PVC piping

[Devoman]

I have plans on going to places that are pretty cold this winter when traveling.I am wondering if when using the heater or furnace will it be ok to leave the pipes alone or would it be smart to just wrap them with foam to be on the safe side in certain areas such as the outside rear compartment.Thanks.

[Bradjun1]

The big question is where are you going. Where I live tepms fall to -35 yes thas below zero. you would have to run your furnace all the time and then be lucky. But if you are traveling where temps stay around freezing and you keep your furnace running you might get by with no damage.If you plug in at night you could put heat tape around your lines. Heat tape is the same product put under mobile homes to keep their pipes from feeezing. It has to be plugged in but it will work. If you become overwhelmed you can always drain your tanks and wait for a warmer day. Life can be very simple. Hope things work out for you. Brad

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Devoman

I have plans on going to places that are pretty cold this winter when traveling.I am wondering if when using the heater or furnace will it be ok to leave the pipes alone or would it be smart to just wrap them with foam to be on the safe side in certain areas such as the outside rear compartment.Thanks.

Devoman,
The piping in your Airstream should be PEX which will take a light freeze. It certainly wouldn't hurt to insulate the ones in the rear compartment. If it is anything like mine there is heat back there when the furnace is on but in extreme cold (teens and below) I am not sure how much good the furnace can do.

Aaron

[Action]

When I lived in Michigan there was a time that I left the hot water tap cracked open - water running so the pipes did not freeze up. Moving water does not freeze and hot water freezes faster. Not that it is still hot, however it's my understanding that there is a difference in oxygen levels after the water is heated.

Just a thought.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[CanoeStream]

Action -- It's almost an urban legend that hot water freezes faster. Think about it. I know some science types that published the most favorable situation for this proposition -- it involved very hot water evaporating from a container with large exposed surface area. The only way it worked was if enough H20 evaporated that the remaining amount to freeze took less k-cal, then it almost might work.

In trailer piping the operative principle would be: that which moves least, cools fastest.

[Action]

That's just what I was told in college. (In Michigan) May be it was to keep hot water moving in the pipes and some would be close enough to the cold pipe to shed some heat. Don't know. I no longer live in such extreme's. Haven't seen snow in years. Kinda like it that way.

>>>>>>>>Action

[Action]

Then there are these little tid bits:

http://van.hep.uiuc.edu/van/qa/secti.../977176301.htm

http://www.usd.edu/~kmccolli/Hot%20W...20Freezing.htm

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF4/440.html

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physic...hot_water.html

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[CanoeStream]

I got virtually the same links when I "Asked Jeeves." Great minds work...

Did I hear that Yahoo or whoever was going to dump the Jeeves webline?

[driftwood]

Canoe stream,

AskJeeves was snapped up by Barry Diller to the tune of $2 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal, quoted in The Raw Story: = "The deal, which could be announced as early as today, would be the latest in a long run of Internet deal making for Mr. Diller, IAC chairman and chief executive. During the last decade, Mr. Diller has built a wide-ranging Internet vehicle that ranges from the travel Web site Expedia and the television channel Home Shopping Network to the online dating service Match.com. His entry amid a pitched battle between Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to provide search services promises to roil the fast-growing sector."

Steve Berkowitz will continue as Ask Jeeves’ CEO.
Flickr was bought by Yahoo.

Devoman,

Wrap it ... it will help!