Trick My Trailer
Thread Starter
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
If you look in the outside - there is a plug you can uscrew.
But by now it may be too late....
You need to drain the water heater!
Oh dear - there are bypass valves that need to be set too.
DID ANYONE TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT HOW TO WINTERISE????
I pray to God your water heater tank is not ruptured....
But by now it may be too late....
You need to drain the water heater!
Oh dear - there are bypass valves that need to be set too.
DID ANYONE TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT HOW TO WINTERISE????
I pray to God your water heater tank is not ruptured....
Last edited by Greywolf; Jan 3, 2008 at 10:55 PM.
Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,756
Likes: 38
From: Nampa, ID
Originally Posted by Greywolf
If you look in the outside - there is a plug you can uscrew.
But by now it may be too late....
You need to drain the water heater!
Oh dear - there are bypass valves that need to be set too.
DID ANYONE TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT HOW TO WINTERISE????
I pray to God your water heater tank is not ruptured....
But by now it may be too late....
You need to drain the water heater!
Oh dear - there are bypass valves that need to be set too.
DID ANYONE TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT HOW TO WINTERISE????
I pray to God your water heater tank is not ruptured....
Thread Starter
|
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
I think I need to post a thread about basic physics here....
FROZEN water expands. It develops an amount of pressure that does not respect metal or any other enclosure. It will break steel, aluminum, glass, or whatever it is contained in - and as an RV owner we need to think about that seriously.
Plastic will burst long before this, and the fixtures in any RV are made of plastic.
Water is a bad thing in a frozen RV.
"WINTERIZING" means "GETTING RID OF TRAPPED WATER" by definition
There are two possibilities:
Eliminate it completely
or
Replace it with something that will not freeze (RV Antifreeze)
I have a clue for you (he says, drily) I doubt you can get rid of residual water completely - no matter what you do.
Pockets of it will pool in the last place on earth you want it...
FROZEN water expands. It develops an amount of pressure that does not respect metal or any other enclosure. It will break steel, aluminum, glass, or whatever it is contained in - and as an RV owner we need to think about that seriously.
Plastic will burst long before this, and the fixtures in any RV are made of plastic.
Water is a bad thing in a frozen RV.
"WINTERIZING" means "GETTING RID OF TRAPPED WATER" by definition
There are two possibilities:
Eliminate it completely
or
Replace it with something that will not freeze (RV Antifreeze)
I have a clue for you (he says, drily) I doubt you can get rid of residual water completely - no matter what you do.
Pockets of it will pool in the last place on earth you want it...
Last edited by Greywolf; Jan 5, 2008 at 09:12 PM.
Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,756
Likes: 38
From: Nampa, ID
Thanks for the info, ~Wolfie.
I do realize water expands as it freezes. That's why I disconnected the line that leaks and opened the faucets. I thought, hopefully, that if any residual water did freeze, it would have an escape route. Sounds like I may have been incorrect in my thinking.
Well...I imagine if any damage occurred, it's too late to do anything about it now. On the bright side, it also sounds like I might have some projects in a few months. The wife and daughters are heading to Germany for two weeks in March, so maybe me and the dog will work on the trailer while they're gone.
I may have additional questions for you prior to that.
I do realize water expands as it freezes. That's why I disconnected the line that leaks and opened the faucets. I thought, hopefully, that if any residual water did freeze, it would have an escape route. Sounds like I may have been incorrect in my thinking.
Well...I imagine if any damage occurred, it's too late to do anything about it now. On the bright side, it also sounds like I might have some projects in a few months. The wife and daughters are heading to Germany for two weeks in March, so maybe me and the dog will work on the trailer while they're gone.
I may have additional questions for you prior to that.
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Thread Starter
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
Some additional here - PEX lines are very forgiving of freezing, so are the fittings on them. The APPLIANCES are the bad part.
Toilets, faucets (the valves and spicket are connected by plain plastic pipes), showers, water heaters, pumps, and filters are prime areas to check for leaks and damage.
Simplest is to pick a warm day, put water in the fresh tank, and try the pump - check for water heater bypasses - and listen to that pump. If the lines fill, and the pump stops running unless a tap is opened, it should be good.
If the pump continues to run, or it runs - and stops - and runs, you may have a leak.
The advantage of leak checking this way is you can hear the pump run, and you can also shut it OFF a lot faster than you can run to the other end of a garden hose!
Remember also to check that the low point drains are closed as well as the fresh tank drain, and the plug/anode rod installed in the water heater.
Given enough time - waste tanks can also freeze if they are full. Dumping them is important in winterising the rig.
Toilets, faucets (the valves and spicket are connected by plain plastic pipes), showers, water heaters, pumps, and filters are prime areas to check for leaks and damage.
Simplest is to pick a warm day, put water in the fresh tank, and try the pump - check for water heater bypasses - and listen to that pump. If the lines fill, and the pump stops running unless a tap is opened, it should be good.
If the pump continues to run, or it runs - and stops - and runs, you may have a leak.
The advantage of leak checking this way is you can hear the pump run, and you can also shut it OFF a lot faster than you can run to the other end of a garden hose!
Remember also to check that the low point drains are closed as well as the fresh tank drain, and the plug/anode rod installed in the water heater.
Given enough time - waste tanks can also freeze if they are full. Dumping them is important in winterising the rig.
Thread Starter
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
Jury still out - did you pressure it with the pump, and did you clear all the lines after (winter isn't over).
ALL tanks drained including heater.
All of the above that I wrote.....
ALL tanks drained including heater.
All of the above that I wrote.....
Posting Legend
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 32,025
Likes: 0
From: Where Critters Are Free
Originally Posted by Greywolf
Jury still out - did you pressure it with the pump, and did you clear all the lines after (winter isn't over).
ALL tanks drained including heater.
All of the above that I wrote.....
ALL tanks drained including heater.
All of the above that I wrote.....
No water in mine what so ever...
Thread Starter
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
Cool.
You can get a device that allows you to hook a compressor to the city water inlet - but the danger is the pressure.
120 PSI in a 40 PSI line is not good....
I'm still working on a modified one with a guage and a regulator.
You can get a device that allows you to hook a compressor to the city water inlet - but the danger is the pressure.
120 PSI in a 40 PSI line is not good....
I'm still working on a modified one with a guage and a regulator.
Thread Starter
|
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
It has to hook to a compressor line - and also to a water hose connection.
(Pretty simple-simon really)
But if you blow too much pressure through it your lines will bust. A regulator is needed.
All of the fittings are available over the counter at LOWES or HOME DESPOT.
(Pretty simple-simon really)
But if you blow too much pressure through it your lines will bust. A regulator is needed.
All of the fittings are available over the counter at LOWES or HOME DESPOT.