danpaul000
A man, a van, no plan
Hey all,
Temps are falling up here in New England and it's got me wondering again about what to do with the sprinter plumbing do prevent damage when things get really cold. The conventional wisdom is just to drain everything in your RV and pack it away for the cold season, but I live near full-time in the van, but this will be my first winter living in it. My wife had the van last winter while I was away on a work contract for a few months and she just drove far enough south that it wasn't an issue. . Even then, the PEX pipes froze when she was visiting family in Massachusetts last Thanksgiving and temps fell to about 8 degF.
We will probably escape the northeast for the worst of the winter this year, but a snap deep freeze could be possible at any time starting soon. So I am trying to figure out what to do to protect my plumbing system from damage (not necessarily protect from freezing, just protect from damage, which may or may not be the same thing).
It is likely we will be visiting some friends in winter, maybe staying in their house for a few nights and I want to be able to leave the van unattended for a few days in the cold without having to drain the whole system each time. I have a 20 gal fresh tank and a 4 gal heated tank (usually powered off/not heated) inside the vehicle behind the rear passenger wheel. The van is insulated and I could run the D2 from time to time, but the tanks and pump are blocked from receiving much of that heat, if it would even matter.
I know they sell pipe wrap heated wire stuff, but it looks like it draws quite a bit of power to run continuously on my solar system. I didn't build a shore power outlet to the vehicle, as I was going for self contained solar/alternator but am wondering if that might be needed here, or just an extension cord into the back of the van from the house to power a pipe warmer?
I think what's probably? most susceptible to freeze damage is the pump and accumulator, as they hold a small amount of water in a fixed space. The tanks have air valves and I don't know how long it would take for the thermal mass of 10-20 gallons of water to freeze. The plumbing is all 1/2" PEX and 3/8" copper fittings. I've attached a photo of my mostly-complete plumbing system from the construction days. The capped PEX at the back are now attached to a little back door shower head, and the pipes going forward end at the sink near the sliding door.
Any thoughts/wisdom from the Sprinter world from those who have lived/traveled in the camper in the cold times?
Cheers,
Dan
Temps are falling up here in New England and it's got me wondering again about what to do with the sprinter plumbing do prevent damage when things get really cold. The conventional wisdom is just to drain everything in your RV and pack it away for the cold season, but I live near full-time in the van, but this will be my first winter living in it. My wife had the van last winter while I was away on a work contract for a few months and she just drove far enough south that it wasn't an issue. . Even then, the PEX pipes froze when she was visiting family in Massachusetts last Thanksgiving and temps fell to about 8 degF.
We will probably escape the northeast for the worst of the winter this year, but a snap deep freeze could be possible at any time starting soon. So I am trying to figure out what to do to protect my plumbing system from damage (not necessarily protect from freezing, just protect from damage, which may or may not be the same thing).
It is likely we will be visiting some friends in winter, maybe staying in their house for a few nights and I want to be able to leave the van unattended for a few days in the cold without having to drain the whole system each time. I have a 20 gal fresh tank and a 4 gal heated tank (usually powered off/not heated) inside the vehicle behind the rear passenger wheel. The van is insulated and I could run the D2 from time to time, but the tanks and pump are blocked from receiving much of that heat, if it would even matter.
I know they sell pipe wrap heated wire stuff, but it looks like it draws quite a bit of power to run continuously on my solar system. I didn't build a shore power outlet to the vehicle, as I was going for self contained solar/alternator but am wondering if that might be needed here, or just an extension cord into the back of the van from the house to power a pipe warmer?
I think what's probably? most susceptible to freeze damage is the pump and accumulator, as they hold a small amount of water in a fixed space. The tanks have air valves and I don't know how long it would take for the thermal mass of 10-20 gallons of water to freeze. The plumbing is all 1/2" PEX and 3/8" copper fittings. I've attached a photo of my mostly-complete plumbing system from the construction days. The capped PEX at the back are now attached to a little back door shower head, and the pipes going forward end at the sink near the sliding door.
Any thoughts/wisdom from the Sprinter world from those who have lived/traveled in the camper in the cold times?
Cheers,
Dan
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