# frozen pipes anyone



## l77 tuf (Jan 8, 2010)

our bathroom waste pipe has frozen up now and we leave it till it defrosts itself its to  had to do as its fully hidden inside van chassis our kitchen waste pipe frozen this morn but we easy defrost that due to it being in the snow boil the kettle and pour it down and hey prestow its done we also got frozen hot water pipe to kitchen even when its insulated it is thawing now the hot water is on in kitchen but not bathroom yet 

same shxt at this time of yr every yr for us 

how do you lot go on please dont say ours is on drive never used in winter 


we use 365/52 a yr and so do our freinds/family


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## maingate (Jan 8, 2010)

What might help you is to leave your cupboard doors slightly open. Put a towel over the top or wedge them. The heat in the van will get to the recesses of the van that way.

Most toilets have no heating supply, so wedge the door open (except when using toilet facilities of course). Wedge open the cupboard under the washbasin.

In short, just try to get the warmth everywhere you can.


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## Guest (Jan 8, 2010)

Good advice Maingate.
I have even got 2 oil heaters running 24/7 at the moment and as you say I usually do keep the cupboard doors that are near to water pipes open.
About one hour ago, it was minus 7 outside and inside our Hymer it was 12 deg.
Early this morning it was minus 13 outside our back door
All you can do is keep the inside of your van as warm as possible and let the air circulate wherever the water pipes are


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## Nosha (Jan 8, 2010)

On the last cold snap I drained all water tanks and the water heater frost valve had cut in and emptied the tank, what I did forget to do was run the water pump with all taps open!!!

This time I ran the pump until dry, then blew back through the taps with them all open to remove as much as possible, things still froze but with no split pipes. A drop of anti-freeze poured down all sinks and shower trays stops the U bends from freezing!


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## ajs (Jan 8, 2010)

*you daft smugger tuffnumber...*

.

when i read yer thread title i thought you had some fer sale..


regards
aj


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## derekfaeberwick (Jan 8, 2010)

l77 tuf said:


> our bathroom waste pipe has frozen up now and we leave it till it defrosts itself its to  had to do as its fully hidden inside van chassis our kitchen waste pipe frozen this morn but we easy defrost that due to it being in the snow boil the kettle and pour it down and hey prestow its done we also got frozen hot water pipe to kitchen even when its insulated it is thawing now the hot water is on in kitchen but not bathroom yet
> 
> same shxt at this time of yr every yr for us
> 
> ...




 Hey tuf, Mines a Burstner, and being German they rout the water pipes alongside the hot air ducts.

  The bog also gets the benefit of the hot air, which can make it a bit 'RIPE' sometimes, but it never freezes when occupied.

  I'm sure,from your previous posts, that you'll take this onboard and sort your van accordingly.

  Thanks for your input to the site and offers re stainless.


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## l77 tuf (Jan 9, 2010)

ajs said:


> .
> 
> when i read yer thread title i thought you had some fer sale..
> 
> ...




*engage brain before mouth hey ajs *



also we have hot air blowing in bathroom its just the shower pipes run along near back door even insulated the pipes/doors it still gets in because its that cold


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## rolandrat (Jan 9, 2010)

*Frozen Pipes*

When draining down if you have a motorhome with a Shurflo pump dont forget to loosen off the filter bowl as water will remain in it and could crack it when it thaws.


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## ajs (Jan 9, 2010)

l77 tuf said:


> *engage brain before mouth hey ajs *


 

 never mind... bound to hit stony groung sometime..

 regards
aj


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## guerdeval (Jan 9, 2010)

I've looked at a number of different makes of motorhomes over a few years and am always surprised to see they never lag the pipes with the foam stuff used in the house.Does anyone?


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## Dezi (Jan 9, 2010)

Hi, Um yes, Murvi does, all internal pipes fully lagged. However 1 have had the webasto on low all this week with cupboards open. 

Dezi


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## l77 tuf (Jan 9, 2010)

ajs said:


> never mind... bound to hit stony groung sometime..
> 
> regards
> aj



*aj your either pissed diyslexic or carnt spell thats not my issue as i see you up set a lot of folk on here not bother us lot thanks tuftey *

so next time pick on other folk hey cos if i see you i will see you around sometime


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## olpoll (Jan 9, 2010)

ive  had a 700w oil heater in for weeks ive also kept the boiler on at night to keep things frost free......BOY was i wrong i checked the taps yesterday afternoon and every thing was solid.....so i set about thawing,
i filled the van with heaters to get the temp up to about 90f checked 6 hours later and every thing was still frozen i finally got the bathroom tap going about midnight then started pouring hot water down the waists only to discover the waist tank was also solid,
in the end (2am) i finally left all the heaters on and rigged a fan heater outside under the van pointing at the waist tank and went to bed.
got up this morning and hey presto everything's thawed no leaks and working fine,
i fully drained the system and left the taps in the open position then gave the van a 30 mile run out parking up at all angles to let any remaining water run out,
in short ill never leave water in the system or waist tank and will always drain away when the hard frosts come.
i feel a lot happier now and a lot more confident the vans going to make it through this hell hole of a winter

thanks Andrew


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2010)

We have had one 800 kw oil heater going night and day and that is with the water drained.
Over the last few days with the temperatures so low I have even resorted to adding an extra 700 kw oil heater running in tandem
Today, I started the engine and run it for nearly a couple of hours with the heaters on and everything is ok


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## maingate (Jan 9, 2010)

I am not going to mention any names but I think that it is wrong to extol the benefits of oil heaters just because you have shares in the company that manufactures them.

