# Water Bypass Location 298Re



## 14kbiz (Aug 4, 2011)

On the 2011 298RE there's a yellow lever underneath the trailer where the water heater is located.
Is this the bypass for winterizing the water heater? If not, what is that lever and where is the bypass for the water heater located?

Any winterizing tips for the 298RE? This is my first year with this trailer, my last one was 1979 Citation.


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## desperado (Aug 21, 2011)

14kbiz said:


> On the 2011 298RE there's a yellow lever underneath the trailer where the water heater is located.
> Is this the bypass for winterizing the water heater? If not, what is that lever and where is the bypass for the water heater located?
> 
> Any winterizing tips for the 298RE? This is my first year with this trailer, my last one was 1979 Citation.


We have the same trailer. i believe what you are seeing is the "Gas" line hook-up for the outside camp stove it is located between the door and the camp stove with a yellow tag hanging on it. i don't winterize my unit myself. i leave it to the dealer.


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## MT MIke (Aug 13, 2011)

The bypass for the water heater is located behind a panel on the linen closet, to the left of the stove. You need a Robertson bit to take out the two screws, and the water heater is behind that panel. I just left the panel off, sitting on the stove in mine so I'd remember to take the water heater out of bypass in the spring. I also installed a bypass on the input side of the water pump so I could pump the pink stuff straight out of the jug, instead of having to pour it into the fresh water tank. I pulled the anode rod from the water heater to make sure it had drained after I removed the caps from the low-points. I was surprised to see that it had, but I hadn't bypassed it yet, so maybe that is why. I put the anode rod back in, although I didn't tighten it down, as I didn't want any critters crawling into my hot water heater through that access. I always leave the pressure-relief valve open, then close it in the spring when I de-winterize.

Whether you install a bypass or not, you do need to remove the city water connection inside the trailer. There is a length of hose inside the access for the water pump that connects to the city water connection that will not get winterized. All I did was to disconnect the line on the side of the trailer, lifted it up so that all the water could pass into the plumbing system of the trailer while I was pumping pink stuff.

I'm too old school to just blow out the plumping and pour pink stuff into the p-traps on both sinks and the shower and into the toilet (you want liquid sitting in the toilet, to keep the seal from drying out.)

After you've got the plumbing inside the trailer all winterized, don't forget to blow out the black tank cleaner. You'll need a compressor, and an adapter to hook your air up to the garden hose connection of the black tank cleaner. You do need to make sure you set your compressor for 30psi when blowing this out, so you don't damage it.

There is a pretty good video on Keystone's website for winterizing, it explains a lot.

The biggest thing is making sure you have all the water out of your system so nothing freezes. You don't need to worry about a little water in any of your tanks - gray, black or fresh, as the tanks are plenty big enough to take a bit of water in them. You need to worry about pipes - the expansion of the ice will burst them. I've seen some hot water thanks that were blown apart by freezing water.

Mike


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## 14kbiz (Aug 4, 2011)

MT MIke said:


> The bypass for the water heater is located behind a panel on the linen closet, to the left of the stove. You need a Robertson bit to take out the two screws, and the water heater is behind that panel. I just left the panel off, sitting on the stove in mine so I'd remember to take the water heater out of bypass in the spring. I also installed a bypass on the input side of the water pump so I could pump the pink stuff straight out of the jug, instead of having to pour it into the fresh water tank. I pulled the anode rod from the water heater to make sure it had drained after I removed the caps from the low-points. I was surprised to see that it had, but I hadn't bypassed it yet, so maybe that is why. I put the anode rod back in, although I didn't tighten it down, as I didn't want any critters crawling into my hot water heater through that access. I always leave the pressure-relief valve open, then close it in the spring when I de-winterize.
> 
> Whether you install a bypass or not, you do need to remove the city water connection inside the trailer. There is a length of hose inside the access for the water pump that connects to the city water connection that will not get winterized. All I did was to disconnect the line on the side of the trailer, lifted it up so that all the water could pass into the plumbing system of the trailer while I was pumping pink stuff.
> 
> ...


Mike,
Thanks. That was exactly the help I needed.
One question regarding the fresh water tank and the bypass on the water pump... I'm on a seasonal site and do not use the fresh water tank so do I still need to pump anti-freeze into the tank? Also, do I need to install the bypass on the input side of the water pump in order to pump anti-freeze up through all the faucets?


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## MT MIke (Aug 13, 2011)

Thanks. That was exactly the help I needed.
One question regarding the fresh water tank and the bypass on the water pump... I'm on a seasonal site and do not use the fresh water tank so do I still need to pump anti-freeze into the tank? Also, do I need to install the bypass on the input side of the water pump in order to pump anti-freeze up through all the faucets?
[/quote]

I don't put pink stuff in my fresh tank, as I don't want to clean out the stuff in the spring. I installed the bypass on the input side of the water pump so I could suck the pink stuff right from the jug.

There is no need to winterize any of the holding tanks - the grays, the black, or the fresh water. They just need to be empty. A little water in them will not burst the holding tanks. It might be a fun expirement to fill them, then freeze them. Probably end up being pretty expensive, though! ;-)


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