Winter trips question re water tanks (1 Viewer)

ips

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Have always camped, caravaned or had boats. Now in our second year with the motorhome.
Planning ahead to winter trips will my waste water tank (mounted under the van) freeze in winter (I assume it will) and if so how do you stop it freezing etc etc ..

Also I would imgine that our bed above the garage will get cold due to cold air in there. I have thought about fitting an extra blown air outlet in there to keep the scooter warm and snuggly, and to warm the bed from below. Any thoughts / experience on any of the above ?? ..
 

Wildman

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first question is do you have sufficient battery power. Do you intend site sitting or touring, will you have hookup most of the time. Last winter I found water inside my motorhome stored in bottles was frozen, so heating is a must. Winterising the water tanks will involve insulating the tank AND all pipework and also keeping the temp up in the van, seperate tank heaters may well be necessary. Blown air heating is heavy on the batteries, on hookup not too much problem, but solar will struggle in the winter. Extra batteries a must. Most German vans are winterised as they are built for a northern European winter rather than a southern european Summer so beware.

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ips

ips

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Have always camped, caravaned or had boats. Now in our second year with the motorhome.
first question is do you have sufficient battery power. Do you intend site sitting or touring, will you have hookup most of the time. Last winter I found water inside my motorhome stored in bottles was frozen, so heating is a must. Winterising the water tanks will involve insulating the tank AND all pipework and also keeping the temp up in the van, seperate tank heaters may well be necessary. Blown air heating is heavy on the batteries, on hookup not too much problem, but solar will struggle in the winter. Extra batteries a must. Most German vans are winterised as they are built for a northern European winter rather than a southern european Summer so beware.

Would imagine mostly on CC type sites so will be on hook up most of the time. Fresh water is under dinette seats so shouldnt be a problem, waste is under the van at the rear. Cant see how I would insulate this as I dont thin k you could get all the way around the tank.
 

keith

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Planning ahead to winter trips will my waste water tank (mounted under the van) freeze in winter (I assume it will) and if so how do you stop it freezing etc etc ..

Also I would imgine that our bed above the garage will get cold due to cold air in there. I have thought about fitting an extra blown air outlet in there to keep the scooter warm and snuggly, and to warm the bed from below. Any thoughts / experience on any of the above ?? ..

Depends where you are going. We go South in winter, & although it gets cold at night never had a problem with it freezing. Even travelling through France in December when the temp can fall well below 0 deg never had it freeze on us.

Your bed will cool off but that's never been a noticeable problem in our M/H. The greatest problem can be condensation under the mattress causing mildew. Can be solved by putting slats or some barrier between the mattress and the base.

It seems a bit of a waste of resources to heat a garage, as wildman said you will need all your power to keep warm.

Keith

PS Add antifreeze to your grey tank water to stop it freezing if it's going to be really cold.
 
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ips

ips

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Keith
Thanks for your reply, our bed has open slats over the garage so shouldnt have a mildew problem. We will mainly be touring the north of England over the winter so I expect it to be cold. My only concern is the waste tank really.
Ian

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DESCO

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Hi

Can vouch for heating under bed if on hook up as ours came with it as standard, on a cold night it is nice to get into a warm bed, and it also cures the condensation problem.
Our garage is heated at the same time, it also has a vent that sends hot air over the waste tank to stop freezing.
Laika only use one size heater so on a van just under 6 meters I have a heater that is used on their largest vans, and with the level of insulation it only ticks over most of the time.


From a warm and happy motorhomer.


Dave:thumb::thumb:
 
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ips

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Hi

Can vouch for heating under bed if on hook up as ours came with it as standard, on a cold night it is nice to get into a warm bed, and it also cures the condensation problem.
Our garage is heated at the same time, it also has a vent that sends hot air over the waste tank to stop freezing.
Laika only use one size heater so on a van just under 6 meters I have a heater that is used on their largest vans, and with the level of insulation it only ticks over most of the time.


From a warm and happy motorhomer.



Dave:thumb::thumb:

Thanks Dave, Think I will fit an additional outlet before winter, our eberspatcher seems to work very well so cant do any harm can it.
Ian
 

GJH

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We also have fresh water tank under the dinette seats and waste tank under the van at the rear. All water pipes except drainage are internal. No fixed bed - made up from the dinette.

We've used the van three times in London at the end of January plus in Edinburgh for a week in a frosty February plus other places in frosty weather with no problems.

Always stayed on sites with EHU at those times of year. As Roger says, solar wouldn't be enough.

No heating on during the day whilst we were out. Heater (not blown air) on in the evenings before we went to bed and in the mornings before going out. Oil filled radiator on overnight when really cold just to keep the chill off.

Graham

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DESCO

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Hi Ian

Would not have thought so but then I am spoilt with our van, we have camped in Scotland in the snow with no problems at all


Dave:thumb::thumb:
 

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Keith
Thanks for your reply, our bed has open slats over the garage so shouldnt have a mildew problem. We will mainly be touring the north of England over the winter so I expect it to be cold. My only concern is the waste tank really.
Ian

We have been in the North of England in the van in winter many times i.e. Skipton and Whitewater at Stockton. Last year both times in freezing weather and have never had a problem. Have a look at my Avatar this photo was Taken at Whitewater in February :Eeek:. :thumb:
 

Wildman

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the waste tank alone is easy to solve, leave the drain open and place a bucket under, if water freezes in the bucket it will tip out easily because the sides are tapered. As to adding antifreeze to the waste tank, not a good idea as it will be illegal to empty it anywhere then. Oil filled rads for background heating will not produce moisture as gas will.cover in the sides of the tank you can get at and spray expanding foam between the side you cant and the van wall, that will help a bit. insulate all pipes so no water freezes inside and splits the pipes. don't forget to drain down water heater after you get back or it will freeze unless on hookup with heater on.

