Grey water overflow on ‘99 28 ft Classic

[Techfan70]

I was checking for leaks after the temp dropped to 1 degree and the power was shut off. So after warm up I closed the grey water shut off and filled the tank from the shower till it was full and I saw water pouring out of bottom of trailer. It seamed to stop after the water level went down. Does the grey water tank have an overflow or do I have a leak? Doesn’t seem to leak if I don’t fill the tank full.
Thanks for any input!

[GCinSC2]

Did you put pink stuff in shower drain?

Possibly a frozen trap cracked.

[Techfan70]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

Did you put pink stuff in shower drain?

Possibly a frozen trap cracked.

Thanks, can you tell me about the pink stuff?

[GCinSC2]

RV antifreeze.

Many threads on winterizing but I pour a couple oz in each sink to prevent the sink or shower trap from freezing.

[Whyvon2509]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

RV antifreeze.

Many threads on winterizing but I pour a couple oz in each sink to prevent the sink or shower trap from freezing.

Just curious....do you pour in "the pink stuff" every time you use the sink or shower while you're camping in below freezing temps?

[The Cralls]

I'm here is Washington State. I put the pink stuff down each drain each winter. To protect the drain valves outside, I put about a gallon down each drain to make sure that any residual water in the grey and black tanks gets enough antifreeze to protect the drain valves and pipes outside. If I'm camping I do not use any since the tanks are heated by the furnace ducts so it keeps it warm. In general I do not camp below 20 degrees often.

[GammaDog]

The pink stuff is an antifreeze. It’s a once per winter process to prevent pipes from freezing.

You seem to be asking if you have a problem caused by freezing. You might. If so, it’s too late for the pink stuff this winter.

There are not overflows in the black or grey systems unless you or a prior owner modified the plumbing system. Having those would lead to waste water spills on the ground. Overfilled systems back up to the lowest visible point. Typically, an over full grey system would appear as standing water in the shower pan. A black system would be a toilet that wouldn’t flush.

Your symptoms and description suggest that the grey tank was empty when the freeze hit? Were you camping, or was the trailer in storage? Was the furnace running to keep the living space warm? GC2 is suggesting that the shower drain trap may have had plain water in it, froze, cracked the trap and now is leaking. That sounds like a good guess to me.

If the trailer was unheated and unwinterized, there could be other leaks in other traps or even supply lines.

[GCinSC2]

Originally Posted by Whyvon2509

Just curious....do you pour in "the pink stuff" every time you use the sink or shower while you're camping in below freezing temps?

We have not camped in sub freezing temps.

But that is where using the gas furnace and it has a hose that blows hot air below the floor at the tanks. That area on my rig is below the shower trap and warm air from that hose should prevent freezing. My understanding. The kitchen and lav traps are in the heated area and should not be a problem.

Storage in sub freezing, pink stuff in traps and winterized is my approach.

But SC gets a fairly easy winter in my area.

Gary

[Techfan70]

Thanks, the grey tank was emptied before a cold snap occurred. I left the heater on during the cold weather but our electric leaders cut the power on several million customers, my power could have been out for some time. I plan on using a sewer hookup at RV parks until I can get it fixed so the grey water should not accumulate to the leaking point.

[GCinSC2]

Originally Posted by Techfan70

Thanks, the grey tank was emptied before a cold snap occurred.

Richard,

Empty tank shouldn't freeze up.

Gary