How bad did I screw up winterizing lines (wrong antifreeze)?

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Appleman

Member
Oct 11, 2023
16
Syracuse
Hi All -

So I took a shot at winterizing or 30k in ground a few days ago.. was able to get nearly everything buttoned up except blowing out the main drain, which my shop vacs couldn’t handle, but that’s another thread :). My concern is that I purchased RV antifreeze from Tractor supply (the description on the box mentioned pools and potable drinking water systems, so figured it was safe). I didn’t however confirm that the ingredient was propylene glycol. After putting a gallon in each of the 2 skimmer lines I looked again at the box and found that it’s ethyl alcohol based antifreeze. I’m wondering if I should attempt to vacuum out those two lines now and replace with the propylene stuff or just leave it and vac out on spring? Also, how bad out of curiosity are we talking is this type of antifreeze when mixed with pool water and humans are exposed to it? Doesn’t appear to be the really no no stuff (ethylene glycol) that I’ve read about, but what do I know - any recommendations and expert advice re how I should address this is very much appreciated! Thank you again!
 
Most likely, it is fine.

Can you show the actual bottle?

Ethyl alcohol is the same thing in alcoholic drinks.

If the bottle or website said that it was ok for pool use, then it should be fine.
 
IMO, as long as you didn't use engine coolant, you're fine. That's formulated differently because it needs to aid in heat transfer and also have a higher boiling point. In order to do so, automotive antifreeze is toxic.

RV often won't say it's OK for pools the same way that Muriatic Acid often doesn't say it. They're both fine but the manufacturer doesn't care to test and certify it. RV antifreeze is designed to sit in the potable water tanks and plumbing and be non toxic once its mostly flushed as you never quite get it all. In a pool it will be diluted with teens or 10s of thousands of gallons and be just as harmless. One ot two of the brands foam a little in the spring but that's about the only hangup.

I prime my pump in the waste setting to remove the suction side antifreeze in the spring and use the shop vac as a blower to blow from the returns and dump most of it at the pad. Again, it's harmless, but it's also real easy to not add most of it to the pool. Lol. This year I hope to make return adapters that extend the returns with a U shape over the patio so I can blow the whole system to waste upon startup.
 
Newdude said:
IMO, as long as you didn't use engine coolant, you're fine. That's formulated differently because it needs to aid in heat transfer and also have a higher boiling point. In order to do so, automotive antifreeze is toxic.

RV often won't say it's OK for pools the same way that Muriatic Acid often doesn't say it. They're both fine but the manufacturer doesn't care to test and certify it. RV antifreeze is designed to sit in the potable water tanks and plumbing and be non toxic once its mostly flushed as you never quite get it all. In a pool it will be diluted with teens or 10s of thousands of gallons and be just as harmless. One ot two of the brands foam a little in the spring but that's about the only hangup.

I prime my pump in the waste setting to remove the suction side antifreeze in the spring and use the shop vac as a blower to blow from the returns and dump most of it at the pad. Again, it's harmless, but it's also real easy to not add most of it to the pool. Lol. This year I hope to make return adapters that extend the returns with a U shape over the patio so I can blow the whole system to waste upon startup.
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Really appreciate the feedback James and Newdude! Still waiting on SDS from company, but this is a link to the one I used https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/traveller-25-gal-rv-multi-purpose-antifreeze-omni-box
 
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JamesW said:
I think that it is fine.

Try to catch as much as possible during opening, but if any gets in the water, I would not be too concerned.
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Roger that. Yah, that's my plan. I'm thinking I'll just connect my big old shop vac prior to hooking up the pump, open the skimmer lines and just capture it that way. Any concerns vacuuming up a bunch of ethanol into a shop vac?
 
It can catch on fire but that is highly unlikely.

Ethanol is combustible/flammable.

However, I doubt that it is much risk at the concentration.

Some Shop Vacs might spark at the motor, which could be a potential issue, but I wouldn’t be overly concerned.
 
Or even just blowing the antifreeze with the shop vac back up and out of the super gizmo (although don't want a fountain of antifreeze everywhere - maybe a hose line or similar attached to the skimmer pipe opening) and then run to a 5 gallon bucket to collect.
 
Appleman said:
Perhaps pumping waste out at pool opening better alternative given it'll mix with water on the way out of the lines.
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Use the shop vac to blow the returns back to the pad. It took a couple tries letting it collect between rounds but I got most of it out. Then fire up the pump to waste to clear the suction side.
 
THis was their response (Tractor Supply):
This is an ethanol-based RV antifreeze it is the same formula as our traditional one-gallon bottle. If the customer is looking for a propylene glycol-based product, I would recommend SKU# 2291508. For Safety Data Sheets (SDSs/MSDSs) call 800-451-8346 (Verisk 3E company) as we do not have SDS for SKU 2214862.

So I guess I'm still ok given it's not the car type/ ethylene glycol - but should still be blown out carefully when opening?
 
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Appleman said:
Hi All -

So I took a shot at winterizing or 30k in ground a few days ago.. was able to get nearly everything buttoned up except blowing out the main drain, which my shop vacs couldn’t handle, but that’s another thread :). My concern is that I purchased RV antifreeze from Tractor supply (the description on the box mentioned pools and potable drinking water systems, so figured it was safe). I didn’t however confirm that the ingredient was propylene glycol. After putting a gallon in each of the 2 skimmer lines I looked again at the box and found that it’s ethyl alcohol based antifreeze. I’m wondering if I should attempt to vacuum out those two lines now and replace with the propylene stuff or just leave it and vac out on spring? Also, how bad out of curiosity are we talking is this type of antifreeze when mixed with pool water and humans are exposed to it? Doesn’t appear to be the really no no stuff (ethylene glycol) that I’ve read about, but what do I know - any recommendations and expert advice re how I should address this is very much appreciated! Thank you again!
Click to expand...
Ethyl alcohol (ETOH) is the kind of antifreeze you want. It is the same alcohol that is in liquor and when diluted in the pool in spring start up, it's harmless to people and pets. You would want to avoid ethylene glycol type antifreeze.
 
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