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lacossarnold's avatar
lacossarnold
Explorer
Dec 29, 2017

Dewinterizing question

Our dealer dropped off our RV at our campground (I’m still working on a fifth wheel hitch solution) in a supposedly winterized state. Wednesday I flushed using city water (long story but haven’t flushed the fresh water tank yet). At the start of the day, the kitchen faucet, like all other fixtures worked. By the time I thawed our the sewer dump and got the hot water heater going, the kitchen faucet had stopped working (hot or cold).

We have a heated insulated basement and we’d let that get a bit too cold so we fired up the furnace and added a space heater think just those two lines were frozen. We added a second space heater yesterday morning. It’s been over 70 in the basement for at least 24 hours but still no water to the kitchen sink.

What could be going on? This is a new to us 2015 Palomino Sabre 34 TBOC 5er. The kitchen faucet is one of those spring loaded ones that you can detach and use as a spray wand. It’s only about 8 ft from the bathroom that works fine. The basement has R14 + R14 radiant insulation.

Thank you,
Jason
  • pianotuna wrote:
    Hi,

    I tried a 1500 watt heater under the cabinets. The fresh water lines still froze up. Then moved to the window fans, to replace the cold air return grill. I've not had a freeze up since I did so.



    ^^ Cold weather expert here ^^

    Pay close attention to this guy's suggestions ;)
  • Hi,

    I tried a 1500 watt heater under the cabinets. The fresh water lines still froze up. Then moved to the window fans, to replace the cold air return grill. I've not had a freeze up since I did so.

  • It turns out it was frozen. Yesterday afternoon the hot water started working and then in the evening, the cold started. But both were frozen back up this morning. I’m guessing that there’s some combination of poor insulation and/or poor basement heat circulation somewhere along the kitchen plumbing path. :-(
  • 2X on the kitchen sink aerator, or in your case, the sprayer at the end of the hose. Take it clear off and see if that hose will spew water. If so, it's just the sprayer head that's clogged.

    I got tired of the aerator on my kitchen sink clogging up, so just removed it completely. Never had a problem again! I take mine off at home too!
  • Unscrew the faucet aerator. Many new units have debris in the lines and it will plug up the aerator. If you still do not have water then look for another cause.
  • Hi,

    Replace the cold air return grill for the furnace with twin window fans. That will send warm air through the duct work and may thaw out the frozen pipes. They are often routed at the very edge of the RV so they are susceptible to freezing.
  • DrewE wrote:
    Do you have water elsewhere in the RV? I would tend to suspect a more systemic problem, such as a valve in the wrong position or a frozen hose or something like that.

    (Is there a shutoff valve for the kitchen sink or on the faucet pull-out itself?)


    Everything works but the kitchen sink. There isn’t a shutoff underneath. Unfortunately, there’s no brand on it so I can’t google disassembly / repair instructions.
  • Do you have water elsewhere in the RV? I would tend to suspect a more systemic problem, such as a valve in the wrong position or a frozen hose or something like that.

    (Is there a shutoff valve for the kitchen sink or on the faucet pull-out itself?)