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Old 01-01-2018, 02:12 PM   #1
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Freeze West of Houston

Forecasting mid 20s next 3 nights. I’m leaving heaters on around 50 figure that will keep pipes above freezing. Any thoughts for us folks that don’t often deal with cold.
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Old 01-01-2018, 03:59 PM   #2
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I am doing the same thing. I don't normally store water in the camper in the house, and let it all drain, but there's still a chance of some in the pipes somewhere. Sheesh what I wouldn't give to be in Hawaii right now!
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Old 01-01-2018, 05:03 PM   #3
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I leave my furnace on set to 50 degrees. You want heat in the basement, I also turn on the hot water heater
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Old 01-01-2018, 07:35 PM   #4
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Boy would 20 be nice
it was -19 here this morning high today was -2 it is to be down to -21 tonight
The high this week is tomorrow at 8 above then helpfully next week it will warm in to the 20's
And I am burning through a lot of fire wood
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Old 01-01-2018, 07:40 PM   #5
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Boy would 20 be nice
it was -19 here this morning high today was -2 it is to be down to -21 tonight
The high this week is tomorrow at 8 above then helpfully next week it will warm in to the 20's
And I am burning through a lot of fire wood
Yeah....20 would feel warm right now....Bellevue, NE.
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Old 01-01-2018, 07:49 PM   #6
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6 degrees here and heading to negative 5 tonight. Gotta a chuckle just now, thinking about all of us measuring our low temperatures.
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Old 01-01-2018, 07:53 PM   #7
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65 today. Kinda cold
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Old 01-02-2018, 01:47 PM   #8
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We live in the DFW area and it has been wicked cold for here the last few days.
This time of year we go to the kids house for Christmas and when we get back we blow the trailer out. We use this......

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-36143-B...o+air+blow+out

It just screws into the normal hose connection and we pressurize it with our air compressor to about 40 psi and allow all the water to be blown out of the lines. We put some antifreeze in the traps and haven't ever had a problem.
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Old 01-02-2018, 02:06 PM   #9
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Where the hell is this global warming I hear so much about!!!!! This summer up here in New England was very cool. Never used AC in the Brick and stick.....And now in the single digits for over a week!
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Old 01-02-2018, 02:22 PM   #10
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Forecasting mid 20s next 3 nights. I’m leaving heaters on around 50 figure that will keep pipes above freezing. Any thoughts for us folks that don’t often deal with cold.
When you say 'heaters' are you referring to the furnace or space heaters?

Many units rely on the furnace to blow some warm air into the basements or compartments prone to freezing. (via ductwork) If you don't run the furnace, space heaters may not protect these areas.
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Old 01-02-2018, 08:27 PM   #11
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We live in San Angelo, we do basically the same thing y’all do except I only use 25lbs. Max on air pressure. Never had any problems
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Old 01-02-2018, 10:54 PM   #12
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I'm wintering in Victoria. My TT has no cold weather options. Decided yesterday to winterize the water system and use the CG facilities for a few days. Two gallon of antifreeze and ten minutes gives me the piece of mind that my water lines are secure.
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Old 01-02-2018, 11:03 PM   #13
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It's a good idea to open up any cabinet drawers and doors that are hiding water lines while you have the heat on, get's that warm air where it needs to be.
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Old 01-03-2018, 08:12 AM   #14
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well a balmy 12 degrees here this morning at that will be the high for the day
back down to - 12 tonight with wind chills back in the -20's then it will stay below 0 for the rest of the week

geesh now i know what it is like to live in Canada
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Old 01-03-2018, 09:37 AM   #15
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Where the hell is this global warming I hear so much about!!!!! This summer up here in New England was very cool. Never used AC in the Brick and stick.....And now in the single digits for over a week!
Not sure if you're serious or making a joke. If serious, then know that climate change and weather are very different things. If a joke, then forgive me, and LOL!
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Old 01-03-2018, 09:48 AM   #16
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Spend a few bucks on some RV antifreeze. The peace of mind is well worth it.
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Old 01-03-2018, 04:05 PM   #17
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We are camped near Fort Worth (Roanoke) and are caught in the hard freeze that has gripped the area for the last week or so. We expect a few more nights of freeze before things begin to thaw out. I'm in a Georgetown 329 with the Arctic Pak heating pads on the tanks, A/C's with heat strips, two space heaters, and a 25 gal propane tank. Here's what I did to keep things from freezing.
1. Filled the fresh water tank, disconnected and drained the f/w hose.
2. Bought two drop/trouble lights at Home Depot and put 75W incandescent bulbs in each. One went in the compartment with the outside shower and big plastic water filter canister. The plug was fed through the access hole and to the 110V outlet on the power pole. The hole was stuffed with newspaper as the screw-in cover was out of business with the wire from the drop light going through. I also put a wireless thermometer in the compartment to monitor the temp (Ambient Weather WS-23 wireless 8-channel thermo-hygrometer with sensors, available from Amazon).
3. The other drop light was installed in the compartment on the passenger side where the water pump lives. Again, I fed the plug out through the screw-in cover on the "vanity" panel and out the compartment door. This was a little more complicated since the door wouldn't close because of the big wire. I duct taped the door shut. No wireless thermometer in this compartment. I ran a very long extension cord from the drop light to the 110v outlet on the power pole.
4. Set the furnace for 70 and briefly turned it up to 74 when things got chilly.
5. Put one space heater in bedroom and the other in the living room. Both were set on high and turned down to cycle on and off.
Everything went well the first two nights, despite single digit temps with the wind chill. The temp in the compartment never got below 48. We still felt a cold draft and used one of the wireless thermometers to probe different areas of George. The stairwell registered 36 degrees when the living room temp was 68! We stuffed the stairwell with all the pillows we could find and moved the temp there up to the 60's.

Yesterday we finally ran short of fresh water so I hooked up the hose to the faucet to fill the f/w tank. Not! The faucet was frozen solid! After 30 minutes of freezing my butt while holding a hair dryer on the faucet the ice finally broke loose and the tank was filled again. The hose was drained and stowed until the next refill. We have learned to stretch the fresh water but still enjoy a hot shower occasionally. Paper plates are the new norm.

Freezing weather is predicted tonight and tomorrow before we are in the clear, at least for now. Now we know we can survive the coldest weather Texas has to offer. It will have to get VERY cold for us to run for Arizona! I have a couple of mods in mind:
1. Hard wire the drop light in the water pump compartment. There is a 110V component in that compartment that I can tap into and I can install a switch on the "vanity" panel so the extension cord is unnecessary and the compartment door can be shut. I also plan to mount one of the wireless thermometers in the compartment to monitor the temp in case the 75W bulb burns out.
2. Fabricate a plywood plate to cover the stairwell and cover it on both sides with carpet. Nothing fancy and easy to store but should stop a huge draft from that area.

You ask about the heat strips in the a/c. We turned on the one in the bedroom to help the space heater but mainly to muffle the shoring! Last night we turned on the one in the living room and got a terrible smell, like it had overheated. I thought it was burning up! Then I explained to the wife that the furnace had to run to help keep the pipes below warm, at least those I know are in the pipe chases. The smell is still with us today.

We think the MH layout is perfect for a couple full-timing. We've been at it 15+ months now and logged almost 8000 miles. We've made several mods that I plan to cover in a less long-winded missive later. I read this Forum every day and credit it for more information than I've been able to squeeze out of FR.

Keep up the good work. Not all of us who wander are lost!
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Old 01-03-2018, 07:21 PM   #18
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Hah! I survived the 2nd Great Whiteout for Houston. The first of 2018.

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