Water Tanks below 32 degrees

rjgors

We are going to do some Fall camping this weekend at North Higgins Lake and tomorrow night is suppose to go down to 30 degrees. I currently have 2/3 tank of fresh water and was wondering what to do. Should I empty it for one night and refill it in the morning? Should I not worry about it being that low for a night, with the next night being above 32 degrees?

DurangoTaB

Since we have a 2014/15 320S our humble 5gal water tank is inside...if I were you I’d drain the tank just to be safe.  Frozen/burst lines can be ugly...”an ounce of prevention”.  It’ll be interesting to hear what other outside/11-gal owners advise.

Sharon_is_SAM

It takes a considerable time for many gallons of water to freeze.  Roscommon, Michigan on Weatherbug looks like it will stay above freezing.  If it only dips below freezing for a short time, you will be fine.  

We were out in Utah this past spring at elevation and had several nights of temperatures dipping down to the high 20s.  It was not sustained temperatures.  We kept the heat on, the bathroom door and cabinet doors open and put some antifreeze in the P-traps and down to the waste tank valves, just in case.  The CS plumbing line runs are all in heated spaces, with the exception of the main supply from the fresh tank to the pump running under the floor above the black, corrugated undercover.

rjgors

Thanks Sharon!

rjgors

DurangoTaB said:

Since we have a 2014/15 320S our humble 5gal water tank is inside...if I were you I’d drain the tank just to be safe.  Frozen/burst lines can be ugly...”an ounce of prevention”.  It’ll be interesting to hear what other outside/11-gal owners advise.

Thanks Durango!

NorthIsUp

For the past few weeks it has dipped below 32 at night to a low of about 26 where I live. It averages about 30 at night for the past several weeks. I do have the T@B heated inside to about 68 degrees at all times, and haven't had a problem with water. I'm going to winterize fully this weekend.

The bottom line is that I think you're fine, as long as it gets into the 40's or higher during the day, as it does by me. 

ChanW

Yup. Somehow it's that time of year again.... drat.

rjgors

This past weekend it did get down to 31 degrees, but only a short period of time. So we had no issues with the water in the T@B. Thanks for all the input.

ChanW

Uh oh. I guess I better get to it. It got down to 31° last night...

ericnliz

@ChanW, Sooo...You're havin' a heat wave? It's been like that here for the past week & a half!

ScottG

Doh! That's lookin' a little too familiar!

ChanW

Hmmm! Maybe I've been sitting around the coffee cup too late in the morning to catch it!

The dog hasn't wanted to go out in the morning for a few days now. Maybe that's a sign!

dsfdogs

@rjgors I was camping last weekend  when nighttime lows were in the mid 20's. I learned to detach the water hose. I filled my tank to 100%. I do as Sharon indicated: bathroom door open, I unlatched the pump door so it hung open maybe an inch, and the two cupboards below the sink slightly propped open. Also as I was up a couple times during the night, ran some water. I set the Alde to 65. 

I've camped when the temp only hit high 20's and low 30's for a few hours and the dogs outside water bowl didn't even freeze.

Have fun!

Fergie

Here in south central Alaska (Palmer in the Mat-Su Valley) we are having a heat wave! Most lows in the high 30's or low 40's and temps up to the high 50's! WeatherBell, a forecasting company that services farms and industry, predicts a warmer than normal Alaska and Northwest US winter with the rest of the country having a snowier and colder than normal winter. This also lines up with the Farmer's Almanac.

For you folks on the east coast, plan your winter vacation in Alaska!

(Disclosure: I still have our T@B well winterized and will cover it soon!)

Fergie