Will my pipes freeze?

[darin338]

Tonight where I'm at the temperature will be 27 degrees outside from 2am to 8am. My motorhome is in storage, no heat force just outside.

Do you think 27 degrees for 6 hours is long enough to freeze my pipes.

Thanks!

[frankdamp]

For 30-minutes work with an air compressor and a quart or so of pink stuff, you wouldn't need to worry about it. To be technical, the pipes don't freeze - PEX is solid at regular atmospheric temps. It's the water that freezes, and unfortunately, between +4C and 0 degrees C it expands, causing the pipes to burst.

[daveB110]

Maybe your coach will survive tonight. But winter's coming on so you'll be getting colder. Time to do something about winterizing. Lots of good advice about that on these forums. Best of luck!

[darin338]

Pipes did not freeze and it actually was down to 24 over the night in question. I got her winterized now. When I got up the next morning it was reading 25 degrees, but I noticed the water puddles on the ground were not even froze, so I knew I was good. 🙂 Did some research and generally without wind chill, it would need to be 21 degrees for 10 hours or more to really present a chance of freezing pipes inside a stored RV.

[DailyDriver]

It would be good to hear from the OP as to how he fared overnight. I've had RV's in the desert for more than 10 years now. While it rarely gets very cold, usually it gets below freezing at least once a year. I've had one 1/2" line freeze when it got down to 26 degrees. That line was in the outside compartment near where the water inlet is located.

I also had the icemaker polyflow line freeze up once when it got down to 27 degrees. I've found that the outside compartments gain protection if you stuff rags in any vent louvers, plug openings for hoses, etc. I keep indoor/outdoor thermometers in outside compartments and inside the coach so I always know EXACTLY what is going on.

Potential damage is largely dependent on size of water line and how long the temperature stays 5-6 degrees below freezing. You definitely CAN freeze a water line solid enough to rupture it if the temp stays below 27 deg for more than just a couple of hours!

[ocean_bound]

you will be fine as long as day time temp stays warm 50 or more

[kjburns]

The problem isn't freezing, it's the hard freeze that will damage pipes. I think you're okay at 27°F. The water in the freezer analogy doesn't work since freezers are normally set at 0°F.

If your 27°F forecast isn't accurate for that location then you could have a problem. I've seen variations of 10° in weather stations around here. The forecast you see is probably at the airport. It could be colder where you're storing your motorhome.

Weather Underground has a map that switches from radar to cloud cover (satellite) to weather stations. You might check it out to get a feel for how temperatures are running near the storage lot. Look at their "Wundermap".

[J-Rooster]

Around 8 years ago I forgot to add antifreeze and I was away from home for a day. My coach was outside, but plugged in and it got down 25* and I lucked out nothing froze! I put the pink stuff in the next a.m.

[hipower]

Cold as heck the last couple days here in West central PA. Projected to get into the teens last night and we have been preparing to leave for warmer places as soon as our new tires are installed on Friday.

Water in the coach and heat was off. Went out last evening and checked on it. 26 degrees outside and 36 inside. Started up the furnace and it ran for about 3 hours to bring the coach and bays up to 50 inside the coach. I'll just leave heat on until we leave and use it as needed while we travel to keep the bays above freezing if needed.

Concerns about freezing lines while traveling are probably overstated. We traveled to football games for years, a little over 100 miles each way and sat in the cold weather while tailgating and attending the games. Some very cold weather and no freeze problems. Many days that would be over 12 hours and we never experienced freezing issues. Maybe our experience was not typical, but we didn't think so at the time.

[jhilley]

schlep1967 wrote:
Well.....last night is over. Did it freeze? I would suggest the first time you decide to use it you use the on board water pump. Run some water through the lines to ensure any ice is out of them and then shut the sinks off and wait and listen. If the pump runs within 30 minutes, it froze and something is leaking. Fix the leak and winterize.

I would add to that, bring up the temperature in the motor home before turning on the pump. I suspect it must be in the 50's there today, so just bring the inside up to 45 or 50 degrees.

[schlep1967]

Well.....last night is over. Did it freeze? I would suggest the first time you decide to use it you use the on board water pump. Run some water through the lines to ensure any ice is out of them and then shut the sinks off and wait and listen. If the pump runs within 30 minutes, it froze and something is leaking. Fix the leak and winterize.

[Two_Jayhawks]

jhilley wrote:
The coach usually retains enough heat so that 27 degrees over night doesn't pose a problem. I would drain and blow out as soon as possible though.

X2

[LoudDog]

Lots of math involved. How warm it got during the day and if it was sitting in the sun would be important to know too. 27 is probably borderline. i froze the hose outside at 27 once, but the next night I let the sink drip and it didn't freeze.

I'd winterize just to be safe.

[webhannet]

A supply hose in outside conditions could freeze in under an hour. The inside areas of a coach take much longer. The pipes inside, depending on what type you have, can freeze, expand, and return to normal after freezing - IF YOU'RE LUCKY. Replacing frozen pipes and fittings wherever the freeze MAY require removel of wall panels etc. - there's no reason to allow this. Never leave the water on to the coach - don't rely on ANY system to keep the coach heated. If it isn't winterized, check to be sure it is heated. Pour antifreeze into drains and traps - a frozen trap can leave a slow leak which will cause a lot of damage over time. I once had to remove almost the entire bathroom to access the tub drain system - no fun!

I would always heat my coach while it waited to go to warmer areas. I felt it was worth the utllity coast vs. the cost to winterize. I kept a freeze alarm light in the window for ocasional checks.

[jhilley]

The coach usually retains enough heat so that 27 degrees over night doesn't pose a problem. I would drain and blow out as soon as possible though.