Water system

[tah796]

When doing the orientation on my new 2014 Thor Ace 30.1 the technician said the hot water bypass switch was located under a drawer behind a panel you have to remove in the bedroom. I found it but can not figure out which valve(s) to close as there are several in an area of numerous blue and red pipes. I was also told there was a water filter in the unit however I can not find it if it does exist. Any help would be appreciate. I would think that putting a hot water bypass switch in an easily accesible area would be a common sense move by THor.

[Fuzz]

The pipes marked with red tape or paint carry hot water; blue denotes cold water. There will be a length of pipe joining the red and blue systems ie; the bypass route which will have a manual valve along it's length. For winter storage, make sure this valve is open. There will also be a manual valve in the pipe marked blue (cold water). For winter storage, close this valve (to prevent antifreeze from entering the hot water tank). Downstream of the water heater (pipes marked with red), there will either be a manual valve or a one-way check valve. If there is a one way check valve, no action is required either for summer or winter. Otherwise, close the manual valve to prevent antifreeze from entering the hot water tank by the back door (so to speak). The idea here is not to waste plumbing antifreeze where it is not needed ie; in the hot water tank. But of course, all water must be drained from this tank to prevent freezing. And all water must also be drained from the fresh water system to include the tank, pump and all lines, faucets, shower heads, watermakers. etc. After that one may fill the fresh water system with plumbing antifreeze. Do NOT use automotive type antifreeze as this is far too toxic to be in your drinking water.

[Fuzz]

Tah 796; follow up my instructions above by dumping some plumbing antifreeze down all of the drains to protect the P-traps from freezing......especially the kitchen and bathroom sinks. Don't forget the bath tub/shower too.
Plumbing antifreeze can be added to the fresh water (cold) system as per my previous post in one of 2 ways; a)by adding it directly into the fresh water tank and then distributing it by simply operating the water pump until the pink antifreeze emerges from all of the appliances ie; toilet, faucets, shower head, ice maker, etc. or b) by attaching a hose immersed in a bottle of plumbing antifreeze to the inlet side of the pump and operating that pump as in a). Of course either method requires that all water be drained completely from the system prior to adding plumbing antifreeze.

As for your filter, I would suggest looking in the area of the water intake for your water pump. I just took delivery of my Cruiser fifth wheel unit so I have not looked for my filter yet.

Do not be intimidated as all of this stuff is really quite easy to do.

[tah796]

Thanks Fuzz. I am trying to figure out how to post a picture on here I took to show where the blue and red lines merge together and the valves.

[Lloyd]

I don't think it's a good idea to pour anti freeze into your water tank. Even tho RV anti freeze is non toxic, it will be an awful chore to ever get it all out so you can use the water for anything palatable. The drain on those tanks is "not" on the bottom.


I have three valves in the system for winterizing. Two have to be turned vertical so not get any anti freeze in the water heater, and the other one comes off the pump and has to be open (it's a suction line) which I place in a jug of RV anti freeze, turn the pump on and open faucets one at a time until the pink stuff comes out. You will need more than one jug of anti freeze tho.
You should find all of this in the same compartment as the water heater.

[Fuzz]

Tah 796- I think that if you download your picture(s) to your computer, write your message, and click the little yellow picture icon in the message menu above, it will permit you to scan for and upload you pictures.

[Fuzz]

Lloyd; I agree with you- sucking plumbing antifreeze in using the water pump does beat pouring the stuff into the tank. I base that opinion on 22 years of winterizing my boat. I should have installed your setup and a proper bypass kit which it did not come with. I got by with it. But as you say, it took a lot of flushing with clean water to get rid of the odour and taste of antifreeze. Now I need a new water tank the original one having rusted out. But first, I need to remove one huge muffler from one of my 454 cu in engines that is in the way......... Oh well.

[tah796]

Well it's spring and my winterization worked out well. My only question now is the hot water heater on my Thor 30.1 only came with a plastic screw in plug. I am used to putting in those rods to prevent corrosion but am wondering if the newer one's don't have or need them anymore.

[OHpink2]

We got our Thor Freedom Elite Jan., 2015. After running the water from our campsite hookup through our plumbing for over an hour, we still got a bad plastic taste through the kitchen sink. We have a drinking water hose, a filter where it comes into the system and water taken directly from the spigot was fine when run into a jug. Has anyone else had a problem getting the taste and odor out of their pipes? I am thinking of taking my Pur faucet filter from the house to see if that solves the problem. Thanks.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by OHpink2

We got our Thor Freedom Elite Jan., 2015. After running the water from our campsite hookup through our plumbing for over an hour, we still got a bad plastic taste through the kitchen sink. We have a drinking water hose, a filter where it comes into the system and water taken directly from the spigot was fine when run into a jug. Has anyone else had a problem getting the taste and odor out of their pipes? I am thinking of taking my Pur faucet filter from the house to see if that solves the problem. Thanks.

Did you sanitize the fresh water system using a solution of bleach and water as recommended?

[OHpink2]

Yes. We could smell the chlorine at all the faucets, so we know it got through.