Pete-B Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 If there is water in our Warwick Autosleeper XL and the temperature gets down to just zero or one under is it likely to freeze whilst outside and not in use. Appreciate your advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 Hi I think your question is way to vague, There are so many parameters needed to cause it to freeze as you say outside and not in use. But cold weather can be a good indication to drain down to prevent damage, if it is just water. Of course if it's a heating system with antifreeze , not really Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmold Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 If you leave 12v system switched on your automatic drain valve will dump your hot tank water if it drops below 3° but if you leave your pump on then it will pump all your fresh tank water through the boiler and dump it. Switch pump off and it will only dump the hot tank water but there's still the danger of water in pipes freezing. Best to drain down before temps drop that low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Pete's Warwick XL is a 2020 model and (I think) is fitted with a Whale "Duo" air/water heating system. The instructions for that system advise that its control panel has a 'Frost Protection' setting (that requires a 'live' 12V supply to maintain) but there seems to be no mention that the water-boiler's drain-valve will automatically open in freezing weather (as happens with Truma anti-frost valves). Users of the Duo system just appear to be warned to 'winterise' the water-boiler by manually opening the boiler's drain-valve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-B Posted April 19, 2023 Author Share Posted April 19, 2023 I guess it was a silly question to ask in the first place really. We haven't used the van yet this year so yesterday I filled the system with sterilising solution ready for our first trip but now thats not going to be for another fortnight. So just wondered should I just leave it until we go and change the water then or just drain down which in reality is, I guess, the best thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Just out of interest, does your Warwick XL have the Whale "Duo" heating system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david lloyd Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Pete, not just the hot water tank but taps are prone to frost damage too. Best to drain down all the system in winter and leave taps open in the middle position between hot and cold. Which sterilising agent have you used? Some are good for the boiler. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtravel Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Is it still freezing in Great Britain ? Spring has broken out here, the swallows are back. But there is a though, except for a few sprays, it hasn't rained for months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 Hi Pete, Not a silly question at all. It can helps many more on here that maybe are new to motor homing Some very good answers for you here , if your worried about freezing in the future,always drain down for peace of mind and open all taps in the middle(as David suggests) with pump off Good to take it for a short spin before layup with drain open. Lets hope for good weather from now on (one never knows) and enjoy your trip in a few weeks time Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 2 hours ago, mtravel said: Is it still freezing in Great Britain ? Spring has broken out here, the swallows are back. But there is a though, except for a few sprays, it hasn't rained for months. Swallows are here, but I believe -1c is forecast for some areas in the next few days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 12 hours ago, Pete-B said: I guess it was a silly question to ask in the first place really. We haven't used the van yet this year so yesterday I filled the system with sterilising solution ready for our first trip but now thats not going to be for another fortnight. So just wondered should I just leave it until we go and change the water then or just drain down which in reality is, I guess, the best thing to do. I tend to drain down fully between trips, except during the summer season. Taps open in central position. Forecast temperatures often turn out to be a high estimate if you're in a rural or semi-rural area, and there are various parts of the water system that are vulnerable, not just the boiler. A particular additional problem for external devices and tanks is windchill. I posted only a week or so ago that I'd had the boiler dump unexpectedly whilst away, and in a heavy frost. I doubt anything would have frozen (it's all inboard), but the temperature obviously got low enough to trip the dump valve. I've only ever suffered damage once. I'd drained the full system, but forgot to dismount the 3M water filter and empty it; it cracked after freezing. (It was b***dy cold, though!). As David has alluded, be careful what sterilising solution you use, some are a threat to the stainless steel in boilers. In addition, I'd also check the instructions as some solutions recommend a time limit in the system before flushing (maybe 12-24 hours). Puriclean, for instance, recommend 1 to 12 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 The latent heat of freezing for water is 80 calories/gram.This means that at in order to freeze at 0C, a given amount of water will have to lose FOUR times as much heat (energy) as it would to cool it from 20C. It will just not happen if the temperature dips briefly below 0C. In view of the small temperature difference it would take several days at -1C for the water to freeze, not just an hour or so below freezing point. Check the weather forecast. The nightime minimum at my location is forecast as +2C for the next two weeks. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete-B Posted April 20, 2023 Author Share Posted April 20, 2023 Morning all, Sorry I'm a bit late in answering, yes I do have the whale system Derek with the submerged water pump, been ok up to now (fingers crossed) David, I use Puriclean to sterilise the system and I've been using this for between the last 12 - 15 years now and find it does the job well. Hope you all have a good season and the sun shines down on you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.