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Freezing temperatures

Yahoo Message Number: 114567
Hi all
I am at a campground in Nashville. Temps are at or below freezing overnight and I do have water in my lines and water heater. I have drained both fresh and gray water tanks and black is probably 1/4 full. I have disconnected my incoming water line and opened faucets to drain as much water out of the lines as possible. I am sure water is still in lines to the washer. Short of fully winterizing the coach for a few days, any other suggestions or precautions I can take to protect the water lines during this cold snap? Thank you for any assistance!

Steve
2000 Intrigue
#11168

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114568
We had our 06 Inspire at a campground in Oklahoma City for the winter a few years ago, and it was below freezing several days in a row at night and warm up to above freezing daytime. Folks there gave me pointers. Kept a trouble light on in the water bay w a 25 watt bulb. Back furnace keeps basement where tanks are above freezing and water lines should be ok because heat in coach keeps them from freezing. Because we lived in the coach, it was suggested to buy a heating wire w its own thermostat plugged in at pedestal and wrapped around normal water drinking hose and insulated that hose and electric wire by putting a polyurethane foam tube coveting water hose and electric wire. Then I wrapped a silver reflecting tape around that and around water pedestal. It worked great. Hope this helps you.
Mike Frederick
06 Inspire 51784

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114569
Steve,

We are new to full timing, but encountered temps as low as 5 degrees in Oklahoma late last fall. We have a "heated" plumbing bay, but put a $12 heater from Home Depot inside the plumbing bay anyway. Also bought a wireless temp gauge and it allows us to see the actual temp there. We also kept the door to our washer/dryer compartment open so the coach temp helped keep it warmer than usual. Of course, we bought some heated water hoses from Camping World that worked great...a tad pricey, but they did the job for sure. I had some of those "swim tubes" we put on the slideouts to keep from bumping my head/back...used this as insulators around the hoses too. If I had to drain either the gray or black, I made sure they were completely empty so they wouldn't freeze up. I also bought a 25' heat tape from Home Depot and wrapped that around the water connections....no issues!

Hope this helps,

Gary 2008 CC Inspire 360

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114573
Great tips already sent your way. If you have slides, pulling in the front slide will help on keeping the inside of the coach warm. If you're on LP for a heat furnace, try to get that topped off. Two 1500W furnaces can also be used to keep the inside warm. If you have any concerns about water in the lines to the kitchen/shower/bathroom sinks - keep those doors cracked opened along with the laundry cabinet. If you have an ice maker, I've seem some people add the 25W bulb to the back of the fridge area too.

All that being said, these coaches are built pretty dang well for cold weather duty. With some normal precautions, and redundancy in case of power failure, you should do fine for a few nights of freezing temps.

Best to you,
Smitty
04 Allure Sold to a nice new owner! Now enjoying a 07 Magna Rembrandt 45' ISX600 #6775
"We're ONDROAD for THEJRNY!" (Toad and Coach license plates, say Hi if you see us!)

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114574
Just checked the temperature forecast for Nashville. You have nothing to worry about. Even if the temperature does dip below freezing for a few hours the mass of your coach, and the existing water in the tanks, will keep any water lines or tanks from freezing. Hook everything back up, enjoy your stay. (I am a retired plumber....... from experience I know it takes temperatures well below freezing, and a constant penetrating wind, to cause pipes to freeze inside a structure of any kind that, by it's mass, keeps temperatures inside above freezing for several hours.)

Don VA
2006 Magna Rembrandt #6523

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114576
Thank you all very much for the tips! What a fantastic group of people and experts!

Steve
2000 Intrigue
#11168

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114584
I'm not sure exactly what type of furnace/heater you have. Your basement *may* be heated by the same system that heats your coach. That said, if the temps are just "dipping" into the 30's, you should be alright. Your biggest risk are any water lines that are close to the outside. The water lines in your service bay and especially, your ice maker water line that is accessible from the outside of the coach. We do not even have our icemaker hooked up for that reason.

Jim and Jona Seifert

2007 Country Coach Intrigue Ovation 530 42'
Coach #12150
525 Cat C13 Allison 6spd
Toads: 2014 Ford F150 / 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser w/ REMCO DS Disconnect.
Airforce 1 Brake system
Blue Ox Aventa II Towbar

Jim and Jona Seifert
2007 Intrigue 530

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114590
I have been told by dealers that unless you are expecting temperature's below 27 degrees for four or more nights .you don't have any thing to worry about. Put some water in your FW tank if you need water then unhook your hose and drain the water out of it (if possible) aThat is the only problem I have had has been the hose freezing up.

On Monday, April 9, 2018 11:02 AM, "Jim Seifert jim.jona.seifert@... [Country-Coach-Owners]"  wrote:

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114605
I appreciate all the advise and it seems temperatures are dipping into the 20's for a few nights and not over a long period of time so hopefully all is good.
I do have a hurricane furnace that also heats the basement. I ran it one night and the next morning it was only blowing cool air, so I now have another project. The furnace is also making a loud chattering noise. If anyone has had experiences similar to this with their furnace, I appreciate any insight you can share on the fix.

Steve
2000 Intrigue
#11168

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114608
your h.heater makes a noise when it runs out of propane, you are out of propane, i think.
              "rooster"

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114622
Steve,

I've had the same problem. The fuel lines for the hurricane heater in my 2000 Intrigue are slowly deteriorating and cause the fuel filter on the hurricane to clog. Try changing the filter and make sure there's no air in the filter.

Steve Harrison
2000 INTRIGUE 11125

On Wednesday, April 11, 2018 10:46 PM, "Steve journey.2009@... [Country-Coach-Owners]"  wrote:
 

Re: Freezing temperatures

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114633
Hi Steve,
Thanks for the info. Did you replace the filter yourself? If so, where did you order the filter from? I haven't located any shut off valves on the fuel line, so when you remove the old filter, how did you stop the fuel spillage? How did you assure the air was out of the new filter.....with the bleed valve? I am also seeing some smoke coming out of the exhaust and according to the troubleshooting section