Manuals for winterizing T@B's - questions

ScottG

I found this comment interesting...

Carolyn said:

...
Marvin told me at Tearstock this year that I should run a little [antifreeze] through the pump...
...

Although I rely on the "blowout" method, I've always been a little skeptical of my ability to get all the water out of the pump. This year I decided to try something different. It's a little awkward, but easy enough to do so long as you don't have Popeye forearms.

After draining and blowing the lines, I reached down into the zone behind the toilet (T@B-S) and unscrewed the pump lines from their connections to the rest of the system. After pulling the lines out through the hatch, I ran the outflow into a cup, and held the inlet upright. After turning on the pump, I carefully poured antifreeze into the inlet hose until it sputtered out the outlet into the cup. I repeated the process two or three times to ensure that any water had been displaced by antifreeze, then hooked everything back up.

I'm not sure if this was really necessary, but I do feel a little better about the pump being adequately protected. Once I figured out what to do, I spent less time flushing with antifreeze than I typically spent trying to ensure the pump was completely dry. 

Michigan_Mike

I didn't use antifreeze in the pump but did unhook the lines and dumped any residual water into a towel I had jammed just below the pump inside the wall area.  I never had any pump issues and all is well. 

ScottG

I did that, too, but a week later I could still feel a little water in the base of the pump when I stuck my fingers in the holes. So, inspired by having just winterized my pressure washer pump in a similar manner, I thought I'd give this a try.

Again, not sure it was necessary. I don't recall anyone ever reporting freeze damage to a pump that had simply been drained and spun dry. There's a first time for everything, though!

Photomom

We stuffed some towels in there and took the hoses off the pump then ran it for a few seconds. Did get a little water out. Can't be much left if any.