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My Best cabin purchase ..

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mvonw

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I have an off grid cabin in Northern NH in the mountains that i visit a lot, but leave unheated. I redesigned the plumbing several years ago to plumb a drain back valve and a small compressor to blow out the lines when I left in winter months, Although this ok, small amount residual water remains, especially in the on demand water heater. For years I had jury rigged pump and RV antifreeze setup, that was messy and inconvenient. I ran across this integrated pump/reservoir product that have been using for about 4 years, and it has saved me so much time and aggravation: The Clozer (https://www.theclozer.ca/).

It’s a little expensive for a pump with a pressure switch, but this thing has saved me so much time closing down my cabin on cold winter weekends, that I thought I’d recommend it to others who had the same use case.
 
mvonw said:
I have an off grid cabin in Northern NH in the mountains that i visit a lot, but leave unheated. I redesigned the plumbing several years ago to plumb a drain back valve and a small compressor to blow out the lines when I left in winter months, Although this ok, small amount residual water remains, especially in the on demand water heater. For years I had jury rigged pump and RV antifreeze setup, that was messy and inconvenient. I ran across this integrated pump/reservoir product that have been using for about 4 years, and it has saved me so much time and aggravation: The Clozer (https://www.theclozer.ca/).

It’s a little expensive for a pump with a pressure switch, but this thing has saved me so much time closing down my cabin on cold winter weekends, that I thought I’d recommend it to others who had the same use case.
Click to expand...

How about a $50.00 rv pump with a few fittings and a bucket?
 
Checkthisout said:
How about a $50.00 rv pump with a few fittings and a bucket?
Click to expand...
Did that for 15 years, Now I have more money than time. This is strictly luxury/convenience item. Unless you’ve done this several hundred times, you really can’t appreciate what this is..
 
mvonw said:
Did that for 15 years, Now I have more money than time. This is strictly luxury/convenience item. Unless you’ve done this several hundred times, you really can’t appreciate what this is..
Click to expand...

I'm still not sure what it is. ?

I am able to just blow out the lines and leave it but I also filter rainwater so there is more involved.
 
Nan_wpg said:
It seems like an over priced pump? You’re just pumping rv antifreeze into water lines? winter cabin 101
Click to expand...

The website is so vague and has poor pictures.

I'm not sure what the thing does or how it works. If it's an all in one battery, pump and tank then ok, that makes sense but I have no idea if that's what it is.

I would just make my own for less money if that's what it is.
 
My thinking exactly. Poor quality website. Still seems expensive for what it is (if it is 9n fact what I think it is )
 
Checkthisout said:
just a pump and tank with a 120v pump. No battery
Click to expand...
Huh.

I’ve winterized RVs for years by rigging a recirc line. Blow out lines best I can and then pump in pink, and capture the not-diluted. 8 gals of RV antifreeze gets pumped but 6-ish are recovered. So it’s cheap on materials, too. One T with a cap and valve crimped in and you can do it year after year or week after week with little consumption.

I’d be disinclined to buy something that does what I’ve been doing since??? the 90s now that I think about it.
 
If you did it every weekend in the winter for 15 years plus, you might be looking for the simplest possible way to do it...
 
I redesigned mine with drain lines all sloped towards a drain, added low point drains for fresh tanks, pressure tanks, etc. open 4 Valves and it ddrained dry. Close again in 5 min and ignore till I fill it all up again And kick the pumps on. air is problematic from a health standpoint, you Can get things like legionnaires disease from it, air tanks are Known repositorit’s of bad things.
 
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Frick said:
air is problematic from a health standpoint, you Can get things like legionnaires disease from it
Click to expand...
Empty pipes without an air compressor used still have residual standing water and mostly air in them?‍♂️

I bleach my 250gal tank to drinking water purification levels periodically anyway. Otherwise it grows things inside/under the water in the hot summer sun
 
mvonw said:
If you did it every weekend in the winter for 15 years plus, you might be looking for the simplest possible way to do it...
Click to expand...
Every weekend? Usually you winterize once at the end of season. I still don’t see how this “system” is simpler??
 
