1st Winterisation.

[Rick@62]

Hi all. I would like some advice please from "those who know"!

I have a 2019 Swift Escape Compact C205, its my first MH and this is going to be my first winter with it. I have been following the advice given on here about draining down the water system including the Truma heating / boiler system. The following is what I have done so far but can anyone see if I have missed something.....?

Emptied the fresh water tank.
Emptied the waste water tank.
Drained the boiler in the garage by lifting the lever and letting it drain out.
Left the boiler drain lever in the OPEN position.
Leave ALL taps in the open position, bathroom and kitchen.
Put shower head down on the floor and in the open position.
Flushed the toilet flush.
Ran the water pump very briefly to expel any residue water.
Emptied the cassette, cleaned out and put back in with a splash of cassette toilet fluid and litre of water.
I will still be taking the MH out for a run every 7-10 days and it goes on hook up for 24 hours once a week.

Is there anything else I should do? I think I have covered everything from what I have read on here. Any other comments or advice would be very welcome.

Thanks,
Rick.

 

[Chipster]

Sounds good . One thing I try to do. .. Use it over winter .

 

[Rick@62]

Sounds good . One thing I try to do. .. Use it over winter .

Cheers Chipster, yes its got to be used to keep it alive, so I will be refilling the system again at some point and making use of the MH. It has water tank heaters so it should be ok for a night here or there even if the temperature does drop to below freezing.

 

[Chipster]

Yeah. Go enjoy it if you can. Plenty sites open over winter or even the odd pub stop/ britstop maybe.

 

[GeoffnDee]

Not sure if the cassette fluid you have added will act as an anti-freeze for the water you have put into the cassette ?

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[buzz1]

Depending on your location,
if you live rural you might consider putting in a mouse trap . And remove all food .

 

[Jewellbags]

A drop of olive oil on the loo seal (the trap ) to keep it flexible , but as others have said - use it

 

[Rick@62]

Depending on your location,
if you live rural you might consider putting in a mouse trap . And remove all food .

Ah, good idea. Thank you.

 

[Rick@62]

A drop of olive oil on the loo seal (the trap ) to keep it flexible , but as others have said - use it

Another excellent suggestion and something I would never have thought of. Thank you.

 

[Rick@62]

Not sure if the cassette fluid you have added will act as an anti-freeze for the water you have put into the cassette ?

Just following the instructions for keep the cassette “healthy”. It is only a splash of water. Though maybe on second thoughts I should empty it out and leave it in situ and dry until the next trip away.

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[L' Hobo]

Just following the instructions for keep the cassette “healthy”. It is only a splash of water. Though maybe on second thoughts I should empty it out and leave it in situ and dry until the next trip away.

If you have a Shurflo water pump, or similar, just make certain no water is left in the small clear filter, especially if it's fitted upside down, just before the pump.

 

[Whippet93]

Cheers Chipster, yes its got to be used to keep it alive, so I will be refilling the system again at some point and making use of the MH. It has water tank heaters so it should be ok for a night here or there even if the temperature does drop to below freezing.

Also the freshwater tank being inside that hab area should prevent any freezing. My previous MH was A C205 and we used it through winter, only emptied the two tanks between uses, never drained the boiler. We did mostly two or three night stops at small sites or pub stops.

 

[Rick@62]

Also the freshwater tank being inside that hab area should prevent any freezing. My previous MH was A C205 and we used it through winter, only emptied the two tanks between uses, never drained the boiler. We did mostly two or three night stops at small sites or pub stops.

Cheers Whippet, good to hear that, especially regarding the boiler.

 

[Rick@62]

If you have a Shurflo water pump, or similar, just make certain no water is left in the small clear filter, especially if it's fitted upside down, just before the pump.

Not sure if it’s a Shurflo or not. It’s a Truma heating and hot water system with the pump inside the garage.

