Camco in Fresh Water Tank?

[HappyPlace]

I will be winterizing the boat this weekend for the first time myself. I took detailed notes from the previous year with the technician. That being said, I have added a bypass to the hot water heater this year, so I will empty the tank and forego the camco here. I will utilize the fresh water pump to distribute the camco throughout the freshwater system. So my question is, if I empty the freshwater tank as low was possible, would any remaining water need to have the camco in it? The First Mate and I hated the residual taste that the camco leaves even after running several tanks of water through it in the spring. I suppose I can always put a fifth or two of vodka in the tank.

Any suggestions appreciated,

Al Sr.

 

[knotflying]

My theory is that I would rather be safe than sorry so I have put antifreeze in. Also, I have been skeptical about the drain on my hot water tank. I can usually only drain about 3 to 4 cups of water out of it. I am told it holds 6 gallons. So one can only assume there is still 5 gallons in there after I drain it.

 

[Brian B]

You could also use LOW pressure air to purge the system, Andrew made a post on this method a short time ago. I'm with Knotflying though, I feel better with the pink stuff coming out of the faucets. In the Spring I will fill the tank about 1/4 full, flush the systems, add about a tablespoon of bleach, fill to 1/4, let it sit overnight then flush couple of more times and should be good to go. Never did the Vodka treatment but why not.
I have found the RV antifreeze at Walmart for less than $3.00 a gal, pretty cheap insurance.
Artic Blast coming into the NE today, pretty early for these freezing temps, hope all boats are protected.

 

[BB marine]

Using the by-pass method is the preferred way in most marine facilities. The most important step is to vent the hot water tank while draining. If you have a by-pass installed you must lift the pressure relief valve to allow the tank to vent for proper draining.( using faucets for venting doesn't always work because of low spots in the lines) If you do not have a permanent by-pass installed then you remove the lines cold in /hot out and the attach a jumper to the lines this will allow the tank to vent thru the tank openings. If you see little water coming out then you have a plugged drain valve . The problem with relying on the "pink anti freeze to do the trick with a full hot water tank (not by-passing)is the dilution of the antifreeze. The pink anti freeze purchased at retail stores has a burst point of -50F straight from the bottle. If tested with a refractometer ( I use a LEICA Duo-Chek refractometer) it starts to slush at 20F above, freeze at 0 and burst at -50. Mixed with any water the slush point goes up and the burst point goes down quickly. When I winterize a fresh water system I alway test the anti freeze coming out of each faucet, toilet bowl, hot water tank. Winterizing fresh water systems today is a lot more forgiving with the use of plastic waterlines. most have a large expansion rate. The parts of the system that do not are the hot water tank, water pumps, heads, (toilets), valves and connectors . I always drain everything, use air pressure for low spots, then pink antifreeze.
Brian Brown
Cutwater26
PORT-A-GEE

 

[snydzy]

I have found the RV antifreeze at Walmart for less than $3.00 a gal, pretty cheap insurance.

.
Do you know the difference between a cheap glycol alcohol antifreeze and a more expensive propylene glycol product ? Alcohol based products can damage certain plastics and seals. It is also combustible. Don’t confuse the these two as they are not the same.

 

[BB marine]

Actually the cheap propylene glycol purchased at the retail is just a less concentrated blend of propylene glycol. When I winterize my engine I use a stronger concentration of -100 below it is blue. If mixed 50/50 it is still gives better protection then the pink. It somehow is still considered environmentally safe. If a toilet is raw water flush I would use this in the toilet and raw water wash down system. I would not use an alcohol based antifreeze if there is one.
Brian Brown
Cutwater26
PORT-A-GEE

 

[desertug]

I have done the Vodka in our Casita trailer it is worse than the Walmart pink taste :lol: This is my second winterizing. Next year I am going to try Andrew's alternative procedure posted in Ranger factory Technical Bulletins. We pack water in jugs for coffee i know that is a cop-out but good coffee is important.

 

[knotflying]

I have done the Vodka in our Casita trailer it is worse than the Walmart pink taste :lol: This is my second winterizing. Next year I am going to try Andrew's alternative procedure posted in Ranger factory Technical Bulletins. We pack water in jugs for coffee i know that is a cop-out but good coffee is important.

Interesting, I tried the vodka last year when I was not using the boat for a couple of months. Freezing was not the issue, I just wanted to try the vodka rather than throwing a bit of Clorox in and then having to clean it out. I was surprised at the results. The small amount of remaining water mixed with the vodka stunk and took quite a while to get rid of the smell.

 

[Jake]

Thought maybe vodka has alcohol in it???

 

[NorthernFocus]

In response to the OP, one reason to put antifreeze in the tank is in order to get it into the pump. The pump is one of the most vulnerable parts of the system and the only way to get antifreeze into it is to put it in the tank and then run the pump.

Home Depot sells -100F propylene glycol. Mixed with equal amount of water yields -50F. For place that I know have residual water like the water heater and potable water tank, I put in the -100F glycol. My procedure for the fresh water system:

1. use syphon hose to drain tank. while it's draining install bypass on water heater and open drain valve
2. when syphon stops finish draining water tank by opening faucet until pump runs dry
3. pour in one gallon of -100F antifreeze and two gallons of -50F antifreeze(my logic is that there is likely a gallon of residual water in the tank so end result is mixture of -50F solution
4. run galley sink CW faucet until it runs dark pink
5. run head CW and HW faucet until dark pink
6. run shower CW and HW until dark pink
7. run galley HW faucet until dark pink
8. continue cycling faucets until tank runs dry
9. close the drain on the water heater and attach a couple of feet of tygon tubing to the lower connection. with a funnel pour in half a gallon of -100F antifreeze. now open the drain.
10. time for a cup of Joe

Regarding getting the taste out of the system in the spring, it's all about math. For example say you have a 30 gal water tank with a gallon heel of -50F antifreeze in it. That means you have nominally 1/4 gal of propylene glycol in the tank. If you fill the tank with water and drain it all the way back down the remaining one gallon heel is now about one percent glycol (i.e.one part/100). On the other hand, if you pour one gallon of water into the tank, drain it, and repeat, by the time you've run 10 gal through the tank you're down below one part/million.