Will it be apparent if I have frozen pipes?

If you had an inline regulator with a pressure gauge on it, I'm thinking if you pressurized the TT and shut off the hose at the supply end, you be able to see if it holds pressure.

Ruthless,
I don't recall how cold it was when the fittings did split. When I turned on my outside water supply I soon had water running out of the bottom of the trailer. Not to argue the point but I do believe the fittings will go before the pex line. First freeze took the fitting on the cold side, after repair and a short time later the fitting on the hot side split. After that I put a small towel inside the door covering the outside shower controls. Problem solved.

If you have water in your tank, just turn on the pump until it quits when it reaches the pressure, then wait and see if the pump comes back on soon. If it does, you have a leak somewhere or a drippy faucet.

Ruthless wrote:

Weldon wrote:
On some of the trailers is it true the fittings are designed to rupture before the water line? The fittings on the outside shower, split twice on my fifth wheel. That small plastic cover does not offer much protection from the cold.

How cold did it get for the fittings on the outside shower to freeze and rupture? Shouldn't I be able to tell if that has happened by a visual inspection?

Anything in the plumbing system is designed to hold a certain pressure. Nothing is designed to fail quicker or slower from freezing than another piece of the system.

Since I live in MN, and have a few years and freezing events under my belt, this is all just pretty much common sense. If you leave water in a pipe and there is no room for expansion and water is left to freeze in the pipe, it will expand and may rupture the pipe. The same holds true for fittings like 90's couplers, tees, etc.

PEX pipe is pretty forgiving about freezing and a light freeze or temporary cold night like someone may get in the Southeast, wouldn't be cause for alarm. I would think that if the system is drained, all will be good if it's just a temporary temperature dip.

If the OP is still teeth-gnashing about the possibility of a leak, pressurizing the system with air and observation will probably turn up any freeze problems, and straight away. Knowing how cold someone else's trailer endured is not going to be too relevant. I would put 50 psi of air into the system and see if it holds fairly well. Observe for the hiss or flow of air. After that, fill with liquid (antifreeze may be a good choice) and pressurize the system. Observe for leaks.

Weldon wrote:
On some of the trailers is it true the fittings are designed to rupture before the water line? The fittings on the outside shower, split twice on my fifth wheel. That small plastic cover does not offer much protection from the cold.

How cold did it get for the fittings on the outside shower to freeze and rupture? Shouldn't I be able to tell if that has happened by a visual inspection?

On some of the trailers is it true the fittings are designed to rupture before the water line? The fittings on the outside shower, split twice on my fifth wheel. That small plastic cover does not offer much protection from the cold.

I sometimes forget that some of my RV brethren have plastic faucets and shower valves, I have all metal ones. Yes, you could have a cracked shower valve that has only cracked along a mating surface and that will probably drip rather than flow a lot. The chances of that are very small, however. I would assume, given any unknown previous circumstances, the valve cracked due to other circumstance, like over tightening. Freezing usually gets the pipe or fitting that is most exposed to the weather. Depending on temps, there may be multiples.

If ruthless is losing sleep, the way to get good rest is to pressure test the system. If you use air and have a leak, there will be less mess.

Lynnmor wrote:

westend wrote:
A frozen pipe or fitting that has burst from freezing will be readily apparent. They don't just drip or seep unless there is still ice in the pipe, they will gush or spray water.

I bought a used trailer, that wasn't winterized properly, that had a cracked shower valve. That valve leaked very slowly with the water dripping inside the wall and onto the converter. Freeze damage can anything from minor to major. In this case, a very minor leak with major potential issues.

That's what I'm concerned about. A minor leak that I can't detect.

westend wrote:
A frozen pipe or fitting that has burst from freezing will be readily apparent. They don't just drip or seep unless there is still ice in the pipe, they will gush or spray water.

I bought a used trailer, that wasn't winterized properly, that had a cracked shower valve. That valve leaked very slowly with the water dripping inside the wall and onto the converter. Freeze damage can anything from minor to major. In this case, a very minor leak with major potential issues.

A frozen pipe or fitting that has burst from freezing will be readily apparent. They don't just drip or seep unless there is still ice in the pipe, they will gush or spray water.