Hey there, newbie to forum and to the full-time camper life ... so please be gentle!The camper ...Bought a 2013 Keystone Cougar 30FVK, enclosed tanks and such. This month we've been setup outside of Columbus, Ohio - where the last few days have seen some SERIOUS cold temperatures ... (especially compared to our hometown of Newton, Mississippi) ... Looking forward to getting down to Texas this weekend!The problem ...I've got our water hose setup for cold temps - heat tape, insulation, pipe insulation, so I'm getting a fine water supply from that hose. (No problem here) The day before last I filled up the freshwater tank and tried to pull some water from that tank. You can hear the water pump running (it's got a steady "burrrrrr" sound - I'm sure that's the technical term) however, when I open the faucets/toilet/etc no water comes out ... if I switch back over to my self-created heated water hose, water supply is fine.SOOOO YEAH, never had a problem the last few months getting water from the fresh water tank ... weird.Here's what I've checked so far ...- Power levels (based off the manual that came with camper) are fine- Water supply in tank is "full", I made sure I wasn't filling it with the drain open- Checked basic wires to/from the pump to make sure I didn't catch a hitchhiker (mouse) and it didn't chew through the wiresHaving said all that ...Is it possible that the supply line from TANK -> PUMP is frozen? If that's the case, is this something to worry about, a way to "alleviate" the problem? Or is there another culprit that might be causing a problem...?I've checked the forum for about the last day for this specific problem, but couldn't find one exactly like this, so I'm kind of concerned and interested to see what you think! Being a newbie I'm all ears and ready to learn ... soooo let me have it!

You might try draining the tank. If nothing comes out it is more than likely frozen. Eliminate that possibility first.

bob213 wrote:You might try draining the tank. If nothing comes out it is more than likely frozen. Eliminate that possibility first.bob213 - good idea, never thought of eliminating that (we often overlook the simple things) ... just got under the camper, and turned the plug ... flowing fine out of the spout, no hesitation in flow, so it's not frozen.

Hi,It is entirely possible for the supply hose from the tank to the pump is frozen.

pianotuna wrote:Hi,It is entirely possible for the supply hose from the tank to the pump is frozen.I figured this could be a possibility ... but didn't want to admit "defeat" over the winter weather. Is there a simple way to know if this is in fact the problem, or a simple resolution? Or just is this just a waiting game for time being and have to wait for it to thaw out?

jburkett84 Are you running your gas furnace? If you are not then it is quite possible that that line is frozen. The furnace usually has a duct that puts heat into the belly of the camper to help eliminate water lines and tanks from freezing. You might try turning up the thermostat on the furnace and running it for a while. This may help thaw if that is your problem. Hope this helps. Tim

Freshwater is full, but might as well be empty....?!?!

wmoses
Explorer
Nov 30, 2013
westend wrote:
Any chance you can put a lamp inside the space with the pump? Even a 40w bulb puts out a good bit of heat.

That may indeed be a solution. I did go to WallyWorld and purchased a cheap $15 heater for that compartment but the only AC outlet in the compartment is used by the hot water tank (I expect the electric heating element) so I will need to see how much "reserve" draw that circuit can handle, but I did not even have a splitter to try.

Of course I could disconnect the hot water tank overnight as we don't need hot water when sleeping. :) Then the outlet will be purely used by the heater. That is the likely final solution. If the fan noise from the heater is too much I will get a light, but I won't know any of that until the next winter trip.
wmoses
Explorer
Nov 30, 2013
06Fargo wrote:
It only takes about 1/4 inch of ice to form a plug in a line that 50 psi of pressure won't move.

Ain't that the truth ....
wmoses
Explorer
Nov 30, 2013
jburkett84 wrote:
Good luck! This was just a reminder to me that Mother Nature is boss, and we can only do so much to prepare for "the worst" ... Hopefully you come out of it without any frozen pipes!

Yes I did, thank you. The last night was not supposed to go down to freezing so I left the white hose connected and the kitchen faucet dripping slowly. Woke up to 34 deg.F outside and no dripping. Turned on the faucet and there was an initial trickle of water in the pipes before the flow stopped. So I turned on the pump and used water from the on-board tank. Then when the temp warmed to about 37 deg.F the water flow in the white hose started back.

All in all it was a great trip as it is the first time we were out in multi night freezing conditions. The RV performed like a champ and the hot water on electric only was always hot and the cold water was always liquid. ;)
nomad297
Explorer
Nov 30, 2013
Mike Up wrote:

The salesman probably doesn't know and did his best. There's check valves to keep the water from going out the city connection when the pump is used, and a check valve to keep City water from going to the tank.

If they are both operated at the same time, the higher pressure source will dictate the flow path.

Exactly correct.

Bruce
Mike_Up
Explorer
Nov 29, 2013
Arcamper wrote:
Yardvarkers wrote:
I don't know how other travel trailers are set up, but when I'm hooked up to campground water supply my water pump will not operate. I've been told that it will the choose the CG hook up.

