVT I completely forgot about that check valve. I think it's the first thing you should check, because it can get sticky. I have on occasion needed to reverse it even to fill from a pressured hose. I've also had luck just exercising the valve and giving it a squirt of silicone lube. And @MuttonChops is right about the pump, even if you choose not to fill all the lines, run that pump for a second or two to get the pink stuff in there. (I haven't found the need to open low point drains, but hey if it worked for you that's great ).

pthomas745

There is constant confusion in the Nautilus trailers about the process of "blowing out" the trailer. In the step where the handles are at the 45 degree position, the only part of the trailer being blown out is the "Nautilus Harness", which apparently pushes any water in that area behind the Nautilus, and out through the low point drains. This setting at the "45 degree" position does NOT blow out the plumbing lines to the faucets. The Nautilus manual is very explicit about this. See the underlined note in the photo below.

After the valves are set to the "Winterizing" position, or "horizontal", this is the setting that either RV antifreeze or compressed air actually goes to the faucets and fixtures.

Every year with the Nautilus trailers, this issue comes up about 10 million times. The FB pages have about 4 threads on this just this morning!