Frozen .... help

[McIver]

Was away from the Monty for a few days and was depending on the heater (set at 60) to keep things warm enough. Well, you guessed it, ran out of propane. Got in the rig an hour ago (after filling the empty tanks) and have a frozen toilet, stalagmite hanging off the kitchen sink, etc.
Have the furnace on high and put a space heater in the laundry chute blowing on the pipes to the toilet / rear sink.

Any other suggestions?

[DQDick]

Putting a light bulb in the convenience center is all I can think of at the moment.

[dieselguy]

Check all traps for cracks ... check all faucets for cracks above and below the mounting surface. If you have a washer/dryer ... check shutoff valves for cracks. Remove convenience center rear panel and look for cracked Tee's and valves as it all thaws out. It may have the possibility of cracking the PVC lines going from your tanks ahead of the dump valves depending on how cold it got and for how long. The plastic water lines themselves are pretty forgiving.

[McIver]

Where physically is the water pump? How do I get to it?
Once I get it defrosted should know if there is a leak if the pipes do not hold pressure. I think?

[H. John Kohl]

Your water pump should be right behind the convenience center where you hook up water. Access is gained by pulling the angled wall on the side of the convenience center back towards the center of the basement wall closest to the steps. You can also gain access to water line by pulling your steps if you need to check for leaks there.
Good luck.

[NCFischers]

Patience, lots of patience. It will take a while for it to thaw out.

[Bill-N-Donna]

I wouldn’t worry about it until you got it thawed out but make certain you’re there during the process of thawing. Look things over really good and if you have any leaks I’m sure they will show themselves. Hopefully it won’t be very bad. Keep us posted.

[DQDick]

I've been told the the new plastic tubing can expand significantly without leaking. Please let us know what you've found. Keystone isn't necessarily using the best.

[McIver]

This is such a great site... Thanks for the concern.
The advice for patience was good. As you can see by the picture below I am not a patient person. That is a record big wave day at the north shore, Oahu. The wife took the picture just before I went in and 20 before the jet ski lifeguard came to get me... another story.

I did take a hock puck shaped ice cube out of the toilet. All seems to be OK now. The water pump is on and only cycles when we turn on a tap. Have hot water at all the taps. Will check when I can tomorrow.

[DQDick]

Sounds like you probably made it thru.

[NCFischers]

The PEX water lines that are used in our trailers is really good stuff. It's very forgiving when frozen. Check anyway. You're probably ok.

[kdeiss]

The PEX is forgiving but the Plastic Faucets are not. From a freeze they may get a hair line crack and only leak when faucett is turned on I have had this happen in the past so keep an eye out.

[1retired06]

Hopefully your tanks were empty. Sounds like really cold temperatures.

[shovelhead86]

The PEX tubing is good ;and will hold up but it is the fittings that can't take the expansion as well. Watch for slow drips and check for wet spots as it will cause mold and rot. Good luck. Maybe you were very lucky. If you have a gas only waterheater I would check closely around there.

[McIver]

Update: Well one of the fittings is leaking and being repaired now. While it is open I noticed that the output from the heater is held to the next connection by tape only. Half of it has come loose like was pictured in a recent post here. How does one get to that space to put in some sheet metal screws to hold it up?
Also if supplemental heat is put in at that point (behind the heater where all the water lines run will it get to the tanks? I am thinking of putting in an electric heater / blower so I don't have to rely on the propane heater so much when it is super cold (windchill tonight will be -15 or lower). Does the belly have to be opened to check / improve the warm air circulation down by the tanks?
Thanks in advance for the advice.

[McIver]

Update to the update: Have had the leak repaired. Forum was right it was a fitting not the piping that failed. Here is what I have done.
Removed the panel at the side of the convenience center and the panel behind that in the back of the storage area. This leaves all the water pipes and furnace fitting exposed and easily accessible. Installed a fan to blow into the area aft over the tanks. Put a ceramic heater in the laundry bin to provide heat (will replace that with a heat lamp)into the storage area. The Fan and the ceramic heater are plugged in at the side of the stairs and can therefore be unplugged easily when temps are more reasonable. Removed the slats below the stairs to route upstairs heat to the storage area to augment the ceramic heater. Using the fireplace and an oil radiant radiator for upstairs heat. The ceiling fan in the living room helps circulate this heat. Will be putting insulation on the storage doors tomorrow.
Would welcome comments from those with more experience.
The upshot is that I will not have the furnace going on and off every 5 minutes all night when temps drop into the teens. My beauty sleep is important to my adoring fans.

[Ozz]

Good morning, sorry to hear your rig froze, but it sounds like you got by with minimum damage.
I would turn on the water pump, if all of the unit is thawed out, the pump will run a bit then stop. If it stops and stays stopped, you are probably OK as far as cracked fittings, or burst lines.
I can see a problem if you use electric heat, the unit was designed to circulate, or to be correct, blow air into the bottom area to keep tanks and lines from freezing. If you use electric heat, the furnace won't cycle on properly, you could be all toasty warm upstairs, but below you might freeze lines, and fittings, possibly tanks as well.
I think a heater in the basement would probably be OK, as the thermostat won't sense the heat, and cycle more or less normally. The furnace is noisy, but we use a 'white-noise generator' it masks noises when we are in a place that is noisy, The furnace noise doesn't bother me at night, we keep the trailer at 62-64 at night, and use a small heater in the bedroom when it's really cold.
The fittings on the furnace should be 'spin-in' fittings, turn right to seat, you shouldn't have to screw them in, but if the hole isn't nice and round, you might have to.
Clean the area around the hole with rubbing-alcohol and the 'spin-in' and then the Aluminum type tape will adhere to it. (Lowe's)
Hope that helped.
Ozz

[McIver]

Thanks Ozz for the response.
Have another question: When working in the storage area on this I had too many space heaters on and blew the fuse for that area and the bedroom above. The fuses in the box are poorly labeled so it is difficult to determine what is the correct one to check. Any ideas or is hunt and peck in my future?

[bncinwv]

Fuses are DC, breakers are AC. Sounds like you threw the basement breaker which should be easy to find in the breaker panel. It may not be labeled but should be plainly visible if it tripped.
Bingo

[Ozz]

quote:Originally posted by McIver

Thanks Ozz for the response.
Have another question: When working in the storage area on this I had too many space heaters on and blew the fuse for that area and the bedroom above. The fuses in the box are poorly labeled so it is difficult to determine what is the correct one to check. Any ideas or is hunt and peck in my future?

Well, the one that is tripped will be that area, but you know that already, I suggest flipping each one off, one at a time and see what areas are without power, make a new label, or write it out and post it there. They are confusing the way the factory did it, but you will, in time know what goes where. If you run an extension cord, use a 14 ga for a 10' or so, (15 amp breakers) longer cords are best with 12 gage.
I went to my dad's house when he was retired and brought him 6 new 12 gage cords, I cut up his brown 16 ga cords in 3 pcs. He was bad about overloading extension cords.