Water in winter

[Dachristianman]

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?

[rgatijnet1]

As long as we keep the fresh water tank filled to from 3/4 to a full tank, we have had no problem with freezing down to -5. We keep a 100 watt bulb burning in the wet compartment on a thermostat controlled outlet, which keeps the water lines and pump from freezing.
As far as the waste tanks go, we have never added anything to them other than the waste. Never had on freeze up since we are constantly adding fresh "waste" to each tank. When they get full, we hook up and drain the tanks rather than to keep our sewer hose connected at all times.
We very seldom run our furnace since we have other heaters to warm the coach when hooked up to shore power.

[Lobstah]

booty51 wrote:
I pour rum in my water fresh water tank lowers the freezing point! SSSHHH! don't tell my wife!

Friend of mine uses the cheapest vodka he can find on sale...usually Poland Springs vodka, around $6.99/half gallon on sale.

He claims he could still taste antifreeze in his lines after several rinse-outs.

I'm pretty sure he just likes his vodka 😉

Jim

[booty51]

I pour rum in my water fresh water tank lowers the freezing point! SSSHHH! don't tell my wife!

[Hikerdogs]

Flyfisherman128 wrote:

bakstrap wrote:

I flush with windshield washer fluid, much cheaper than rv antifreeze


Seriously? How much are you saving to potentially disrupt someone's septic? A few bucks?

Seriously, Windshield wash $1.89/ gallon and antifreeze $2.94/ Gallon..how many gallons do you use?

Not only that, windshield washer fluid contains toxic chemicals such as methanol and ethylene glycol.

Windshield washer fluid ingredients

RV/Marine Antifreeze is potable. Meaning you can ingest it without having any health hazards

[BobR]

I too have an exposed black tank. I have camped in temps in the mid teens without freeze up. I believe the heat loss from interior keeps the tank from freezing when stationary and movement of the liquid prevents freezing when in transit. As an additional precaution, don't let the tank get more than 1/2 full. That way if it were to freeze, the liquid has room to expand without damaging the tank. I do run the water heater for about 30 minutes before bed and it is still warm in the morning.

[JimM68]

We have light bulbs plugged into thermocubes in both sides of the tank bay, the bay where the whole house filter is, and the back of the fridge.
The monaco wet bay heater is also on.
Both furnaces are set at 42 degrees.
Water heater is on electric.

So far no problems. Fridge door water froze at first, but thawed after I put a 150w light buld behind the fridge.

[sowego]

If the outdoor temp will drop to below freezing and remain there &/or get colder furnace air pumped into the bays will help but will not prevent freezing if the temps drop below 10, especially if there will be high winds.

"Know" what the temp is in your water bays instead of guessing. Buy a remote temp sensor (we have a small weather station unit) so you can tell when the pump and lines are vulnerable. When we had temps drop below about 20 and stay there we put a 60 incandescent bulb in the water bay and with our temp sensor could see that the pump and lines stayed above freezing. We never had the tanks freeze solid even down to sub-zero.

Tanks aren't really the biggest worry because if they are 1/2 to 3/4 full they will remain more fluid longer than exposed lines or the pump. But if you allow any of the tanks to get lower they may freeze quicker. You can add RV antifreeze to your waste tanks but of course the fresh tank is the one you cannot amend.

So it will entirely depend at what temp you will be traveling.

[Flyfisherman128]

bakstrap wrote:

I flush with windshield washer fluid, much cheaper than rv antifreeze


Seriously? How much are you saving to potentially disrupt someone's septic? A few bucks?

Seriously, Windshield wash $1.89/ gallon and antifreeze $2.94/ Gallon..how many gallons do you use?

[Effy]

bakstrap wrote:
I flush with windshield washer fluid, much cheaper than rv antifreeze

Seriously? How much are you saving to potentially disrupt someone's septic? A few bucks?

[JTHarley]

If you don't have tank heaters then I would suggest a small cube heater in the bay and or a 100 watt light bulb just to keep it from freezing.

[J-Rooster]

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!

[gswcgi]

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.

[bakstrap]

I flush with windshield washer fluid, much cheaper than rv antifreeze

[WyoTraveler]

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.