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12-10-2009, 01:12 PM
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#1
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Albany
Posts: 287
M.O.C. #9222
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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......
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12-10-2009, 01:43 PM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Apache Junction
Posts: 1,726
M.O.C. #7487
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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
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12-10-2009, 02:05 PM
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#3
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Montana Master
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Murrieta
Posts: 5,816
M.O.C. #9257
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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.
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12-10-2009, 02:08 PM
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#4
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Bakersfield
Posts: 5,316
M.O.C. #15
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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
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12-10-2009, 02:26 PM
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#5
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 4,876
M.O.C. #1944
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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......
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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
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12-10-2009, 02:27 PM
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#6
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: North Ridgeville
Posts: 20,229
M.O.C. #2839
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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..
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12-10-2009, 02:34 PM
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#7
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Montana Master
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Sunshine
Posts: 1,445
M.O.C. #538
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Hand full of rock salt down the toilet.
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12-10-2009, 02:47 PM
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#8
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Albany
Posts: 287
M.O.C. #9222
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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
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12-10-2009, 03:55 PM
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#9
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Montana Master
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Casa Grande
Posts: 5,369
M.O.C. #6333
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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....
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12-11-2009, 12:42 AM
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#10
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Montana Master
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Posts: 2,702
M.O.C. #7992
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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
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12-11-2009, 12:47 AM
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#11
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Waterford
Posts: 3,693
M.O.C. #7500
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Maybe you need to add more salt to your diet!?
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12-11-2009, 02:58 AM
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#12
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Vermontville
Posts: 1,129
M.O.C. #9045
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Now Tom...........that was bad!!!!!!!!!!!
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12-27-2009, 05:35 PM
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#13
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Established Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Guthrie
Posts: 22
M.O.C. #9960
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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
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12-27-2009, 11:24 PM
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#14
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 4,876
M.O.C. #1944
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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
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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
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12-28-2009, 02:06 AM
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#15
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Moab
Posts: 316
M.O.C. #6756
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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
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