Temperature survey in waste compartment

rvcarpenter · 01-08-2008, 05:19 AM

I got one of those wireless thermometers for Christmas so I wanted to see how cold it got in my compartment that has the sewer and water connection since I go skiing in the winter alot. This compartment has just the thin plastic for the bottom and about 6 inches up the walls and it is "heated" by the furnace so I'm told.

So I took temperature readings at different places in the compartment , thought some of you might be interested.

outside air teperature was 21 deg F winds around 15 20 mph

1) with the sensor sitting on the floor the reading was 29 deg f
2) with the sensor about 10 inches off the floor, about 3 or 4 inches below the sewer connection the reading was 34.5 deg f
3) with the sensor near the top of the compartment the reading was 41 deg F.

each time I moved the sensor I let sit for several hours to let the temperature stabilize.

So my valves and water connections/pipes were in the area of 41 deg temperatures

I was only running my furnace no other heat source in the compartment.

By the way skiing was GREAT, knee deep powder again

rvcarpenter · 01-08-2008, 05:19 AM

I got one of those wireless thermometers for Christmas so I wanted to see how cold it got in my compartment that has the sewer and water connection since I go skiing in the winter alot. This compartment has just the thin plastic for the bottom and about 6 inches up the walls and it is "heated" by the furnace so I'm told.

So I took temperature readings at different places in the compartment , thought some of you might be interested.

outside air teperature was 21 deg F winds around 15 20 mph

1) with the sensor sitting on the floor the reading was 29 deg f
2) with the sensor about 10 inches off the floor, about 3 or 4 inches below the sewer connection the reading was 34.5 deg f
3) with the sensor near the top of the compartment the reading was 41 deg F.

each time I moved the sensor I let sit for several hours to let the temperature stabilize.

So my valves and water connections/pipes were in the area of 41 deg temperatures

I was only running my furnace no other heat source in the compartment.

By the way skiing was GREAT, knee deep powder again

Ding-a-ling · 01-08-2008, 05:37 AM

rvcarpenter,

Good job.

Good information.

Tom N · 01-08-2008, 07:15 AM

Is your water pump in this same compartment. The water pump will freeze before anything related to the black or gray tanks.

-Tom

Richard 34A · 01-08-2008, 07:40 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom N:
Is your water pump in this same compartment. The water pump will freeze before anything related to the black or gray tanks.

-Tom </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I went to Disneyland for New Year's eve; left Anaheim at 3:30 am and headed north on I-5.

After going over the Gradevine, my wife noticed that it looked 'icy' along the highway. The dash computer has an outside temperature feature, so I checked the temperature: 30 degress F.

Sometime later she used the bathroom and told me that when she turned on the water pump, she could hear it running but no water. We initially thought it had broken... later, when the temperatures went up, we had normal water pressure. Looks like either the water tank or lines had frozen... even though we had both the front and rear heaters on while driving (not the furnance) something froze. So much for 'heated tanks'! (The water tank and pump are located in the same cargo bay.)

rvcarpenter · 01-08-2008, 08:20 AM

My water pump is in a different compartment. It is in on the passenger side forward compartment. it is an insulated compartment plus it shares a wall with the hot water heater. I'm not so worried about that compartment as I was about the waste valves. My next temperature survey will be in that compartment. I will also post that when I do it probally in about 2 or 3 weeks.

FrontRangeRVer · 01-08-2008, 10:45 AM

Our water pump is in a different compartment than our holding tanks. The water pump area is ALWAYS colder than the holding tanks.

You have to be careful not to let the strainer on the water pump freeze, because in ours, that's the first thing to freeze.

rvcarpenter · 01-08-2008, 10:58 AM

I've been in temps down to 10 deg f and never had a problem with the pump yet. all the water lines run next to the heat duct from the water tank to the pump.

Fakrwee · 01-09-2008, 06:42 PM

Thanks for the info RV.

My wife and I spent Christmas with the grandkids in Kansas City, Mo. and New years in Santa Fe, NM. Both places had some nights below freezing temps at the campgrounds. I only hooked up power all the time and hooked up to water or dump as needed. We could go from 5 to 6 days without having to dump or fill up with water.

