Yahoo Message Number: 113196 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/country-coach-owners/conversations/messages/113196)
There are ways to manually cycle the ice maker. If you have rv antifreeze in the system a couple of manual cycle should protect it. Run enough cycles till the stream turns pink.
Brett
08 Allure
31665
Yahoo Message Number: 113197 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/country-coach-owners/conversations/messages/113197)
I winterize our RV the same way I used to winterize our boat with potable antifreeze. (I don't want to take the chance that there is water still laying in a low spot in the lines.) I also don't want to use supplemental heat and take the chance of a power outage to or in the coach. That may be worth the chance if only for a short period, but not for several weeks or more. Winterizing the RV using potable antifreeze is simple and does not take much time.
I first empty the the holding tanks prior to parking the RV.
I then open the 3 drain valves and drain the water tank and as much of the lines as I can. I next remove the water filter and reseal the housing. (I found that a carbon filter will filter the pink color out of the antifreeze). I connect one end of a hose to the water pump inlet and the other end I put in a gallon jug of antifreeze and turn on the pump. Starting in the utility bay, I turn on the cold water until solid pink water comes out and then the same with the hot water. I go through the coach at each faucet in turn and do the same, changing the intake hose to a new gallon jug as needed. Cycling each faucet also fills the drain traps with antifreeze so traps freezing won't be an issue. I flush the toilet once or twice so the water in the bowl is pink. I also run the Splendide wash machine as per their winterizing instructions to assure that the water lines to the wash machine are also filled.
I do the ice maker last for no good reason, except I know that the lines in the coach are full of antifreeze so the amount of antifreeze and the tray fill cycle needed here is minimal. Our Refrigerator is a Dometic and I activate the ice making process by using their instructions, which includes removing the cover of the gears and turning the small gear counter clockwise with a flat head screwdriver until the ice maker activates. Each ice mold in the tray will fill with a light pink water antifreeze mix. I suck that water out using a turkey baster or equivalent and then cycle the ice maker again, which in our case will fill the tray with solid pink antifreeze. I suck out the tray again and then use a paper towel to dip out the remaining pink solution as I don't want to have that liquid evaporate and leave a film in the tray.
I use about 6 to 7 gallons of -50 f burst strength antifreeze which you can purchase for about $2.50/gallon and it takes me about 1.5 hours of time. (Much of the time relates to re reading the manuals for the wash machine and ice maker as I seem to forget some of the details.) Note that my coach has a supplemental 2.5 gallon electric water heater in series with the Hurricane heater, so I probably use more antifreeze than some of the other coaches.
When I am ready to us the RV, I reinstall the water filter, close the 3 drain valves, fill the water tank and turn on faucets individually until the water runs clear. I run the wash machine through a couple of short cycles to be assured that clear water is being used. After the refrigerator cools down, I run the ice maker through several cycles and throw the ice made away. {I know this includes more than just the ice maker, but thought I would discuss my full procedure.}
Dennis Ojard
2003 Allure #30884