Zero degrees - ice maker?

Jerry J · 11-17-2010, 09:47 PM

Next week our weather (N. Idaho) will be around 1-5° low and 16-20° high. I have not winterized (we live 365 in our motorhome) and will be leaving after Thanksgiving for Buckeye, Az. I haven't been this cold in this motorhome so am worried about the ice maker hose in the back of the refrigerator freezing. I think the dishwasher and washer-dryer will be okay because they are inside where it is heated. The basement area is also heated but the rear of the refrigerator is mostly open to the outside. Does the frig give off enough heat to prevent the plumbing lines back there from freezing and splitting?
I can't wait to hit warmer weather, hope I don't need to chain up.

ernieh · 11-17-2010, 10:53 PM

I put a 100W trouble light in the refer compartment and it's been ok down to the mid teens overnight. If it was as cold as you expect, I would follow the mfg's instructions which I'm sure say to remove water from the lines.

I modified my ice maker line so that after I turn it off, I can blow it out simply by opening another shutoff valve.

Old Snipe · 11-22-2010, 06:16 PM

The ice maker line from the valve to the icemaker is covered with a heat tape, the vavle itself has a heat wire wrapped around it. The PVC line that is the inlet is not insulated or wrapped with heat tape, but it runs past the burner. That should keep the short exposed part of the line warm unless temps get way low.

Best Regards!

AA4WP · 11-22-2010, 07:44 PM

One Winter as we travelled to
Buckeye, we put a heating pad on the works inside the access door. I think we plugged it in on the handy outside "wall plug" just adjacent to the access door.

Have fun in Buckeye...we stayed in Leaf Verde park, very near Fry's Grocery!

Wendell

Jerry J · 11-22-2010, 10:58 PM

We are also planning on staying in Leaf Verde.
Today we had a bunch of snow so future travel is questionable. 9" on the patio and still snowing. We were planning on Dec. 1st in Buckeye.
I wondered about a heating pad but worried about folding or rolling it up in the compartment, floor of refrigerator. Air still needs to flow in and up and out with the fans back there. I thought of plugging it in where the frig is plugged in inside the compartment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AA4WP

One Winter as we travelled to
Buckeye, we put a heating pad on the works inside the access door. I think we plugged it in on the handy outside "wall plug" just adjacent to the access door.

Have fun in Buckeye...we stayed in Leaf Verde park, very near Fry's Grocery!

Wendell

Boris and Natasha · 11-23-2010, 03:00 PM

On our 40TD I haven't noticed any kind of heat tape on the icemaker line and it definitely will freeze at temps even in the 20s. I use a trouble light with a 60 watt bulb and it has done the trick down into the teens. Besides, it makes a really pretty glow through the refridgerator vent at night.

McDuff · 11-23-2010, 04:00 PM

As we live in moderate winter, I don't winterize and read up on cold temps. I think it must have been the Norcold manual that said to not try to use the icemaker when temps hit 15 degrees, you should drain the line.

edit: I was wrong, I found this in the online manual:

Quote:

The ice maker is fully automatic and will operate in ambient
temperatures as low as 0° F. To allow operation at temperatures
between 0° F and 32° F., the ice maker has a heater on
the solenoid water valve and on the water line between the
solenoid valve and the ice maker. At temperatures below 0° F,
store the ice maker as written in the “Ice Maker Storage” section
of this manual.

http://www.thetford.com/HOME/PARTS/N...7/Default.aspx

DAN L · 11-24-2010, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry J

Next week our weather (N. Idaho) will be around 1-5° low and 16-20° high. I have not winterized (we live 365 in our motorhome) and will be leaving after Thanksgiving for Buckeye, Az. I haven't been this cold in this motorhome so am worried about the ice maker hose in the back of the refrigerator freezing. I think the dishwasher and washer-dryer will be okay because they are inside where it is heated. The basement area is also heated but the rear of the refrigerator is mostly open to the outside. Does the frig give off enough heat to prevent the plumbing lines back there from freezing and splitting?
I can't wait to hit warmer weather, hope I don't need to chain up.

i installed 3 wired inside-outside temp gauges from harbor freight in my compartments to monitor temperatures. no guesswork now.

if i had it to do again, i would use wireless gauges.