First Freeze

[CoachPJG]

I live south of Houston, TX. I have had my Sunseeker 3170 for two years, and we are expecting our first real freeze in that time period. What should I do? I am hoping that blowing out the lines with be enough. Do I really need to add anti-freeze for a one night? I currently have one gallon of water and treatment in the black and grey tanks. Do I have to drain them? I currently do not have easy access to a dump site? I would appreciate any advice.

[jrwalkerpa1]

Originally Posted by CoachPJG

I live south of Houston, TX. I have had my Sunseeker 3170 for two years, and we are expecting our first real freeze in that time period. What should I do? I am hoping that blowing out the lines with be enough. Do I really need to add anti-freeze for a one night? I currently have one gallon of water and treatment in the black and grey tanks. Do I have to drain them? I currently do not have easy access to a dump site? I would appreciate any advice.

Based on that forecast I am betting you will only be below freezing for a few hours before warming up nicely during the day.

You probably don't need to do anything but....better safe than sorry....blowing out the lines and draining the water heater should be plenty. Your tanks and traps should be fine at those temps/durations.

Do you have it parked outside where you can just turn the furnace on (say set it at 60) and water heater on for the one night? If so, I'd do that and not bother with anything else...

[retiredcamper47]

Don't forget to pour some rv antifreeze in your sink drain p-traps (kitchen sink/bathroom sink/shower drain). With what you have already done, you should be covered.

Bob

[Triguy]

As mentioned, you won't be below freezing long enough to probably be an issue. In fact, those nighttime lows on Monday may not cause any freezing at all.

But, blowing out the lines is easy and quick if you feel the need or just want to make certain there is no damage.

Keep in mind that its not the freezing per se that causes problems but the expansion of the frozen water in your lines. Enough expansion will cause pipes, fittings and your water filter housing to burst. In my experience, if your lines are PEX, than the little expansion you might get can be alleviated if you leave all your faucets open (pump off, of course).

No need to worry about your tanks at all. The expansion will cause no damage in such a large area.

[OldCoot]

Just leave the water heater on either propane or elec. just make sure it has water in it. Just a few hrs below freezing should not cause the pipes to freeze.

[thatguy]

I am in the same boat. We are looking at 26-27 degrees for about 7 hours. I was trying to decide if I should pink it for one day, or just run the furnace.

[ATVer]

I'd just run the furnace. The only problem are the drains for the Hot and Cold water mains that stick down below and outside of the heated compartments. The pex lines would not likely break but the fittings on the end might. I would open them and let them free drain.

[RamblerGuy]

From my experience I would expect a short period of freezing temperatures to not cause a problem.

Before Thanksgiving we had a forecast of 28 or 29 degrees and I had done no winterizing since we had a trip planned over Thanksgiving. The fresh tank was about 1/4 full, the waste tanks were empty and the water heater was full. As seems to be my habit, I woke up about 4 am. I decided to check on the motorhome. I drove to the storage lot and it was 21 degrees there! It was below freezing in the coach. It is stored under cover with three sides enclosed so it was mostly out of the wind. I ran water into a pot at each faucet and I had no frozen pipes. I ran the furnace and water heater for about a half hour. The open side faces east so it warmed up quickly that sunny day. The next night we had the same forecast, I checked the coach about 5 am, and it was 21 there again. I did the same routine. There was no damage.

That said, I am an engineer and am probably overly conservative. I would not have taken a chance if I had known it would go to 21 degrees instead of the forecast 28 or 29.