Winterizing An Already Frozen Truck Camper .... Doh!
I woke up in the middle of the night 2 nights ago (before the really cold polar vortex air descended) and had that sick feeling in my stomach. I forgot to winterize our truck camper (TC)! Next morning, I checked out the hot water heater and the water lines on our TC ... all frozen. The kitchen sink swivel spout also popped off and there was ice coming up from the middle of the stem. The frozen water had obviously swelled and forced the plastic spout off. Surprisingly, the threads and lock collar were not broken. Temps were about 20* F. Thank goodness the grey and black holding tanks were emptied after our last outing.
First, I removed the drain plug on the water heater. Solid ice inside. I turned the hot water heater on and I watched it carefully until it started to melt and drip outside. Didn't take long until all of the ice melted and the tank drained normally. Hard to say if there is any internal/line damage ... probably won't know until Spring when we "summerize".
Next, I decided to turn the furnace on over night to thaw the inside water lines. I opened the wet bathroom door to let warm air circulate inside the bathroom and I also opened the under sink cabinet door and hoped for the best. We have an "insulated/heated basement" in our TC and this allowed some warm air to heat the pipes underneath the floor. In the morning, the pipes I could see and access inside the TC seemed to be liquid (thawed).
I went to open the 3 drain valves (hot, cold and potable water tank) located underneath in the basement area. No go ... they were frozen. I put a small space heater in the basement cavity and let it run for about 3 hours. It did the trick as I could open the thawed drain valves and the water flowed out of the lines. Lastly, I pushed in the check valve on the city water connection and got a little water out of that line.
From there, I reattached the kitchen sink spout (simple matter of screwing back together the plastic bits) and I followed my normal winterizing procedure including by-passing the hot water heater. In the end, all lines were charged with "pink antifreeze" and best of all, no leaks visible anywhere ... inside or underneath the unit. We may have dodged a big and expensive bullet. Time will tell.
I thought I'd share this embarrassing story as there might be someone else who may benefit from my experience after making the same mistake.
First, I removed the drain plug on the water heater. Solid ice inside. I turned the hot water heater on and I watched it carefully until it started to melt and drip outside. Didn't take long until all of the ice melted and the tank drained normally. Hard to say if there is any internal/line damage ... probably won't know until Spring when we "summerize".
Next, I decided to turn the furnace on over night to thaw the inside water lines. I opened the wet bathroom door to let warm air circulate inside the bathroom and I also opened the under sink cabinet door and hoped for the best. We have an "insulated/heated basement" in our TC and this allowed some warm air to heat the pipes underneath the floor. In the morning, the pipes I could see and access inside the TC seemed to be liquid (thawed).
I went to open the 3 drain valves (hot, cold and potable water tank) located underneath in the basement area. No go ... they were frozen. I put a small space heater in the basement cavity and let it run for about 3 hours. It did the trick as I could open the thawed drain valves and the water flowed out of the lines. Lastly, I pushed in the check valve on the city water connection and got a little water out of that line.
From there, I reattached the kitchen sink spout (simple matter of screwing back together the plastic bits) and I followed my normal winterizing procedure including by-passing the hot water heater. In the end, all lines were charged with "pink antifreeze" and best of all, no leaks visible anywhere ... inside or underneath the unit. We may have dodged a big and expensive bullet. Time will tell.
I thought I'd share this embarrassing story as there might be someone else who may benefit from my experience after making the same mistake.
