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De-winterising


Ppauly

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Hi,

Can anybody give me any info on de-winterising? I use my motorhome all year round because I work away from home. Would it be ok to lag the Truma water heater or does it need to be drained? Does the toilet waste and flushing tanks need to be kept empty? What about the main water tank and waste tank? How economical are the gas appliances? Would I be able to keep the water heater/gas fire on lowest setting to tackle the above issues or would this cost too much? Off to work now so will read replies next week. Any info very much appreciated. Thanks, Paul J

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Guest JudgeMental
peter - 2007-10-15 5:59 PM

 

Did you really mean Winterising?

 

Dont you think it wise to hang back for a little? lol

 

As we don't want to scare off the newbies do we........ :-D

 

 

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Ppauly - 2007-10-15 5:49 PM

 

Hi,

Can anybody give me any info on de-winterising? I use my motorhome all year round because I work away from home. Would it be ok to lag the Truma water heater or does it need to be drained? Does the toilet waste and flushing tanks need to be kept empty? What about the main water tank and waste tank? How economical are the gas appliances? Would I be able to keep the water heater/gas fire on lowest setting to tackle the above issues or would this cost too much? Off to work now so will read replies next week. Any info very much appreciated. Thanks, Paul J

As you stated that you use it all year round I can't see that you would have a problem. Not in this country anyway. If you were up in the Alps you might have to take precautions. If you don't use it for a while drain down the tanks and water heater, no big deal. This is only a general answer as you don't say how long it will be laid up.
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dont know what your confused about in the question.

 

Ppauly want to know if he need to do the full winterization procedures if he uses the van through the winter........the only bit i guess he hasn't said is how long between each trip its unused for.

 

I'd say if its unused for more than 1 day in the winter when its below zero, theres a risk of freezing and therefore damage.

 

To avoid this, and to avoid draining down everything every time its unused, i'd suggest a low wattage heater that clicks on when the temp gets low. I got one in bnq for £15 to put in my shed in winter to stop the paints freezing. This, of course, would require the van to be hooked up.

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JudgeMental - 2007-10-15 6:09 PM

 

peter - 2007-10-15 5:59 PM

 

Did you really mean Winterising?

 

Dont you think it wise to hang back for a little? lol

 

As we don't want to scare off the newbies do we........ :-D

 

 

Sorry, should have said, "any USEFUL comments greatly appreciated". Maybe you could try boiling your heads!!

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Thanks Handyman but where I am I've got no 240 hook up. I'm going to invest in a solar panel so maybe I can get a 12 volt low watt heater. I'm going to be hooked up to a 47kg propane cylinder and am considering putting gas heater on permanent low in cold spells. I've already got access to shower facilities on site so might just dump the water out of the heater and use kettle for boiling water for dishes etc. Thanks for advice.
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I use it on a weekly basis then come home for two days. The gas fire in the van will be on from evening to next morning on low but will this be enough to keep the water from freezing in the water heater, which is situated under one of the living accommodation bench seats on the opposite side from the gas fire. Thanks
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yes, you could try the gas heater on low for this winter, and see how much it costs you 8-)

 

Might not be too much........better than empty everything

 

 

dont think a solar panel would work very well, seeing as it will be in the winter you would need it. If you search for 'solar panel' you will see lots on it, but i dont think anyone uses them to create leccy for heating...........I may be wrong *-)

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Hi Paul. Unless you are confident that all efforts to avoid frost damage are carried out then I would drain off all onboard water when not in use.

You are in the same postion as my brother in law who works away for 5 days, using his motorhome for accommmodation and then parking up at home for the weekend.

Winterised his Autosleeper but still had to replace the o ring on his boiler. More to the point he had a 5lt plastic jack that he kept for drinking purposes freeze solid, and this was kept in the wardrobe. All this came about when a mild evening turned into a bitterly cold snap overnight.

Only takes 5 or 10 minutes to drain and refill the systems, and a better option than costly repairs or replacements.

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Ppauly - 2007-10-22 2:35 PM

 

JudgeMental - 2007-10-15 6:09 PM

 

peter - 2007-10-15 5:59 PM

 

Did you really mean Winterising?

 

Dont you think it wise to hang back for a little? lol

 

As we don't want to scare off the newbies do we........ :-D

 

 

Sorry, should have said, "any USEFUL comments greatly appreciated". Maybe you could try boiling your heads!!

So you can use the heat generated to warm your van? Good idea. (lol)
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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for advice, think I've got it sorted now. Just bought a king size duck down quilt!

Going to use a large water carrier to store water in and empty the water tanks, just to be safe. Better not put the water carrier in the wardrobe though!

Howie, what does your brother-in-law do and where's he working from? I might know him.

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My brother in law works for Bywaters based in the Midlands Ppauly. They send him all over the country and he,s driving a crawler crane somewhere close to Coventry I believe but i,m not sure. If this rings a bell i,ll p.m. his details on to you.
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