Visit our Popular Forums

tifspiff9 · 01-08-2015, 08:56 PM

Hello All,

We've been full-time in our Airstream for one week today! We've achieved the dream of a lifetime! However, being in Missouri in these terribly low temps has been quite a challenge for us. Our current spot has a broken spigot so we've been using our fresh water tank for water. We also assumed this would be best for the freezing temps as well. We had water for two days until last night. Then things got crazy. Last night during dinner, the water pump started getting loud and then wouldn't shut off. Now, we have no water from the fresh water tank at all.

We've been all over the forum trying to diagnose the problem. We've filled the fresh water tank to capacity. We've unhooked the tank from the water pump and pumped using a short hose into a bucket and the water pump worked so we know it's not the water pump. We've checked the filter at the pump and seems ok. There is a possibility we're frozen somewhere from the tank to the pump but we can't seem to figure out how to access anything to check.

We currently have our Dyson heater blowing into the cabinetry with all of the drawers out and cabinets open. Still no water.... We are completely stumped at this point. Any help is greatly appreciated! This site has been so great in keeping us knowledgable and motivated.

Thank you in advance.

Tiffany

cwf · 01-08-2015, 09:00 PM

Have you tried opening all the faucets to see if the pump will lift the water?

tifspiff9 · 01-08-2015, 09:05 PM

Yes, we've had all of the faucets open with the pump on. We've also opened them with it off as I read in another post that that can relieve pressure. Still nothing.

ROBERT CROSS · 01-08-2015, 09:09 PM

How cold for how long?

Was the tank empty?, if so and the pump still won't shut off, you probably have a leak somewhere. It could also be a giant bubble in the line if you ran it dry.

Bob

cwf · 01-08-2015, 09:13 PM

Put your FURNACE on HIGH...
yup.. sounds like a freeze somewhere.. bummer... hope you got to it before it does damage...

Can you access the pump output side, open the faucet and blow into it to see if you can move any air at all? don't use compressed air... that might cause other issues.

If you can move air in the pipe then there is hope for no blockage...

just to be clear.. the pump does pump water from the tank... correct?

Oh, and to blow into the line, if you have the kit for adding RV fresh water antifreeze, you could just attach it and see if that works.

tifspiff9 · 01-08-2015, 09:14 PM

We've been below freezing for a few days now. Yesterday was 8 with a low of 4. Today we're back up to 30. The tank was 3/4 full when the pump wouldn't stop. We read in other posts that empty fresh water could cause this so we ran out to try to fill again. Thought maybe sensor was way off. After only 30 seconds the tank started pushing water back out of the fill inlet so we can only assume it is still full? No water under trailer.

tifspiff9 · 01-08-2015, 09:21 PM

We hooked up the short hose we use for antifreeze onto the inlet side, pumped water from a bucket and water came out of the faucets. Should we still try the output side? It seems like something going wrong between the tank and the pump?

cwf · 01-08-2015, 09:22 PM

sounds like a frozen line.. since you have hopefully eliminated Bob's excellent recommendation by running the pump and getting water from the tank..
edit.. ignore above.. your previous post cleared that the lines are clear...

cwf · 01-08-2015, 09:25 PM

Check your PM

Jim Foster · 01-08-2015, 09:34 PM

Sounds like a frozen line or empty water tank.

cwf · 01-08-2015, 09:34 PM

Terminated till the morn.... sleep well.

ROBERTSUNRUS · 01-08-2015, 10:45 PM

Hi, I have no idea what their problem is, but when I was in South Dakota in October, I ran my furnace 24 hours a day. Our low was zero and our high was 27 degrees. A portable heater won't get where your furnace will. You might have a frozen in-let pipe from your fresh water tank.

Gearheart · 01-09-2015, 02:07 AM

Water freezes from the top down. The tank could have a layer of ice near the top and be empty below.

tifspiff9 · 01-09-2015, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, I have no idea what their problem is, but when I was in South Dakota in October, I ran my furnace 24 hours a day. Our low was zero and our high was 27 degrees. A portable heater won't get where your furnace will. You might have a frozen in-let pipe from your fresh water tank.

Hi! We've had the furnace on the entire time we've been here. Couldn't have lived without it. The electric heater is just supplemental and currently aimed into the cabinetry where the fresh water tank resides.

tifspiff9 · 01-09-2015, 09:20 AM

Success! We have no idea what the actual factor was but we have water waking up this morning. With the advice from CWF to turn our furnace up to high (I leave it at 62 but turned it up to 68 from 10:30pm on last night), left the electric heater aimed into the cabinetry (drawers out, doors open) where the fresh water tank is located, and hoped for the best. This morning I turned the water pump on and it made a very loud noise and then when dead quiet. i thought it had died. However, I tried the water anyway and WE HAD WATER!!!

The pump turned on the way it should when the faucet is open and shut off when the faucet was shut.

I believe the moral of the story is our furnace just has to be turned up way higher than we thought. This also allowed the gray tank to dump easier as well this morning. We know we are insane for moving into our Airstream the first week of January (which turned out to be brutal weather-wise) in Missouri without knowing anything about her or wintering other than our constant reading of the forums. It's people like you (especially CWF!) who help us feel welcome and a part of such an amazing group!

Hopefully we have water for the foreseeable future as we are supposed to be above freezing for the extended forecast.

cwf · 01-09-2015, 09:38 AM

Yay!!! Now you have a good idea how to 'rough' it..in cold weather =)

Ray Eklund · 01-09-2015, 11:29 AM

Airstreams are ice boxes. Your water line(s) are frozen. Open all access points to warm the areas that water lines and the pump can warm up from the interior heating.

I would avoid using your trailer's water pump and fresh water tank during the cold months. Use the city water inlet. Better yet... camp dry and use the RV Park restrooms.

Personally, and I am a small minority of Airstream owners that will NEVER camp in an Airstream during the cold months, except far enough south to be sure the chance of a string of freezing air temperatures. We run DRY. Use water jugs for fresh water and use the RV Park facilities.

We are leaving next week from Colorado to the desert Southwest. Dry on the road and dry until we get to where we will be camped... and careful not to be caught in a cold spell that also occur at Tucson, Arizona that will freeze up trailer water systems.

Convenience is nice, but you must consider that it may not be worth the possible damage to your fresh water system in the trailer. Tifspiff9 has it figured out. For us... Dry Camp until you are in an area that minimizes the chance of a "hard freeze". You might consider it over kill... but you are having the problem.... not us.

Jim Foster · 01-09-2015, 11:43 AM

Time to head to Quartzsite, AZ

Gearheart · 01-09-2015, 12:00 PM

+1 on the advice to dry camp. Water snafus can get expensive really quick. Ust the campground facility as much as possible, bottled water for personal use and a 5 gal bucket with sawdust or kitty litter for night time needs. Health care stores have absorbent liner bags for commodes that are also good in a bucket.

RivetED · 01-09-2015, 12:12 PM

Happy to hear you have water again. There are many ways to deal with freezing weather & Airstreams but I believe (IMHO) knowing the layout of your trailer's lines, tanks, H2O heater, low point drains, etc will help you develop a method that works best for you.

When below freezing part of my strategy is to keep any supplemental heater(s) away from the A/S thermostat to keep the furnace cycling. A lot depends on how cold & how long it will be below freezing. Keep asking, there's a wealth of info & support around.

Although, I do like the suggestions to take advantage of getting to a warmer area if you can!