We never had problems with anything freezing. One day in Santa Fe I was filling the water tank with the connections on the wind side of the MH. It was so cold trickles of water from the hose connection would actually freeze. For some reason the only problem I had was with the water hose I store in the slide out storage compartment. Any water left inside would freeze. I had to thaw the hose out with hot water in the CG showers before I could use it. I guess these storage bins are not heated.

Tom

Pusherman · 01-10-2008, 05:50 AM

Quote from Richard 34A:

... when she turned on the water pump, she could hear it running but no water. We initially thought it had broken... later, when the temperatures went up, we had normal water pressure. Looks like either the water tank or lines had frozen... even though we had both the front and rear heaters on while driving (not the furnace) something froze. So much for 'heated tanks'! (The water tank and pump are located in the same cargo bay.)[QUOTE]

Richard, chances are why your lines or pump froze was that you weren't using the furnace to heat the coach. Only the furnace sends heated air into your compartments. Your front and rear engine heaters probably kept you toasty warm in the coach, but no heat was directed to your bays.

Richard 34A · 01-10-2008, 07:03 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pusherman:
[QUOTE]
Richard, chances are why your lines or pump froze was that you weren't using the furnace to heat the coach. Only the furnace sends heated air into your compartments. Your front and rear engine heaters probably kept you toasty warm in the coach, but no heat was directed to your bays. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks Pusherman; guess that explains why something froze. I would have thought that some of the 'motor' heating would also heat the compartment but now know for next time things get really cold.

Tom N · 01-10-2008, 10:01 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rvcarpenter:
My water pump is in a different compartment. It is in on the passenger side forward compartment. it is an insulated compartment plus it shares a wall with the hot water heater. I'm not so worried about that compartment as I was about the waste valves. My next temperature survey will be in that compartment. I will also post that when I do it probally in about 2 or 3 weeks. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

My pump is in the same location. It'll freeze first because there is a vent in this compartment door for the water heater. With the propane water heater not running while driving this compartment gets cold even though engine coolant is circulated around the water tank. There's lots of insulation on the tank. Place a remote thermometer in this compartment in 20 degree weather and monitor this pump compartment.

On my maiden voyage I froze and cracked my Shurflo 5.7 pump. The coach never had water in the lines but I put water in the water tank and it flowed down to the pump by gravity. The ambient temp never went below 25.

If your pump is in a water heater compartment behind the front wheel you're vulnerable.

-Tom

Dave from MN · 01-10-2008, 10:35 AM

I feel very comfortable with temp down to 10 degrees. Been there, done that. With the waste door shut & including the trap door for the hoses. It should be good down to maybe zero. Below that, I don't even want to be out there!

rvcarpenter · 01-10-2008, 12:04 PM

Tom N.

Your right that door has a cut out for the Hot water heater but on mine there is a seal allthe way around the cargo part of it, so it seals just the same as and other compartment. But I will do a temperature survey on that compartment next time I go out (in a week or 2) and report my results here. If I can figure out how to post pictures I'll post a picture of my water pump compartment too.

By the way did you have your furnace on when you cracked your water pump?

teekay · 01-10-2008, 04:01 PM

I've had freezing problems with my 06 Meridian 36G. My solution for now is to run a a radiator type electric heater in the compartment with the water pump (heater thermostat set at 50F) and to add 36 watt heat tracing wiring and insulation around the dump valves. On my last trip North Dakota with windy 10F temps this seemed to work well.

I have not had problems with the water supply or gray/black tanks freezing. I'll add a gallon of RV antifreeze to gray/black tank at start of trip.

Tom N · 01-11-2008, 05:41 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rvcarpenter:
Tom N.
By the way did you have your furnace on when you cracked your water pump? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have never had a need to run the propane furnace while driving. My motoraid heat is forced through the floor heating ducts. This along with the dash heat keeps the coach warm. I drive in short sleeves down to ~25 degrees. Dual pane windows also help.

My old 1994 Vectra did not pipe the motoraid heat through the floor. It had the motoraid heater under the bed. This setup also kept the coach warm.

BTW, Winnebago replaced my ShurFlo 5.7 at no cost.

-Tom