Using coach in temps below freezing - Page 2

TaterColo · 02-23-2015, 06:54 PM

I have thought about using the onboard air but since I don't have a pressure regulator I didn't want to blow a line. With my compressor at home I usually turn the pressure down to 20-25 PSI. Can someone confirm that I can use my onboard air without damage?

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beipers · 02-23-2015, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TaterColo

I have thought about using the onboard air but since I don't have a pressure regulator I didn't want to blow a line. With my compressor at home I usually turn the pressure down to 20-25 PSI. Can someone confirm that I can use my onboard air without damage?

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I used a regulator. You can buy them and quick disconnects for about $6 at harbor freight. I wouldn't charge the plumbing system above 60psi.

TaterColo · 02-23-2015, 08:36 PM

Anyone know what the stock PSI is without a regulator?

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beipers · 02-23-2015, 08:43 PM

The pressure at your connector will be the same as what shows on your gauges on the dashboard.

TaterColo · 02-23-2015, 09:30 PM

Makes sense. Thanks!

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smo99 · 03-02-2015, 11:13 AM

Guys, this has been a helpful thread. I just got a 2008 Berkshire 390QS and drove home (Atlanta) from Salt Lake through the recent storms. I think I froze up my water pump (maybe ruined it?) on the drive. I didn't expect it to get so cold during our daytime drive, but it plummeted to less than 15. We got to our site and nothing would move. Just shut it down and drove til we found warm temps. I thought it thawed out and started working yesterday morning, but when we pulled into a rest area in the evening, it wasn't pumping (again) and we were above freezing all day.

First question, is where the heck is the pump? I'm assuming it's somewhere near the water control bay, but if you could save me some poking around, I'd sure appreciate it.

Dumb question: Do you think I ruined the pump? When I did get to warmer temps and hooked up to the campsite spiggot, I had no leaks to indicate I busted some fittings/lines, etc.

The next question is how to run the furnace off the alternator when in motion. We pulled in and my batteries (albeit questionable), had run down from using the furnace all day while driving. What would be involved in setting up a switch or some way to pull from the alternator while in motion vs pulling from shore power/generator when stopped?

Would anyone recommend using heat tape/cable (see amazon, search "easy heat pipe heating cable")? Or would that draw too much power...again, how would/could you power it while in motion. After freezing up while driving in the cold, I'm wanting to prevent a repeat occurrence.

Thanks!

JTN8 · 03-02-2015, 11:32 AM

Your pump is located on the awning side in the basement behind the door with no handle. There are two quick pins under the door that you pull and the latches will unlock so you can get in there. It is directly across from your wet bay. You'll see your pump, fresh tank and both holding tanks.

Your alternator should be charging your house batteries while the engine is running. Once your chassis batteries hit a certain voltage, it switches over to your house batteries. This works in opposite order when on shore power or generator. It will charge your house first then chassis once house are full. Your switch may be bad and not swapping back and forth (this happen to my coach) or your batteries are low on distilled water or just old and bad.

I've never used the heating strip on the hose but seen them a lot at campgrounds and assume they work well. I'm actually going camping in mine this weekend and it will get in the low 20's so I run my rear furnace and will put a small space heater by the pump and just youse my water tank instead of using the camp water and freezing my hose...

I would think your pump is not shot and once it thaws completely will be fine. Even though it's above freezing, while driving that bay gets pretty cold.

Hope this helps

Jason

beipers · 03-02-2015, 03:13 PM

I concur with Jason. For all the lines in the bay, heat tape would probably work but I didn't think it was worth the effort. A radiant type heater would probably be most efficient for keeping the lines and pump warm while driving. Any type of heat, in my opinion will require 120v and for you to run the generator. 12v doesn't provide a lot of BTUs and you are already using lp to run your furnace.

smo99 · 03-02-2015, 05:37 PM

Thank you both Jason and Beipers! I found the pump today as I walked around the other side...I had forgotten where...you pick up a "new to you" unit and try to remember the 1000 things they told you...ugh.

I think my batteries may be bad. I had the guy do a load test and one of the 6V house batts was showing volts but failed the load test. I will probably replace all of the batteries as they are nearing 3 years and the unit sat a lot in a storage facility...I will check fluids first tho.

My pump is still doing nothing after thawing out. When I flip the switch I hear a click in the coach, but it does not run. Any thoughts on the best way to ferret this out would be appreciated. I have a meter, etc.. I checked the fuse panels and saw no red lights, so I'm assuming all my fuses are in working order.

Thanks again!

CAT-RN · 03-02-2015, 06:10 PM

Don't know about your pump. But what we do when we travel in cold temp is to run both hot and cold water just a little each hour.

Lot of air will get into the water bay while on the move. We have had more issue when traveling into the wind. Still running water each hour should keep system thawed out.

Russell.

I-RV · 03-03-2015, 08:40 AM

smo99, it sounds like you had been severely running your cabin batteries down. Even though they are deep cycle, you will get longer life if they are not discharged below 50%. Specific gravity testing can tell the charge state, but while on the road, the voltage level is a good measure. While 12.75 volts is fully charged, about 12.20 volts is 50% charged. Because of this small difference, a digital meter is required right at the battery terminals. You can spend many hundreds of dollars to add the voltage and current remote option to the Magnum converter/inverter or wire the few dollar device to the terminals, which link follows. There has been many threads on this subject; do a search for them.
Digital Voltmeter | VoltMinder.com

smo99 · 03-05-2015, 08:56 AM

Thanks for all the help so far everyone. I found the issue with the pump, the fuse fried when the pump was frozen--easy fix--whew.

Question on my tank heaters. I have a switch on my main control panel inside the coach for Tank Heaters. It lights up red when on. However, I don't see anything that looks like a blanket (or are the heaters inside the tank?). And where the diagram in the electrical bay says there should be a fuse for tank heaters, there isn't any fuse at all. Am I being spoofed in thinking I'm heating my tanks when in fact all there is a lighted switch? The light for my water pump stayed lit even when the fuse was gone. So I'm wondering if I need to get a fuse in that slot?

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