Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > GENERAL DISCUSSIONS > Brrr it's cold outside! Winter Camping
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 12-10-2009, 01:12 PM   #1
cmawendy
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Albany
Posts: 287
M.O.C. #9222
black water tank froze

Has anyone had their black water tank freeze? We have been in -3 weather for the last 4 days....Mark went to dump the tank and the valve was froze so he use the hair dryer to thaw that and now the contents must be froze......we thought these tanks were heated???? Any suggestions? He has the hair dryer going down the tank now......
 
cmawendy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2009, 01:43 PM   #2
PapaBeav
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Apache Junction
Posts: 1,726
M.O.C. #7487
I have never had our tanks freeze. But instead of the hair dryer, try pouring some warm water into the tank to thaw it out.

Rich
PapaBeav is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2009, 02:05 PM   #3
Art-n-Marge
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Murrieta
Posts: 5,816
M.O.C. #9257
Send a message via MSN to Art-n-Marge Send a message via Yahoo to Art-n-Marge
I don't believe the tanks are heated but there is an attempt to keep them insulated. In the past they would put them under the trailers and exposed to the elements and would freeze very quickly.

Where, pray tell, are you located right now?

Nowadays, they are installed above an insulation barrier as close to the center of the coach as possible, under the coach. If you look under the rig you will see a black plastic-like cover and that cover has a thin layer of material on the inside that is supposed to help with insulation. The hope was that the interior of the coach when being used might provide some heat and prevent freezing. But several days of -3 weather would pretty much freeze anything. And there are still less expensive units still made without any insulation. So much for the Arctic Package, huh?

I hope things warm up for you pretty quick.
Art-n-Marge is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2009, 02:08 PM   #4
HamRad
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Bakersfield
Posts: 5,316
M.O.C. #15
cmawendy,
I don't believe the tanks are heated. At least they are not individually heated. They do route some heat from the furnace down into the belly to help keep the tanks from freezing but that is about all they do.

The tips you've received are good ones to help solve your problem. Good luck and let us know how things work out.

HamRad
HamRad is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2009, 02:26 PM   #5
ols1932
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 4,876
M.O.C. #1944
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by cmawendy

Has anyone had their black water tank freeze? We have been in -3 weather for the last 4 days....Mark went to dump the tank and the valve was froze so he use the hair dryer to thaw that and now the contents must be froze......we thought these tanks were heated???? Any suggestions? He has the hair dryer going down the tank now......
I once had an RV with arctic blankets under the septics. They operated on 12-volts DC. I turned them on whenever I felt the temps required it. They kept the tanks from freezing even in subzero temps (-10 degrees). If you had these things, you would have known because they cost quite a bit extra.

Orv
ols1932 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2009, 02:27 PM   #6
richfaa
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: North Ridgeville
Posts: 20,229
M.O.C. #2839
The tanks themselves are not heated. Heat is blown into the under belly.. But.. - 3 degrees is well... cold. How in the world have you been keeping warm..Arctic package was just PR. As you have found out..
richfaa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2009, 02:34 PM   #7
bigmurf
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Sunshine
Posts: 1,445
M.O.C. #538
Hand full of rock salt down the toilet.
bigmurf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2009, 02:47 PM   #8
cmawendy
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Albany
Posts: 287
M.O.C. #9222
Well looks like the ice melt and hot water did the trick....thanks everyone We are in Goldendale Washington, which is 2 hrs east of Portland Oregon up the Gorge on the Washington side. We have had single digit weather for a week with below zero weather for 3-4 days. Mark runs a crane that puts up the wind towers....I will be glad when this job is done and we can get out of here Merry Christmas to all
cmawendy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-10-2009, 03:55 PM   #9
exav8tr
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Casa Grande
Posts: 5,369
M.O.C. #6333
Mark you might consider an electric blanket between the tank and the insulation under the belly cover, run the cord outside and plug in when you need to keep things warm. Don't know how long youwill be in that area but may be worth the extra time it takes to do that. You could drop a belly cover to see where your tanks are. In my 06 3400 they are up front under the bedroom and basement. Another thing that can be done is place an electric heater in your basement and let it run. Hope one of these is an answer for you. Good luck pardner....
exav8tr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2009, 12:42 AM   #10
jimcol
Montana Master
 
jimcol's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Posts: 2,702
M.O.C. #7992
Send a message via AIM to jimcol Send a message via MSN to jimcol
I normally would never recommend this. Due to the extreme conditions you might want to consider leaving your dump valve open and flush with mucho water after every use. Just a thought, I'm sure others will have comments.
Jim
__________________
2006 3000RK
2009 Ram 2500
jimcol is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2009, 12:47 AM   #11
Tom S.
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Waterford
Posts: 3,693
M.O.C. #7500
Maybe you need to add more salt to your diet!?
Tom S. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-11-2009, 02:58 AM   #12
Champ_49
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Vermontville
Posts: 1,129
M.O.C. #9045
Send a message via Yahoo to Champ_49
Now Tom...........that was bad!!!!!!!!!!!
Champ_49 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 05:35 PM   #13
travelRN
Established Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Guthrie
Posts: 22
M.O.C. #9960
Hi I am new to Montana. We bought the cart before the horse. We got a 2010 Montana Hickory Edition 3665. As for traveling in it we haven't yet as we do not have a truck to pull it. Working on that now. As for the black water freezing. What about dumping in some RV antifreeze. Should do the trick. Becky
travelRN is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-27-2009, 11:24 PM   #14
ols1932
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 4,876
M.O.C. #1944
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by jimcol

I normally would never recommend this. Due to the extreme conditions you might want to consider leaving your dump valve open and flush with mucho water after every use. Just a thought, I'm sure others will have comments.
Jim
That might work but it would take a huge amount of water to be sure everything flowed through. In really cold weather, you have to use enough water to be certain it doesn't freeze little by little as it goes down the sewer pipe. You could have an ice buildup if you flushed very often, then you'd have another problem. Those sewer hoses do not like ice. They often break and then you have a real mess.

We've found (and maybe Icehouse can verify) that it's best to keep the underbelly as warm as possible, then dump the septics during the warmest part of the day (even though it may be freezing). That way you are pretty well assured that everything will go down.

Orv
ols1932 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2009, 02:06 AM   #15
nunya
Montana Fan
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Moab
Posts: 316
M.O.C. #6756
been very cold here in Moab and several have frozen the tanks and broken lines..BUMMER! All of the above will help the freezing but a full skirt around the RV makes a world of difference, I know cause we have one. Have had NO freezing issues to date, the only thing that has happend is my fresh water fill hose blew off the back of the inlet manifold WOW what a mess that made! I gotta think that the heat from the heat taped, insulated water hose transferred enough heat to loosen the crimp on the fitting????? Oh well
nunya is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
BLACK WATER TANK ajjoez Montana Problems, Problem Solving & Technical Help 12 05-17-2013 10:35 AM
Froze 30# LP Tank 01RAMer Montana Problems, Problem Solving & Technical Help 20 01-25-2013 05:48 AM
black tank water flush will not take water jimkottke Maintenance 15 12-18-2010 02:20 AM
black water tank Doug and Anita Repairs & Service 26 06-12-2008 11:46 AM
Black Water Tank? dannyl Montana Problems, Problem Solving & Technical Help 7 12-12-2005 12:00 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.