Living in sub zero and keeping water

[halfwaythere]

I’m trying to understand how you live off grid and keep your water. I don’t have a motorhome yet so forgive me if I sound daft as I’m trying to get my head around how the truma system in particular (other systems maybe suggested )which I believe if the temperature drops to around 4 degrees it dumps the water from the system. So if it was -10 degrees outside and I was to have a full water system, go to work come back 14hours later to my motorhome would I find the system had emptied in its quest to protect my boiler and water system? How do folk in colder countries go on. Any help appreciated

 

[pappajohn]

Correct
You need to keep the area around the auto dump valve warm.
Most, if not all valves can be over-ridden with something as simple as a cloths peg.
Your only other option is water stored in plastic containers but that means no showers as water would need boiling in a kettle or pan

 

[GJH]

Leaving the water heater on in our van uses very little gas and stops the water being dumped.

 

[halfwaythere]

Leaving the water heater on in our van uses very little gas and stops the water being dumped.

what About your water storage tank and pipe?

 

[halfwaythere]

Correct
You need to keep the area around the auto dump valve warm.
Most, if not all valves can be over-ridden with something as simple as a cloths peg.
Your only other option is water stored in plastic containers but that means no showers as water would need boiling in a kettle or pan

Flannel wash and the Wim Hof method. Looks like I’ll be parking by the river!

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[Lenny HB]

what About your water storage tank and pipe?

Make sure you buy a fully winterised van where the water tank and pipes are inside or in a double floor, at minus 10 you would be leaving the heating on 24/7 .

 

[peterc10]

Our A class Hymer motorhome is winterised and has a double floor. That means (amongst other things) that the fresh and waste water storage tanks are in a gap between the two floors under which the heating pipes run. We have the Alde system but if you have the Truma system the hot air ducts run through the same gap. All of the water and drainage pipes run through this heated gap as well.

In addition the floors, walls and roof are made of 32mm thick composite board consisting of two thin outer skins bonded to highly efficient rigid insulation material.

The answer to your question is that you need to leave the heating on but set at a lower temperature when you are out. It is only a small space so it will not cost a lot to keep above freezing.

The heating can be run on gas when off grid but your problem will be producing and storing the electricity that you need to run your systems. Solar panels will not be much help in the winter so you need to find an EHU or have a genny running for a long time, which will not make you very popular with your neighbours,

 

[GJH]

what About your water storage tank and pipe?

Make sure you buy a fully winterised van where the water tank and pipes are inside or in a double floor, at minus 10 you would be leaving the heating on 24/7 .

What Lenny said

Your initial question, the one I answered, was about the water being dumped at 4 deg C and that is there to protest the hot water tank, not the storage tank and pipe

 

[PaulC70]

Just to add about the frost protection / auto dump valve, not all truma systems have these even fitted, mine doesn't

 

[Lenny HB]

Just to add about the frost protection / auto dump valve, not all truma systems have these even fitted, mine doesn't

It's an option on Brit built vans, fully winterised vans will have it.

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[Coolcats]

I’m trying to understand how you live off grid and keep your water. I don’t have a motorhome yet so forgive me if I sound daft as I’m trying to get my head around how the truma system in particular (other systems maybe suggested )which I believe if the temperature drops to around 4 degrees it dumps the water from the system. So if it was -10 degrees outside and I was to have a full water system, go to work come back 14hours later to my motorhome would I find the system had emptied in its quest to protect my boiler and water system? How do folk in colder countries go on. Any help appreciated

This link may help along with buying a Hymer but seriously have a read then you will have some thoughts and questions to ask when you are looking for a Motorhome.

Buying a winter-proof motorhome? This is something to consider

Winterproof vs. suitable for winter: Even if the two terms sound very similar, there are clear differences in their definition. Both designations are based on standards and can be clearly and unambiguously defined in this regard. All HYMER motorhomes are winterized when delivered from the...

www.hymer.com

 

[rickwiggans]

we ski off hook for about 6 weeks in France. In current van, double floor etc, we leave heating on low 24/7. Uses about 2x11kg bottles a week. In previous less well insulated van we didN't fill the system, used water from jerry cans.

 

[Minxy]

Hi and welcome to the fun house!

Can I suggest you become a paid member, that way you will be able to access the resources section which has an excellent guide on buying a MH with lots of info about the various kit etc as well as other things like payload which will be invaluable to a novice user, you can buy it on it's (I think it costs £7.99) but you then will run out of the ability to post on here after you've done 5 so we won't be able to help with any further things you may want to ask about.

 

[autorouter]

I’m trying to understand how you live off grid and keep your water. I don’t have a motorhome yet so forgive me if I sound daft as I’m trying to get my head around how the truma system in particular (other systems maybe suggested )which I believe if the temperature drops to around 4 degrees it dumps the water from the system. So if it was -10 degrees outside and I was to have a full water system, go to work come back 14hours later to my motorhome would I find the system had emptied in its quest to protect my boiler and water system? How do folk in colder countries go on. Any help appreciated

If it's -10C outside, then if the MH has no heating, it will eventually all reach -10C throughout the whole vehicle, and any water will freeze. Any insulation will only delay that process.

The idea behind winterising a MH is to have a thermal insulation 'envelope', with a heater inside the envelope. Once the heater has brought the MH to the desired temperature, the heating power (watts) required to keep it steady at that temperature depends only on the quality of the insulation.

A winterised MH ideally would have an insulated double floor containing all the tanks and pipes, with ducting feeds from the blown air heating, or possibly tank/pipe heaters if that's not possible.

The gas usage/cost can be kept down by external windscreen insulation, extra skylight insulation, and setting the thermostat to minimum when you are out of the MH. The better the insulation, the less work the heater has to do to keep up the temperature.