HELP! Unexpected Hard Freeze Last Night!

[TravisH]

Howdy!

Yesterday was warm. Weather report said low 30's last night but musta got a LOT colder and my water hoses were solid ice this morning. Spigot frozen open!

I was not cold in my Flying Cloud but no water. I thought the park water was off but nope!

I'm really confused because I've been in cold weather and can feel it! I had normal blankets and furnace on 62° and it went on once or twice for a few minutes.

Anyways...should I be concerned about my inside pipes?

What should I be doing as it thaws out? No floods from pump active so far...

Thanks!

Trav

[moosetags]

We have had similar happen to us a couple of times. When things thawed, there were no issues. Hopefully, this will be the case with yours. What we started doing many years ago was removing the the city water supply nose and bringing it into the trailer for the night. During the night we operate on tank water. We do this even if there is a chance of the temperature dropping below freezing.

Brian

[TravisH]

Originally Posted by moosetags

We have had similar happen to us a couple of times. When things thawed, there were no issues. Hopefully, this will be the case with yours. What we started doing many years ago was removing the the city water supply nose and bringing it into the trailer for the night. During the night we operate on tank water. We do this even if there is a chance of the temperature dropping below freezing.

Brian

Yea!

Thanks!

I've always prepared and if I see 32° predicted it all goes in the TV! It was supposed to be ~35° and night before in the 40°'s.....

Weather says it got down to 28° for ~3 hours....

It was slushy in the hose but not block of ice....

Winter time! I griped about summer heat so....

:/

Trav

[Mollysdad]

I've had that happen by surprise also. The worst part is I couldn't get the faucet closed to remove my hose. It was 26 f. I just waited until the Sun came out and all problems went away. Even though it's freezing outside, you have heat inside and your pipes didn't freeze.

[TravisH]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

I've had that happen by surprise also. The worst part is I couldn't get the faucet closed to remove my hose. It was 26 f. I just waited until the Sun came out and all problems went away. Even though it's freezing outside, you have heat inside and your pipes didn't freeze.

Thanks!

Same thing! I was able to get the hose off so not introduce ice into the AS plumbing but couldn't turn off the spigot.

Took dog for walk and it thawed enough to flood my campsite!

Danged hoses are still stiff but seem ok. I use Zero G hoses.

Two stage filter froze but disassembled and thawed out inside. Lucky I just order new ones as these are almost "expired".

Where would I want to look for leaks in my plumbing to make sure? Poking around as much as I can and turning on pump and hot water have produced none yet...I'm not too concerned. Furnace set at 62° came on twice and it wasn't below 30° for only a couple hours ~3am to 6am.

Thanks!

Trav

[pontzdav]

If the pump is turned on and not running you have no leaks. Except for the city water piping. Go on city water and have a look at your pressure reducer and fittings inside the trailer. I can inspect mine via the cabinet below the lab sink. (FC30).

[Bill M.]

No real worries if you are heating the trailer. The hose seems to freeze at anything under 32 for a couple of hours. Best to take the hose loose and use the freshwater tank overnight.

[GetawA-S]

I’m guessing it was a clear, still night?
You most likely have nothing to worry about because there are three types of heat transfer.
Conduction: Heat flows from a warm mass to a cooler mass in contact with it. A tea kettle set down on a tabletop.
Convective: Similar to conduction, but the energy flow is accelerated by the motion of one of the masses, like air from a fan.
Radiated: Energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation flows preferentially from a warm mass to a cooler one, no actual contact required (can occur in a vacuum). Like standing under an infrared heater. Black is the color that is most efficient at radiating or absorbing radiation. A clear night sky is like a “black body” at minus 70 F. An exposed surface can cool below the air temperature, especially if there’s no breeze. That’s why frost can form at a temperature of 38F.
Your hose and spigot were exposed to the worst case conditions. The pipes inside and under your trailer are probably OK.
Safe travels, and keep that hose rolled up!

[Dave-n-Janet]

Happened once, used hair dryer to heat city water faucet to get water flowing again.

[Wazbro]

Problem with the weather forecast, even when accurate is often for in town/city which is normally a few degrees warmer then in the country.
Biggest things to worry about on trailer would be water inlet and outside shower.

[MMCMRET]

Brian,

Thanks for the cold weather tip.

[Daquenzer]

If you are going to camp a great deal in these kind of conditions there is a heated hose that you can buy from the spigot to the camper. They aren’t cheap, but at least you would have water.

