Forum Discussion

Dachristianman's avatar
Nov 26, 2013

Water in winter

What does one do about waste water in freezing weather? We're planning on taking the RV on a trip, but I'm not sure about fresh water and black water in this winter weather. I'll be in the RV the entire time, so the inside will be warm, but my black tank is under the RV. What's the right answer?
  • My coach is all basement heated so I don't have to worry about that! There have been posters in the past that said just using a string of Christmas lights around there tanks was enough to stop them from freezing!
  • one of my bays has a 100 gallon water tank and the bay next to it has a large opening with the 65 gallon black and 65 gallon grey tanks. I plug a small 120 volt heater into one of the temperature activated plugs which activate the heater when the temp in the bays gets down to 35 degrees. I have been in temps down to 10 degrees for 2/3 days and never had any freezing problems.It doesn't matter whether I am plugged in or on the generator. If I am plugged into a campground using pole power then I run a separate power line from the pole power stanchion to reduce the load in the RV because I run other 1,500 watt heaters.
  • I flush with windshield washer fluid, much cheaper than rv antifreeze
  • I can only speak of my experience in cold country. I winterize when the temp drops below 10 degrees while on the road. I blow out my lines with a portable air compressor and drain all tanks. I use RV antifreeze to flush toilet and bottled water to wash and cook with. As water goes into grey tank I add RV antifreeze although I realize tanks are heated and I am reasonably safe. Blowing out lines only takes a few min. Since I don't use pink stuff I can dewinterize within minutes. You just have to be flexible and act accordingly. I have a temp monitor in my wet bay. However, my ice maker line is out in the open. Just look at your RV and decide what may be a problem in freezing weather.