Unfortunately there’s no way to keep these Ultraviolet Disinfection Systems from the damage caused by freezing without properly draining or removing them for storage in a heated location for the winter.
Draining is actually pretty simple to do as long as you realize that all of the water needs to come out. You may want to check out one of my other videos on how these systems work here before proceeding https://youtu.be/1YCbzkdPIMo
1) Shut off the water from the source and drain your cottage or home as you would without any UV installed.
2) Unplug the UV light and let it cool for a couple of minutes
3) Remove the filter housings and dump out the water and pre filters, you will be replacing the filters at the start of the next season anyway.
3) Drain the stainless steel chamber. If your UV system is a minirack like this one, just unscrew the 5/16” or 8 mm drain plug to drain. Other makes and models can be drained by unscrewing the fitting near the bottom to drain.
4) If your UV is not a minirack system you would just unscrew the bottom fitting and remove the sleeve and lamp to make sure it all drains.
5) If your UV system has disconnects, you can just disconnect the whole system and remove it for winter storage in a warm place. If yours does not have disconnects, just make sure that it gets completely drained and is unplugged for the winter.
6) If your UV chamber is mounted horizontally, and the plumbing connections are above the UV be extra careful to remove the sleeve & lamp and blow out all of the water with a compressor. This is great time to clean the quartz sleeve or replace it if you can’t get it clean.
7) Be extra careful to store the UV lamp and housings near the UV so you will find all of the components nearby in the spring when it is time for reassembly.
8) When you are ready to start it up in the spring, replace the filters and if the UV lamp has been used about 12 months, replace it. The quartz sleeve should be perfectly clean, if not replace it too.
9) Reassemble the unit, turn the power on, if you replaced the lamp don’t forget to reset the timer, and slowly fill the UV to check for leaks. Once filled, flush the filters by running the water at a bathtub or laundry sink and you’re ready to go!
Check out our UV Playlist here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmnBltD77jBXTmoVSMxXc-ewi_fXSC1EC