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Wildman

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PS Add antifreeze to your grey tank water to stop it freezing if it's going to be really cold.
Keith you should know better, that will make it environmenally unfriendly and I'm sure illegal to empty anywhere.

Adding Salt might be ok but can't be sure about that.
the motorhome fraternity have enough enemies as it is without getting the green lobbies backs up.
 

keith

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What about the DIY mechanic that flushes out his radiator at the side of the road as many do? Is he/she any less guilty than a motor homer?

Where do you put your radiator water/antifreeze mix when flushing it? I have never seen a disposal point for this liquid.
 

Wildman

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What about the DIY mechanic that flushes out his radiator at the side of the road as many do? Is he/she any less guilty than a motor homer?

Where do you put your radiator water/antifreeze mix when flushing it? I have never seen a disposal point for this liquid.
sorry Keith didn't mean to upset you, but just because someone else commits a crime does not give us the right to do so. There is a disposal point at the local tip by the way.

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Tony Lee

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Our Hobby has an electric heater in the grey tank. Not sure if it only works on EHU or isn't working anyway. We had the grey tank freeze and had to use a concentrated salt solution to get it to thaw out. Leaving the tap open does help a bit but sometimes the outlet pipe gradually blocks up as a bit of water freezes each time some comes into the tank.

Don't count on German MHs being winterised. Ours had the pump suction line wedged between the body side and the un-insulated plastic wheel arch so it froze overnight. Had to pull half the cupboard out to get at it to thaw it out. Relocated the pipe and insulated the wheel arch so no problems now. Also ran a hot air pipe to blow under the gas locker and in the space below the cupboards to make sure there was no further problems with freezing and at the same time allow us to use butane gas which was more available in Morocco.
 

ritaderek

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Planning ahead to winter trips will my waste water tank (mounted under the van) freeze in winter (I assume it will) and if so how do you stop it freezing etc etc ..

Also I would imgine that our bed above the garage will get cold due to cold air in there. I have thought about fitting an extra blown air outlet in there to keep the scooter warm and snuggly, and to warm the bed from below. Any thoughts / experience on any of the above ?? ..

there's good advice and plenty of info on www.motorhomeski.com especially if you are a skier
 

Andy 01424

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be careful if your going to blow warm/hotair over your scooter, one potential fire hazard ,plus it will make the petrol in scooter expand and you will get fumes in your MH:Sad:

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OP
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ips

ips

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Have always camped, caravaned or had boats. Now in our second year with the motorhome.
be careful if your going to blow warm/hotair over your scooter, one potential fire hazard ,plus it will make the petrol in scooter expand and you will get fumes in your MH:Sad:


Good point.........maybe I should wait and see if its a problem before doing anything. :thumb:
 

Kon tiki

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Our Adria has a heater in the waste tank, not sure if it works off the 12 volts or on hook up. It is turned on by keeping the waste level button pressed for a few seconds. Maybe you could get one fitted into your tank.
As for the garage it's like a sauna when the heater is turned on as thats where it is.

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bat

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Hi

We've just bought a motorhome having sold our old narrowboat. In the winter on the boat a lot of people added sugar to the stored waste water to lower the freezing point, this is quite safe to dispose of in the same way as any other grey waste as you don't have the problems associated with antifreeze. It isn't as potentially corrosive as salt either.

cheers

Bob
 
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ips

ips

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Have always camped, caravaned or had boats. Now in our second year with the motorhome.
On the Chausson that we had the waste tank was insulated, are you certain that it's not.


Doest appear to be but I will check :thumb:
 
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ips

ips

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Have always camped, caravaned or had boats. Now in our second year with the motorhome.
Hi

We've just bought a motorhome having sold our old narrowboat. In the winter on the boat a lot of people added sugar to the stored waste water to lower the freezing point, this is quite safe to dispose of in the same way as any other grey waste as you don't have the problems associated with antifreeze. It isn't as potentially corrosive as salt either.

cheers

Bob


Many thanks, that is a good tip :thumb:

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bevo

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waste freezing

why not just drain waste water into something as you use it.
we do this and my bucket has been frozen on many occasions.
 

Tony Lee

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Takes a lot of salt to protect against freezing.

The following figures were found in a published report, but have not been checked out in detail. A 10% salt solution was said to lower the melting point to -6°C (20°F) and a 20% salt solution was said to lower it to -16°C (2°F).



can't find figures for sugar but since sugar doesn't dissociate like salt, I would expect you might need twice as much sugar as salt to get the same effect. (and it doesn't dissolve well in cold water anyway)

Calcium chloride is more effective than salt.

All are expensive methods.

(a long boat, being submerged in water at a minimum temperature of zero Celcius), should never have tanks freeze anyway unless the tanks are above the waterline and exposed to the air.)
 

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