Nan_wpg said:
Every weekend? Usually you winterize once at the end of season. I still don’t see how this “system” is simpler??
Click to expand...
I go to my cabin every weekend in the winter, but I don't leave it heated. I have plumbed the 'clozer' into the plumbing. When I leave for the weekend, I just fill it with antifreeze, turn it on, let it pressurize the system, then walk around to all the faucets/toilet/shower until antifreeze runs out. Done. i have on demand water heaters and they are super susceptible to any water in freezing temps, so completely filling the system with antifreeze is essential. Blowing them out isn't enough. When I return the time, I hit the switch on my plumbed in compressor and it blow out the antifreeze back into the clozer to reclaim the antifreeze to use the in the next cycle. Is it a luxury, yes. But after doing this cycle hundreds of times, I would never do without it..
 
mvonw said:
I go to my cabin every weekend in the winter, but I don't leave it heated. I have plumbed the 'clozer' into the plumbing. When I leave for the weekend, I just fill it with antifreeze, turn it on, let it pressurize the system, then walk around to all the faucets/toilet/shower until antifreeze runs out. Done. i have on demand water heaters and they are super susceptible to any water in freezing temps, so completely filling the system with antifreeze is essential. Blowing them out isn't enough. When I return the time, I hit the switch on my plumbed in compressor and it blow out the antifreeze back into the clozer to reclaim the antifreeze to use the in the next cycle. Is it a luxury, yes. But after doing this cycle hundreds of times, I would never do without it..
Click to expand...

I dunno man. Not sure, of your exact setup but maybe an alternative water supply for the winter?

if,we go out we just cut a hole in the ice and carry water up. (We’re right on a lake though). It would make no sense to winterize every weekend. Even with your “closer” it sounds like an undesirable work/water ratio.
 
Ha, I used to hand pump it from a hand dug well. Now I have a drilled well with lines below the frost line. I don't mess around any more with mickey mouse systems. lIfe is too short. I want my hot showers and bath after ice climbing...
 
mvonw said:
Ha, I used to hand pump it from a hand dug well. Now I have a drilled well with lines below the frost line. I don't mess around any more with mickey mouse systems. lIfe is too short. I want my hot showers and bath after ice climbing...
Click to expand...

I can see pumping AF into the system each time before you leave. That part is understandable. You're using it on weekends during the winter, not winterizing it after summer use. This necessitates needing to do it several times throughout the year.

Just that we are DIY guys and think a 5 gallon bucket with a $50.00 RV pump on it (110 or 12 volt) would work just as good as the Clozer for injecting antifreeze into the system.

That's all.
 
I am a DIY guy! I designed and plumbed the system to be as automated as possible myself. For me, being DIY means designing it MY way to meet MY needs and desires. I could cut all my firewood with an axe, but I prefer to use a chainsaw..
 
I have an off grid cabin ( 1600 sq ft) on a little lake I BC, we use the cabin most weekends even in winter, I have a solar system that supplies most of our power requirements except in winter days with little sunshine. Our 14 kw propane generator charges the batteries ( 12x 2 volt) when needed. I have a cellar where my water system and food stuffs are kept, cool in the summer warm in the winter! To winterized the cabin I simply use my cheap air compressor to blow out the water lines including my on-demand water heater. Dump some pink into the toilet and sink drains , Done. 15 minutes!
 
Frick said:
I redesigned mine with drain lines all sloped towards a drain, added low point drains for fresh tanks, pressure tanks, etc. open 4 Valves and it ddrained dry. Close again in 5 min and ignore till I fill it all up again And kick the pumps on. air is problematic from a health standpoint, you Can get things like legionnaires disease from it, air tanks are Known repositorit’s of bad things.
Click to expand...

I never got sick from anything but I noticed that in the spring sometimes there would be some scum in the bottom of the three drum water tower.
All I ever did was drain it refill but you got me thinking now.
I think i am going to go tankless next.

And going to stick with a washhouse in a separate building for bathing, laundry and composting toilet.

No wood stoves anymore...
Maybe a outdoor boiler and a gravity radiator system.
Woods a hassle...
I bet a few diesel heaters are all I willl ever need anyways I won't be using it in winter.
 
I also used a filter on my water fill, 15 micron pleated, then another screen Before the water pump, and a carbon after it. My new system incorporates a UV Inline filter as well. I like clean water. I filled up random places (rv) amd would every so many months run some bleach through the whole system to make sure it’s clean.

water can seem fine, but hand a sample to a water scientist and get a report and youlol likely be surprised.
DPC said:
I never got sick from anything but I noticed that in the spring sometimes there would be some scum in the bottom of the three drum water tower.
All I ever did was drain it refill but you got me thinking now.
I think i am going to go tankless next.

And going to stick with a washhouse in a separate building for bathing, laundry and composting toilet.

No wood stoves anymore...
Maybe a outdoor boiler and a gravity radiator system.
Woods a hassle...
I bet a few diesel heaters are all I willl ever need anyways I won't be using it in winter.
Click to expand...
 
Legionair's disease from compressed air?

Yeah, no.

I harvest rainwater. Run it through a screen, into 10 micron sediment filter, then a 1/2 micron filter then through a 100 watt UV light.

I started chlorinating the tanks as the .5 micron final filter is subject to algae growth when used with rain water....it's a catch 22. If you chlorinate you end up not needing the final filter and uv light.

That final .5 micron filter isn't cheap.
 
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