Community Forums

bud01234 · 01-05-2018, 01:11 PM

My wet bay is heated to 70* and my dump valves remain closed until time to dump. The sewer hose is sloped downhill with no 'trap' bends. I'm full timing and the grey tank just filled up this morning and I've got three more days of 20* highs but need to dump. Takes about 5 minutes for each tank.

Would it be safe to dump or can the 15' hose freeze and should I wait until temp gets above freezing before I dump? (Cat is already wrinkling her nose at me.)

MSHappyCampers · 01-05-2018, 01:18 PM

With the hose sloped downhill I don't see any problem!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

Happy New Year!

Peto · 01-05-2018, 01:19 PM

5 minutes with moving liquids I think you will be fine... just keep 'em moving.

FatChance · 01-05-2018, 01:19 PM

I am full-timing at 7000' elevation in Flagstaff. We get real winters here. I leave the sewer hose connected all the time and dump the tanks whenever necessary. Never a problem.

mhshaffer · 01-05-2018, 01:20 PM

I really know for sure to dump or not. But, I myself would do the dump.

bud01234 · 01-05-2018, 01:53 PM

Thanks friends,

You're always here when I need you.
I'm dumping tonight and taking a hot shower.

I Love living in the motorhome in the winter... nice and cozy.

Bud

Cooperhawk · 01-05-2018, 02:09 PM

If the liquid is 70 degrees it certainly won't chill enough to freeze in the time it takes to dump. Besides, you really need a shower.

bud01234 · 01-05-2018, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cooperhawk

If the liquid is 70 degrees it certainly won't chill enough to freeze in the time it takes to dump. Besides, you really need a shower.

Flash the cat agrees with you.

Thanks

CarlAda · 01-05-2018, 04:22 PM

No problem....DUMP IT

Deep Water D · 01-05-2018, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bud01234

I'm dumping tonight and taking a hot shower.

Bud

Don't forget to empty your tanks, too.

Crasher · 01-05-2018, 06:49 PM

Stop to think about it. The hose is empty and you are going to dump 70* fluid into a 3" plastic hose. It will probably warm the hose up to close to 60* by the time your tanks are empty. You could probably dump with an OAT of zero or below and it still wouldn't freeze up if the slope is as you say and the hose emptied when the flow was over.

38Chevy454 · 01-05-2018, 06:57 PM

As many previous replies stated, since your tanks are above freezing, no problems. Only potential problem i might identify is if you have a long run from the tanks to the valves, that smaller pipe (2-3 inch) could be frozen and prevent draining. But as long as liquid to the valve, you will have no problem.

bud01234 · 01-06-2018, 09:10 AM

Hi again Folks,

Just a follow-up... The dump operation went fine, so I went inside and took my hot shower. As I walked down the hallway, I glanced at my remote wet bay temperature probe read-out:

31*F !!! Yikes!!!!

I ran outside and opened up the wet bay and my little Walmart 3amp heater was OFF. I flipped it back on and it made a very unhappy squealing sound so I quickly turned it off, flipped on my emergency heat lamp then made a quick run to Walmart and bought another heater (on sale for $10).

Got back and plugged in the heater, buttoned up the wet bay and within 15 minutes the probe was reading *60F. Whew! The outside temp had dropped to 8*f and it was -2*F when I got up this morning. The wet bay was a balmy *71F.

This could have been a disaster! Glad I glance at the wet bay temp frequently.

Incidently, Flash the cat is sleeping with me again.

ThePowells · 01-07-2018, 12:55 AM

It would take many hours at 31F for your tanks to freeze, if they even froze at all. Water doesn't freeze solid in an instant or a few minutes.

To better learn your system, get an infrared thermometer and check your temps in many places.
As of this Sunday afternoon, we will have gone through 7 complete days below freezing and several nights in low teens and was 4F above at 0700 Saturday morning. I have a 1500 watt oil filled heater in the coach set at 65 (lowest it will go) and the furnace at 55F. All of my internal plumbing has not gone below 43F including the fresh water tank under the bed.
My uninsulated and unheated wet bay is a different story. My tanks are completely empty right now except for about 1.5 gallons of RV anti-freeze in both to protect the valves. I did have a little waste in the tanks and the tank heaters kept the tank portion at 35F at the water line and the air temp above was warmer, however that did not hold true for the valves. As the waste lines came out of the tank, the temp dropped rapidly getting to air temp (17F) at the drain side of the valves. I put a 120A / 75W light under the bay with the hatch cover open and the 5 gallon bucket flush to the bottom of the bay. The connector for the drain warmed nicely, but not the valve or tank side plumbing. My bay is too small to put in a heater. I am going to try this again with a heat lamp bulb.

In the last week have used this artic freeze to learn more about my coach and water systems than I probably would have been able to learn in 5 years. We brought this one home in the first week of March 2017, and I was freaking out at lows in the mid-upper 20s. Now I know better what I need to do. During the summer, I will work on making the water draining process easier and more complete if I feel the need to drain it (but I probably won't).