bucky
Raleigh metro
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I can be there in a few hours to take care of those pesky IPAs.
All kidding aside a permanent solution would be best.
Thermostatically controlled would allow ya'll to high tail it whenever you wanted. It's going to take a long time to warm it back up from twenty, set the stat to 40 or so and rest easy.
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JimK-NY
NY
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spoon059 wrote:
it takes 5 minutes to run antifreeze. Just winterize and don't worry about it.
Not for my RV. Winterizing means pulling the plug and draining the HW heater and switching to bypass. Then I need to pull antifreeze into every line and fixture with enough so the waste traps are filled. I need to empty the tank for the cassette toilet and add a gallon of windshield washer antifreeze.
Putting the RV water system back in service requires even more time and effort. First step is to add water to the FW tank and flush each line. Then I reinstall the HW tank plug. I need to pump 6 gallons of water to fill the empty tank. Perhaps I am overly cautious but I pump for several minutes and then allow the pump to cool once or twice during the process so it does not overheat. Some residual antifreeze always seems to make it into the HW tank from the bypass and fill lines. So I usually pull the plug, drain the tank and repeat the filling process. Your 5 minute procedure easily turns into a half hour or so for me. If I also decide to sanitize the water system, that becomes a half day procedure.
There is another big issue. I keep all sorts of supplies and food items in my RV. If I am going to let it go through hard freezing, I need to remove any canned goods, liquid cosmetics, bleach and cleaning materials, my bear spray cannisters, laundry detergent, the waste chemicals stored under my cassette toilet, etc, etc. Since I keep basic supplies for weeks of continuous use, there is a lot of stuff to remove and I always seem to miss some items. Of course all of that needs to go back when I get ready to use the RV again.
My RV lives outside so for winter storage, I often have a small electric space heater running in the camper. With some tinkering I can minimize cost and keep the inside temperature at about 40 degrees or so. In case the power goes out, I also have a remote sensor and can monitor the RV temperature from in the house. My RV is basically ready to go at all times. For a trip, I turn on the refrigerator in advance and also turn up the space heater to get the RV to a useable temperature before starting out.
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wa8yxm
Davison Michigan (East of Flint)
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Quote:Not for my RV. Winterizing means pulling the plug and draining the HW heater and switching to bypass. Then I need to pull antifreeze into every line and fixture with enough so the waste traps are filled. I need to empty the tank for the cassette toilet and add a gallon of windshield washer antifreeze. Quote:
Just blow the lines out with compressed air. Like 10 times
Drain water pump and ice maker lines (After first blow manually cycle the ice maker) on the water pump open and drain the inlet strainer on the pump and run it for like one minute after the first blow) I blow about 10 cycles using a 6 gallon compressor.. All vlves inluding low point open.
Then pink drains and toilets only. One gallon on a bath and a half model and I'm done.. Don't have to flush all that pink come spring either.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
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schlep1967
Harrisburg, PA
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riltri wrote:Does anyone put a small heater (thinking about a radiator heater) in their garage. We will be spending this winter in an area that regularly sees temps in the 20's. I don't want to drain the lines every time we are away for a few nights on short excursions and don't like leaving the propane furnace on.
Opinions/ideas??
Judging by the replies we need at least one more bit of information. Are you talking about the garage on your toyhauler or the garage where you park your cars?
If toyhauler, putting a heater in the garage and not running the furnace will not keep your water lines from freezing below the floor. A heat source in the belly/storage area would do that. But that wouldn't keep your drinks from freezing. However, your fridge is insulated. It would take a several day freeze before the inside of the fridge would lower temps.
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JimK-NY
NY
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wa8yxm wrote:Quote:Not for my RV. Winterizing means pulling the plug and draining the HW heater and switching to bypass. Then I need to pull antifreeze into every line and fixture with enough so the waste traps are filled. I need to empty the tank for the cassette toilet and add a gallon of windshield washer antifreeze. Quote:
Just blow the lines out with compressed air. Like 10 times
Drain water pump and ice maker lines (After first blow manually cycle the ice maker) on the water pump open and drain the inlet strainer on the pump and run it for like one minute after the first blow) I blow about 10 cycles using a 6 gallon compressor.. All vlves inluding low point open.
Then pink drains and toilets only. One gallon on a bath and a half model and I'm done.. Don't have to flush all that pink come spring either.
First step would be buying a compressor. I don't have any use for one or know a friend or neighbor that owns one. Then I would need to figure out where to attach it and the fittings needed. Once I figured that out, I suppose it would be easy to blow the lines clear. That still leaves the HW tank and I would need to be sure to blow out both the regular and bypass lines in addition to draining the tank. I would be concerned about the grey water drains. My RV does not have a "low point" or any valves in the fresh or waste water systems. I would need to add antifreeze for the waste lines and traps. Since it only takes a half gallon or so to completely winterize my RV, I am not sure I would save much on the cost of antifreeze.
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dedmiston
Coast to Coast
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Don’t forget to use your indoor manners.
I had to clean up an unkind post and the replies.
2014 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 Dually long bed. AISIN trans & 4.10 rear. B&W RVK3600 hitch • 2015 Crossroads Elevation Homestead Toy Hauler ("The Taj Mahauler") • Hooligan #3
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Dick_B
Palos Heights, IL USA
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Just noticed several `plug in' ceramic heaters on Amazon for under $30. Don't know if they will do the job for you but may be part of the conversation.
Those natural gas heaters will heat the whole neighborhood :-)
Dick_B
2003 SunnyBrook 27FKS
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Lantley
Ellicott City, Maryland
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I think any 1500 watt electric space heater will keep the area above freezing.
It won't be toasty warm but it will be above 32ºF
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d1h
Indiana
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How about a ductless mini split system.
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joebedford
Seriously thinking about heading home soon.
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Joined: 09/03/2003
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You talking about an RV garage (i.e. toy hauler) or a big room where you store the RV?
There aren't any water lines in my RV garage but I put a small heater in it because WE'RE in there in the winter.
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