:h

That would mean there has to be a pressure switch built into the freshwater connection and the water pump circuit tied to it. Never seen such on any trailer I have owned or worked on. Must be some out there though. Learn something new everyday I guess.

The salesman probably doesn't know and did his best. There's check valves to keep the water from going out the city connection when the pump is used, and a check valve to keep City water from going to the tank.

If they are both operated at the same time, the higher pressure source will dictate the flow path.
jburkett84
Explorer
Nov 27, 2013
CavemanCharlie wrote:
jburkett84 wrote:
CavemanCharlie wrote:
jburkett84 wrote:
ALRIGHT ... SO I KNOW EVERYONE HAS BEEN ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS...

Here's what I know ...

I'm now pulling water from the tank. I turned my water connection off, have my pump on and water is flowing out of all the faucets, toilet, etc.

Here's all I did ...

Put a space heater near the water pump to circulate the heat around the pump

What was the problem ...

Well I don't know. Something was frozen. I don't know if it was the pump, the pipes, what...but something was frozen. And the resolution was as simple as placing the space heater in front of the pump (after removing the panel) and getting some heat to it.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED ME RESOLVE THIS HICCUP!

Be safe and see you on the road!

That's a different pump then I have and it's hard to tell in the picture. But, is there a filter/screen in the line right before the pump? If so I bet that was your culprit.

There is a screen right before the pump, it's on the backside, you've almost got to have your head in the cabinet to see it. I'm it was definitely something simple such as that...screen, filter, tubing.

Hopefully this thread can help others in the future too!

That's what I was thinking. We have them in some farm applications. That is a really fine mesh screen under that little cap. It would not take much to plug it. When you know your going camping in this cold of weather maybe you could remove the screen. If you keep your tank clean and sanitized it's kinda overkill anyway. If you still feel the need to filter the water maybe you could put one of those Brita Filters on your kitchen faucet.

I will look when we get to Texas as how easy (or not) it would be for me to reach and remove that screen, although, I hope we will never have to camp in this cold weather again.

We are heading to Texas tomorrow morning, so tonight I'm going to leave the doors to the closet (which is above and in the same cabinet space as the pump) open and run my heat a bit higher (since it's supposed to drop to 17 degrees) and keep the space heater circulating back there too.

We need that pump to be working for sure tomorrow and Friday while driving! Although, I'm sure it will warm up once we get outta this region and would thaw on its own, minor risking it!
Arcamper
Explorer
Nov 27, 2013
Yardvarkers wrote:
I don't know how other travel trailers are set up, but when I'm hooked up to campground water supply my water pump will not operate. I've been told that it will the choose the CG hook up.

:h

That would mean there has to be a pressure switch built into the freshwater connection and the water pump circuit tied to it. Never seen such on any trailer I have owned or worked on. Must be some out there though. Learn something new everyday I guess.
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Nov 27, 2013
jburkett84 wrote:
CavemanCharlie wrote:
jburkett84 wrote:
ALRIGHT ... SO I KNOW EVERYONE HAS BEEN ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS...

Here's what I know ...

I'm now pulling water from the tank. I turned my water connection off, have my pump on and water is flowing out of all the faucets, toilet, etc.

Here's all I did ...

Put a space heater near the water pump to circulate the heat around the pump

What was the problem ...

Well I don't know. Something was frozen. I don't know if it was the pump, the pipes, what...but something was frozen. And the resolution was as simple as placing the space heater in front of the pump (after removing the panel) and getting some heat to it.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED ME RESOLVE THIS HICCUP!

Be safe and see you on the road!

That's a different pump then I have and it's hard to tell in the picture. But, is there a filter/screen in the line right before the pump? If so I bet that was your culprit.

There is a screen right before the pump, it's on the backside, you've almost got to have your head in the cabinet to see it. I'm it was definitely something simple such as that...screen, filter, tubing.

Hopefully this thread can help others in the future too!

That's what I was thinking. We have them in some farm applications. That is a really fine mesh screen under that little cap. It would not take much to plug it. When you know your going camping in this cold of weather maybe you could remove the screen. If you keep your tank clean and sanitized it's kinda overkill anyway. If you still feel the need to filter the water maybe you could put one of those Brita Filters on your kitchen faucet.
Yardvarkers
Explorer
Nov 27, 2013
I don't know how other travel trailers are set up, but when I'm hooked up to campground water supply my water pump will not operate. I've been told that it will the choose the CG hook up.

:h
westend
Explorer
Nov 27, 2013
wmoses wrote:
Good to hear you resolved the issue.

I am expecting cold temps tonight and my pump is in an unheated compartment under my bed. Temps in the RV will be around 60 deg.F with the furnace and electric heater on but there will be no space heater in the pump compartment. Last night it was not expected to get to freezing so I did not disconnect the water hose but left the kitchen faucet dripping just in case. Tonight I will likely disconnect the water hose and use the on-board FW and pump. Will report back if there is a freeze up.
Any chance you can put a lamp inside the space with the pump? Even a 40w bulb puts out a good bit of heat.

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