Sometimes Being an RV'er Just Sucks

terry and jo · 02-17-2021, 04:28 PM

A fellow just can't carry a big enough shovel to take care of accumulations of snow...

...I think @Cummins12V98 would appreciate this one.

On February 15, our cold weather and first snow started. Low temps that morning was about minus 7 degrees. At 4:55 am while up to go to the restroom, we had water. At about 7:00 am when we got up, we had nothing. In the past, we experienced low temperatures as low as minus 6 degrees, but no real chill factor. On those occasions, only the hot water line from the water manifold to the kitchen sink froze up. This time, all water was gone.

We bumped up the thermostat settings to our two furnaces and even added a small electric heater to the basement. In spite of temps in the underbelly of 47 degrees, we never thawed out. Thus, I began to suspect that our outside supply water hoses froze up, in spite of them being heat-taped and with two layers of foam tube insulation around them. The afternoon of the 16th, we went into town to spend the night at our youngest son's new-to-him house. We really wanted showers, I really wanted to shave, and we needed to see if his house had any freezing issues with such cold weather. The house was fine, the showers felt good, and this morning, I felt human again after shaving.

After returning to the RV the afternoon of the 17th (today) we discovered that our water was back. Apparently, even though the temps outside still aren't above freezing, the heat tapes did their job of thawing out the water supply hoses. I went out a while later to check to see if there were any leaks at the hoses or anywhere under the RV, and all is good there as well.

All I can say is that God takes care of old fools.

Terry

TaoJones · 02-17-2021, 06:38 PM

In my experience, having full-timed through several winters in Montrose, Colorado since about 2012, I can confidently say that a heat-wrapped supply hose that does not lose electric power will never freeze. On those occasions where I've had no running water on first rising, the issue has always been either where the supply hose connects to the RV (a brass 90° elbow, in my case, that I've sometimes done a less-than-adequate job of insulating) or, the park's supply hydrant.

If the hydrant is not properly insulated and/or heat-wrapped and properly powered, a frozen plug will form in that on/off valve. It can be thawed by applying heat from a heat gun directly to the valve, or if the daytime high gets even up into the mid-20°s, Mother Nature can thaw it to the point where the pressure behind the frozen plug will push it into the heat-wrapped supply hose where it will quickly dissipate.

For a frozen plug inside my 90° brass elbow, I simply turn off the water at the hydrant, disconnect the hose from the elbow, remove the elbow from the city water inlet on the RV and take it inside where boiling water applied to it in the kitchen sink quickly thaws the frozen plug. When I reassemble the elbow and supply hose, I do a much more attentive job of insulating the elbow.

There are those who maintain that leaving a slow drip coming from a faucet will prevent the formation of any ice plugs in the fresh water supply system. In those places where it doesn't really get very cold, or doesn't go below freezing for very long, that theory works . . . but wastes water. In places where life-threatening cold snaps are not an unexpected occurance, it will only work up to a point. Then the supply will freeze up regardless unless the faucet is opened more than just a slow drip.

As a child of the western US, just the thought of wasting water for any reason is completely alien to my thinking. Please don't do it - because there are much better, less mindlessly wasteful, ways of coping with an interruption in the supply of fresh water caused by the formation of an ice plug somewhere in the system.

It doesn't take much of a frozen plug to develop in the water supply to stop the flow of fresh water, but it also doesn't take much effort to remedy the problem. Doing nothing to get water flowing again during a prolonged cold snap is asking for a problem that is much more difficult to rectify. Deal with the interruption quickly while the problem is still minor.

TJ

Cummins12V98 · 02-17-2021, 06:58 PM

I hate snow and cold.

TaoJones · 02-17-2021, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cummins12V98

I hate snow and cold.

Amen, brother! I'm 72 now, and though I was born in Colorado and loved the winter when I was a kid, I didn't have to get very old to notice that my enthusiasm for the cold and snow had markedly diminished.

TJ

Cummins12V98 · 02-18-2021, 10:58 AM

We have a beautiful place in NW WA that has everything we could ever want for beauty and recreation. BUT as we got older the weather became depressing with the cloudy dreary days and the cold so we stay away for around half the year in the SW.

terry and jo · 02-18-2021, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TaoJones

Amen, brother! I'm 72 now, and though I was born in Colorado and loved the winter when I was a kid, I didn't have to get very old to notice that my enthusiasm for the cold and snow had markedly diminished.

TJ

Well, I'm 74, and while I'm not crazy about the manual labor, I am still pretty capable of doing it. However, if it involves getting down on the floor or ground, then it takes a bit to get back up. We just finished fixing up a house that our youngest son is buying, and if I had to do anything at floor level, I kept a small step stool nearby that I could use to help me get up. It is only an 8" to 10" step, but it made a world of difference with getting up.

As for Colorado, I too love the state. We are familiar with the Montrose area (to some degree) because I used to have family that lived in Hotchkiss. After we retired, we spent 20 months in the Colorado Springs/Canon City area. In fact, we were in Mountaindale Cabins and RV Resort southwest of Colorado Springs for that whole period. It is right at the base of a mountain on the front range.

Terry

Buckshot · 02-19-2021, 06:57 PM

[QUOTE=terry and jo;31044]Well, I'm 74, and while I'm not crazy about the manual labor, I am still pretty capable of doing it. However, if it involves getting down on the floor or ground, then it takes a bit to get back up. We just finished fixing up a house that our youngest son is buying, and if I had to do anything at floor level, I kept a small step stool nearby that I could use to help me get up. It is only an 8" to 10" step, but it made a world of difference with getting up.

Need to get one of these:Product Image

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Average Rating

4.

out of 5 stars22ratings, based on22reviews

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terry and jo · 02-20-2021, 06:40 PM

[QUOTE=Buckshot;31047]

Quote:

Originally Posted by terry and jo

Well, I'm 74, and while I'm not crazy about the manual labor, I am still pretty capable of doing it. However, if it involves getting down on the floor or ground, then it takes a bit to get back up. We just finished fixing up a house that our youngest son is buying, and if I had to do anything at floor level, I kept a small step stool nearby that I could use to help me get up. It is only an 8" to 10" step, but it made a world of difference with getting up.

Need to get one of these:Product Image

Product TitleFoldable Gardening Kneeling Bench with2 Tool Pouches & Handles by Pure Garden

Average Rating

4.

out of 5 stars22ratings, based on22reviews

Current Price$29.95$29.95Free delivery on orders over $35

<li class="slider-slide" style="position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 231px; display: block; list-style-type: none; vertical-align: top; width: 100%; height: auto; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 14px auto;">

We are cheap...

Walmart Step Stool

Terry

penguin · 02-22-2021, 04:45 PM

HSN.com has these garden stools, two sizes, 24" and 33" wide, $19.95 & $29.95, respectively. I'm 84 and just ordered the 24"er. No side pouches on either of these but they don't help getting up anyway.

Eagle · 02-22-2021, 05:55 PM

Terry,

We had a similar situation where the hot in the kitchen was the only water frozen. All others hot and cold worked. Found that the kitchen was the bottom valve on the manifold and while all others went up and over the manifold, the kitchen hot went done and under the manifold where it rested on the frame. Put a 60 watt bulb with a reflector in that area and after making sure nothing was touching the reflector, other than the frame, turned it on. Had hot water in about two hours.

On a different note, I lost my cold water valve on the washing machine when I was away after I ran out of propane. Got caught in Texas and couldn’t make it back. Hoping damage is minimal. Probably about a gallon or two was leaking into the slide floor and worked it’s way out. Being frozen not much water made it through. Lesson learned on that one.