[DCPAS]

Originally Posted by GetawA-S

I’m guessing it was a clear, still night?
You most likely have nothing to worry about because there are three types of heat transfer.
Conduction: Heat flows from a warm mass to a cooler mass in contact with it. A tea kettle set down on a tabletop.
Convective: Similar to conduction, but the energy flow is accelerated by the motion of one of the masses, like air from a fan.
Radiated: Energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation flows preferentially from a warm mass to a cooler one, no actual contact required (can occur in a vacuum). Like standing under an infrared heater. Black is the color that is most efficient at radiating or absorbing radiation. A clear night sky is like a “black body” at minus 70 F. An exposed surface can cool below the air temperature, especially if there’s no breeze. That’s why frost can form at a temperature of 38F.
Your hose and spigot were exposed to the worst case conditions. The pipes inside and under your trailer are probably OK.
Safe travels, and keep that hose rolled up!

Good post! Thanks.

[turk123]

Originally Posted by Daquenzer

If you are going to camp a great deal in these kind of conditions there is a heated hose that you can buy from the spigot to the camper. They aren’t cheap, but at least you would have water.

Unfortunately, if this goes on for days, the campground will shut off the water till next spring!

[MSL]

Maybe you could have attached a valve or hose nozzle to the spigot to avoid campsite flooding after removal of your frozen hose.

[Atwebs]

Just had that happen to us for the first time this year. We were supposed to get on the road early, but we had to wait until things thawed out a bit, but no issues at all. Who knew when the temperature dipped to 20, we'd be so snug and warm we wouldn't even notice? Been RVing for 40 years and that never happened before...

[guskmg]

If you do let inside pipes freeze not much will happen if you leave all the valves open. Just wait until everything thaws out. Do not turn on you water pump or use the city water until you are sure it is completely thawed out. If you do use the pump while it is frozen you will most likely blow the fuze next to the pump. Keep some spares on hand.
guskmg

[89Excella]

Had the exact same scenario happen to me once. Got the hose thawed out and all seemed OK. It wasn't until two trips later that I discovered that the fitting where the hose connects to the trailer was dripping ever so slightly inside the trailer. No amount of tightening the inside connection would stop it so I finally took the entire assembly out of the wall. That's when I discovered a hairline crack in the plastic housing. My mind immediately jumped back to the night in VA the year before. Replaced the whole thing and now if it is going to be cold I take the hose inside the trailer at night and reconnect in the morning. Hope yours is not cracked but keep an eye on it
Ed

[adambar]

Generally the AS plumbing is inside the AS. So as long as the heat is on there should be no problem, Just the water connection needs to be disconnected and drained during freezing temps.

I would just keep my water resevoir filled as it will be protected from the cold as long as there is heat inside the AS.

Running water doesn't freeze so you can fill the resevoir any time of the day, as long as your water hose isn't froze or the spigot doesn't freeze.

[bartzstream2]

Originally Posted by Atwebs

Just had that happen to us for the first time this year. We were supposed to get on the road early, but we had to wait until things thawed out a bit, but no issues at all. Who knew when the temperature dipped to 20, we'd be so snug and warm we wouldn't even notice? Been RVing for 40 years and that never happened before...

Not specifically replying to your post, but......disconnect the campground water supply and drain the hose if it wont drain itself due to topography. Open the auxiliary hose connection (where you might hook up another hose to get water outside the trailer. Rig up some kind of 120V light and place it in the hose connection compartment to protect that area from freezing. Open cabinet doors throughout the trailer where water lines run. Keep the 120V connection to the water heater turned on all nite. That will help keep that compartment's plumbing (and likely the shower as well) from freezing. Relieve the water pressure in the system by opening a faucet till water no longer runs out. You should not need to bring the supply hose into the trailer if it is drained. Your pressure regulator that is attached to the hydrant should self-drain when the hydrant drains itself, but disconnect it if you are in doubt. If hooked up to sewer keep the gray tank dump valve open a bit and open a or several faucets to trickle all nite long. Keep some water in your onboard tank and use the pump to supply your small needs until the freeze possibility passes.


Do not forget that cold weather (even above freezing) causes a lot of condensation, whether from your respiration, persperation, or cooking which will gather on the windows and eventually fill the channels to which the windows mount. Either soak it up with towels by opening the windows and going outside to do it. Also you might squeegee the water off the open windows. Or, use a dehumidifier to help reduce condensation.