 

[Rick@62]

One thing I did forget to ask was about the fridge. I have two plastic clip on panels that are supposed to clipped over the two external fridge vents in”cold weather”. Is this true? And if so, what would constitute “cold weather”? Below freezing? Low temps close to freezing? Some contributors have said on other threads not to bother, others say just use one. Any thoughts on this please?
Cheers,
Rick.

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[IRHP]

Not sure if it’s a Shurflo or not. It’s a Truma heating and hot water system with the pump inside the garage.

At about 6 mins 10 secs in there's a bit about the water filter.

 

[Rick@62]

At about 6 mins 10 secs in there's a bit about the water filter.

Thanks for that. Will have a look at mine.

 

[Riverbankannie]

One thing I did forget to ask was about the fridge. I have two plastic clip on panels that are supposed to clipped over the two external fridge vents in”cold weather”. Is this true? And if so, what would constitute “cold weather”? Below freezing? Low temps close to freezing? Some contributors have said on other threads not to bother, others say just use one. Any thoughts on this please?
Cheers,
Rick.

They are called winter covers and are designed to be used with the fridge when outside temperatures fall below about 6°c.
You can also put them on when not using the MH, to prevent dirt and debris getting in.
They are not essential.

 

[L' Hobo]

They are called winter covers and are designed to be used with the fridge when outside temperatures fall below about 6°c.
You can also put them on when not using the MH, to prevent dirt and debris getting in.
They are not essential.

Not essential but, if you have them, why not use them? It stops some of the draughts.

 

[IRHP]

Not essential but, if you have them, why not use them? It stops some of the draughts.

There should be no draughts from the fridge vents into the van. There are combustion gases there and that area should be completely sealed between internals and the external vented area. The covers that are designed to be used when the temps drop below 8c still allow air in. They are just to make the fridge more efficient.

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[L' Hobo]

There should be no draughts from the fridge vents into the van. There are combustion gases there and that area should be completely sealed between internals and the external vented area. The covers that are designed to be used when the temps drop below 8c still allow air in. They are just to make the fridge more efficient.

You must have a bloody good fridge if there is not the slightest draughts from the vents when they are facing into a force 9 gale without covers on?

By the way, my fridge works off electricity, where are these combustion gases coming from?

 

[Jewellbags]

I also spray bleach under the van to help deter critters

 

[IRHP]

You must have a bloody good fridge if there is not the slightest draughts from the vents when they are facing into a force 9 gale without covers on?

By the way, my fridge works off electricity, where are these combustion gases coming from?

Not a good fridge just a good seal around it.

 

[Whippet93]

I've just had a regular email with various articles from my insurance company and one thing it mentioned which I must admit I wasn't aware of, is that to remain fully covered I need to drain down the moho, between 1st November and 31st March. So if continuing to use it over those months, I need to drain down after each trip. Worth checking the small print.

 

[barryd]

Similar here. I changed vans this year so its my first Winter with my new to me 2015 Swift Esprit so I guess it will be similar to yours. The only other thing I did other than what you did was disconnect the two water pipes either side of the water pump. I then stick the ends in a plastic takeaway box in case any water trickles out. I think this just gives it somewhere to go if any water left in the pipes freezes or expands. On my old van there was always a little bit that ended up in the trays. I then ran the pump for a second or two to spit out any water. Also the shower head should unscrew. I take mine off and leave it in the house. I learnt the hard way on that one years ago when my plastic Whale shower head literally fell to bits as it had water in it. I then leave the stainless steel shower hose hanging down into the bottom of the shower.

Just bought some fridge vent covers for our Christmas winter tour in the Lakes but not fitted them yet. On our old van we had for 16 years I never bothered and I am convinced it lead to all sorts of crap being blown down the flue and onto the burner and the inner flue itself becoming rusty and depositing muck and rust on the burner which meant in the latter years the fridge was often a PIA and regularly needed new burners or the jets cleaning. Some of the covers though don't cover the flue which on our van is behind an LS200 Grill. I bought 2 x LS200 covers which cover the flue and leave a gap at the bottom on both. I wont use them on gas though but ill be on hookup over winter anyway.