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Old 01-03-2018, 05:28 PM   #1
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Pipes Freezing

We have a 2010 Georgetown 378 and recently took it to PA where it ranged from 5 degrees to 20 degrees.
Had the furnaces on with space heaters to keep it around 70-75 inside but still had problems with the pipes freezing.
Put a space heater in the bay that the water hooks up in and a heater in the bay where the fresh water tank is.
Dispite all that the pipe strainer on the pump froze and busted. After replacing that I placed the the heater next to the pump.
That kept both bays above 50, but the “bay” the water heater is located in didn’t have access for a heater and the pipe feeding the water heater and the pipe to the toilet kept freezing.
There is a “turn off” access on the bottom of the bay for accessing the valves so I would put a hair dryer in the hole to thaw it out but after just two hours they would freeze again. Not to mention the pipe behind the fridge was solid ice after stuffing the vents with insulation and putting another heater in that bay I was able to get it thawed.
So my best conclusion is that the “artic-pac” did nothing and the furnace doesn’t heat the bays.
Even tried putting both furnaces on 90, starting the generator, and running the engine to generate as much heat as possible to no avail.
Am I doing something wrong?
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Old 01-03-2018, 05:39 PM   #2
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Stanley, I don't think you did anything wrong. You stated that you are/were in an area where the temps ranged from 5 to 20 degrees. I don't know the specifics of your Georgetown floor plan but it sounds as if there are area which contain water piping that will, and did, get cold enough to freeze the lines. One idea that popped into my mind about keeping the bays that have water lines and/or tanks warm would be to use heat lamps instead of space heaters. A heat lamp mounted on a lamp base should put out enough heat within a bay to prevent freezing and uses a lot less electricity than a space heater.
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Old 01-03-2018, 05:48 PM   #3
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Heat lamps will be my next choice but space heaters were all I had handy. I went into the trip thinking the furnace and attic pac would suffice.
Thanks for the idea.
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Old 01-03-2018, 06:10 PM   #4
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Not sure how hard it would be to access the duct work to install outlets to those areas. It might be worth a check.

Agree the Arctic package is not much, especially when poorly done. Our underbelly insulation was so badly installed, I used a complete roll of silver faced insulation on our unit to get the missed areas.
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Old 01-03-2018, 07:34 PM   #5
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It would be very difficult because of how it’s made. I’m going to look into though. The underbelly is a hard plastic on top and bottom, the ducts run above the top layer and under the floor which gives no access.
Yes to say the least I was disappointed in the performance.
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Old 01-03-2018, 07:48 PM   #6
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When temps go below 20 I shut off all heat except the fireplace and furnace. If the furnace does not run enough my 5er will begin to have pipes freeze around 20. Been to 1 with the furnace burning propane ~ lots of propane~~ and FW tank provided all as it should.
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Old 01-03-2018, 08:02 PM   #7
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I wondered about that but with the temperature sensors I had in the bays it can’t be ducted because it did nothing to raise the temp. Only think that did was running the engine and generator.
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Old 01-09-2018, 04:51 PM   #8
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If your furnace provides heat to your underbelly then running the fireplace or space heaters inside the coach will reduce the frequency the furnace turns on. This then reduces the amount of heat supplied to the underbelly. You should only run you furnace when temps drop below freezing and use the fireplace on a very very limited basis. Another must do is plug all the small openings in the underbelly. An opening the size of a dime anywhere near a water line will cause a pipe to freeze during storm conditions even with heat lamps or space heaters running in the area.
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Old 01-09-2018, 04:55 PM   #9
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If your furnace provides heat to your underbelly then running the fireplace or space heaters inside the coach will reduce the frequency the furnace turns on. This then reduces the amount of heat supplied to the underbelly. You should only run you furnace when temps drop below freezing and use the fireplace on a very very limited basis. Another must do is plug all the small openings in the underbelly. An opening the size of a dime anywhere near a water line will cause a pipe to freeze during storm conditions even with heat lamps or space heaters running in the area.


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Old 01-09-2018, 06:02 PM   #10
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Lord I did something dumb, it got really cold here in eastern North Carolina and then it got colder. I left the heat on at 50 degrees and the hot water heater on. I have heat pads on the holding tanks. Anyway something froze, I think somewhere around the upstairs grey water tank something froze. Anyway I have a leak. I’ll check it out tomorrow. I always wanted to learn how to take the panels down under my Cedar Creek.
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Old 01-09-2018, 07:46 PM   #11
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Lord I did something dumb, it got really cold here in eastern North Carolina and then it got colder. I left the heat on at 50 degrees and the hot water heater on. I have heat pads on the holding tanks. Anyway something froze, I think somewhere around the upstairs grey water tank something froze. Anyway I have a leak. I’ll check it out tomorrow. I always wanted to learn how to take the panels down under my Cedar Creek.
I was not far from you when the crazy cold hit. My black and gray tanks were empty but I drained the FW tank. Opened all faucets and ran the pump dry. Then dumped pink in the drains.... Will add to the FW tank tomorrow and run the pump, if that holds I am lucky. Hope you find an easy fix.
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Old 01-10-2018, 06:57 PM   #12
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A drain pipe froze and shattered. My Cedar Creek was supposed to get down to 0 degrees with no freezing, wrong. I kept the temperature inside the camper above 60 degrees. I had a electric heater in the basement and temperature never got below 50 degrees in the basement. Maybe if the drain line had been a little thicker it might have not busted. Anyway I’ll put the line back together tomorrow and then the fun part putting the panels back in place
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Old 01-11-2018, 05:50 PM   #13
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I got the line fixed, had to Jerry rig something on the drain to make everything work. When I go to Orvan Fry place I’ll try to get them to replace some insulation for me. But it works for now. Now I’ll winterize the camper tomorrow
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Old 01-17-2018, 11:34 AM   #14
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A drain pipe froze and shattered. My Cedar Creek was supposed to get down to 0 degrees with no freezing, wrong. I kept the temperature inside the camper above 60 degrees. I had a electric heater in the basement and temperature never got below 50 degrees in the basement. Maybe if the drain line had been a little thicker it might have not busted. Anyway I’ll put the line back together tomorrow and then the fun part putting the panels back in place


The Mount Rushmore monument is carved out granite on the side of a mountain. It requires continuous rehabilitation and maintenance because of the effects of water expansion due to freezing. Your pipes could be 1” thick and they would still break if temps stay below freezing long enough.
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Old 01-17-2018, 11:49 AM   #15
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The Mount Rushmore monument is carved out granite on the side of a mountain. It requires continuous rehabilitation and maintenance because of the effects of water expansion due to freezing. Your pipes could be 1” thick and they would still break if temps stay below freezing long enough.


Why was that the only one that busted, they all have water in them
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Old 01-17-2018, 12:00 PM   #16
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Why was that the only one that busted, they all have water in them
Well your water lines are led and a softer material that allows for expansion and contraction

PVC drain pipes are hard and stiff and don’t allow for expansion

As to why that was the only one that burst it could have been a defect in the pvc there could have been more water in there or it could have even been the way the water froze
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Old 01-17-2018, 12:09 PM   #17
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If they all burst, one of 'em has to be first.........
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