Freezing & my Sometimers disease

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99WinAdventurer37G

99WinAdventurer37G

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 28, 2012
Posts
1,143
Location
Saginaw, TX (north fort worth area)
Well, I have sometimers disease, and sometimes I remember, sometimes I don't.  This time I think I didn't remember. 

I park my MH 125 miles away from my house, but it's close to my farm where I use it the most.  When I left it, I drained the tanks, fully washed out the black & grey tanks and drained them, as well as opening all faucets to make sure the water was drained.  Then I put the RV antifreeze in all my sink traps.  What I forgot, was the hot water heater.  I usually drain it and leave the cap loose, but as I think back on it, I don't believe I did this, And as I didn't have my compressor with me, I didn't blow out the lines, but did drain them.  Tonight is the first night it's supposed to get below freezing up there since I last parked it.  I park it under a 40' awning, exposed at both ends.

It was 46 degrees today, tonight at 01:00 it's supposed to fall below freezing and stay there until 09:00.  It's suppose to get down to 27. Then it's supposed to rise to 40 degrees before a repeat the next night.  I have an appointment in the morning here, so I can't get back out there until tomorrow after that appointment.  What do you think the chances are of any freeze damage tonight?

I could still go out there tonight, but then I'd be useless at the meeting tomorrow.

 
I don't believe you'll have a problem but make sure you go ASAP. It would take a couple of days I think at below freezing temperatures for the tank to freeze solid. It would have to do that in order for it to split.
 
Ditto. An insulated six-gallon container of water isn't going to freeze overnight at 27 degrees.
 
This was our first year RVing so we are very green.  Also we have a TT, not a Class A.  We learned our first weatherization lesson the hard way.  When the temps fell close to freezing for only one night the drain in our shower cracked.  We still can't believe the temps dropped to freezing but evidently it doesn't take much to break a plastic drain pipe that has water sitting in the bottom of the trap.  Next year we will be winterizing when the temps are still in the 40's. 

 
As I mentioned, we didn't think the temps fell to freezing even for that one night.  If we had thought it was going to freeze we would probably have left the furnace on and/or put a space heater in the bathroom.  Hindsight.....  (Maybe Class A's have better plumbing than our light TT.)
 
MN Blue Skies said:
This was our first year RVing so we are very green.  Also we have a TT, not a Class A.  We learned our first weatherization lesson the hard way.  When the temps fell close to freezing for only one night the drain in our shower cracked.  We still can't believe the temps dropped to freezing but evidently it doesn't take much to break a plastic drain pipe that has water sitting in the bottom of the trap.  Next year we will be winterizing when the temps are still in the 40's.
Click to expand...

Yes, I remembered to put the antifreeze in the sinks, and shower traps.  I just forgot to drain the water heater.  I just left the water pump on while opening each of the faucets.  I didn't have the air compressor with me, thought I'd be right back out there with the air compressor, but I got busy and didn't get back out there.  I'll be out there tomorrow right after my meeting.
 
You may find that when you remove the drain plug, nothing will come out. That means that there is probably a thin layer of ice on the inside of the tank. Just take a flat bladed screwdriver and wrap the end of it with a little electrical tape so you don't damage the threads inside the boss of the drain. Then using a hammer, chip away at the ice until it drains. Break away as much ice as you can. You could even use a small propane torch to melt some of the ice around the area of the drain hole. I don't believe there is any need to try and melt all the ice. As long as the hole is big enough so that the water will drain on warm days. DO NOT put the drain plug back in till spring. 
The other thing I would do is remove the plastic cleanliness plug (if there is one) on the outlet of the temp/pressure relief valve just in case there is some water behind it. Also, open up the valve and leave it open so that any water in there drains out.  Good luck. ;)  Let us know how you make out.
 
Somertimes disease .. We call that CRS (Cant Remember Stuff) most of the time around here,, and I've had it since I was a teen (That would be half a century ago).

I agree, insulated tank is good for one night of 27... But do drain it before ye old mercury hits the teens.
 
Great news!  The weather forecaster was wrong, imagine that? 
The low was 32 and not very long, when I got up this morning and checked the weather, it had only gone as low as 32, and that for less than 4 hours.  So I feel when the WH is drained, water will gush out and there won't even be any ice, as by the time I get out there it should be close to 40 degrees.

Thanks all for a peaceful night of sleep.
 
MN Blue Skies: The plumbing pipe in all the coaches is made to the same national standard spec, e.g. Schedule 40 pipe or whatever. What differs is the degree of exposure to temperature, i.e. things like insulation and the location of the pipes. A drain trap is 1.5" pipe with a few ounces of water lying in it, so it doesn't take long to freeze if exposed to 32 degrees, probably just a few hours if it had already been sitting at 33-35 degrees for some hours. Apparently your trailer has an exposed under-belly and the shower drain is not much insulated, so you indeed must be careful.

Sometimes a particular location gets 2-4 degrees colder than the surroundings, maybe even lower than spots a hundred feet away. Slight depressions in the ground or "channels" where colder air flows among the terrain. The countryside is usually colder than in town too, so the place where the weather is reported makes a difference.
 
I got up there and my sometimers disease was worse than I thought. 

The good, I drained the water heater, there was nothing frozen, and it was still 38 degrees inside the trailer.  I also added some more antifreeze to the traps, as I only had about a 1/4 of a gallon left that I put in all the traps when I left the MH.

With my sometimers disease though, I forgot to leave the fridge open, and did get some mold in there.  I cleaned it out, and brought the shelves home to put them in the dishwasher, with the thought that the 140 degree water may be better than Lysol alone.  The rest of the fridge got a good dousing of Lysol, after a good wipe down, and this time I left the doors open so that won't happen again. 

I always wondered if that was a waste of time, but was told to always leave it open when not in use, and I know now that it definitely works.
 
I have noticed all the discussion is about the drain lines - are you sure there are no low spots in your supply lines? Did you fill them with antifreeze as well?
 
Sprucegum said:
I have noticed all the discussion is about the drain lines - are you sure there are no low spots in your supply lines? Did you fill them with antifreeze as well?
Click to expand...

No, I blow them out with an air compressor.  I have a special adapter that hooks up to my air compressor with a quick connect, and a hose end on the other, I hook that up to the city water and pressurize the system.  Then head inside and open each faucet one at a time.  Once I stop getting water I disconnect the air compressor and open and close all faucets one more time, then done.
 
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