This thread should be pulled immediately.


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2010)

maingate said:


> I am not going to mention any names but I think that it is wrong to extol the benefits of oil heaters just because you have shares in the company that manufactures them.
> 
> This thread should be pulled immediately.



Never thought of that better rush out and buy a few (or a lot)


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## marty (Jan 15, 2010)

LOl when we were away over new year we had frozen tank never mind pipes first night minus 12 and never thawed the whole week even with a camping gas stove under the tank for 4 hrs


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## olpoll (Jan 15, 2010)

its 5c up here in the north west today and its like the tropics the ice and snow is a distant memory....... fantastic im gonna fill that tank with water and hit the road
even me hens and ducks are happy now there pond as defrosted!.... BUT HEY THATS ANOTHER FORUM?


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## bevo (Jan 15, 2010)

*frozen pipes*

on our way down to costa blanca.
  we stayed at pamplona -13 degrees, had a 2kw fan heater on all night but the bloody pipes still froze.
  had the cupboards open and the water pump door open.
no damage though.
  it's been a cool 19 degrees today in albir (whew)


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## lyn (Jan 15, 2010)

*Living in*

Hi, is anyone living in their homes & if so have they suffered frozen pipes?


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## welshrarebit (Jan 23, 2010)

hi yes we are living in our MH and had frozen pipes but we have an electric heater on 24/7 but only up to the 1000kw leve cos of other appliancesl, we had to drain all tanks and live out of 2lt bottles even for flushing but we managed its cos of having to really we dont have a home only the one we can drive around


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## runnach (Jan 23, 2010)

triciamcpartlin said:


> hi yes we are living in our MH and had frozen pipes but we have an electric heater on 24/7 but only up to the 1000kw leve cos of other appliancesl, we had to drain all tanks and live out of 2lt bottles even for flushing but we managed its cos of having to really we dont have a home only the one we can drive around



Yup me too, in fact only on Wednesday did I start to refill the onboard tank.

Thankfully no taps exploded, however I was a little confused at the water pump working overtime, I just thought It was taking time to refill the system hot water tank etc.....Then I went into the bathroom and I had forgot to close the taps on the shower.....lots of things soaked including dog food !!!.

A numpty moment of the grandest scale 

Having uttered a little ancient Anglo Saxon , operation clean up commenced, and then the light saga started.

Thursday however I had acquired some nice looking sausages on the cheap from Tesco and decided to extend the awning and BBQ them outside..

Mad I know, But it all came back ,that despite the challenges of cold drafts wet beds etc...My romance with the outdoors and camping is far from dead!!.

roll on the spring and summer !!|

Channa


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## derekfaeberwick (Jan 23, 2010)

l77 tuf said:


> *aj your either pissed diyslexic or carnt spell thats not my issue as i see you up set a lot of folk on here not bother us lot thanks tuftey *
> 
> so next time pick on other folk hey cos if i see you i will see you around sometime





  Said the pettle to the kot.

  Stoney ground may prevail though!  .


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## runnach (Jan 23, 2010)

derekfaeberwick said:


> Said the pettle to the kot.
> 
> Stoney ground may prevail though!  .



Such a friendly bunch at times arent we ....????

So come on then i has had a bath whos up for a group hug ??? 

Channa


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## biggirafe (Jan 23, 2010)

channa said:


> Mad I know, But it all came back ,that despite the challenges of cold drafts wet beds etc...My romance with the outdoors and camping is far from dead!!.
> 
> roll on the spring and summer !!|
> 
> Channa



Not mad at all, new year last we BBQ'd in the Garden, the sun was out and we got in the sun trap out of the wind and had a great bbq even ate at the bench outside, its what its all about Channa, good on ya


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## runnach (Jan 23, 2010)

biggirafe said:


> Not mad at all, new year last we BBQ'd in the Garden, the sun was out and we got in the sun trap out of the wind and had a great bbq even ate at the bench outside, its what its all about Channa, good on ya



TBH Mark I was in one of those frames of mind, and considering the time of year it all came back in a flash of why I had chosen this path.

Forest, wildlife, and in harmony with nature. I know it sounds romantic etc etc..but for a moment the purpose came back after worrying about exploding taps etc.

I must have been at peace I even shared a sausage with the hound 

I full time as you know, and a couple of times in the bad weather I have become despondant and asked myself what I am playing at....I guess it s not all plain sailing is my point.

I know you and your family wish to embark on your own journey, But it can be tough at times is my point and I am not to proud to vocalise the fact.

But the pluses sure outweigh the minuses I think 

Channa
Channa


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## ajs (Jan 23, 2010)

.

i going to be sick...

 regards 
aj


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## runnach (Jan 23, 2010)

ajs said:


> .
> 
> i going to be sick...
> 
> ...


Well use yer own buckit not mine !!....

And mind the lino !!

Channa


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## l77 tuf (Jan 25, 2010)

we live in ours also so we managed o by the way feb is going to be worse than jan for weather and snow fall


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## lyn (Feb 7, 2010)

Thanks for the answers. I am off to Scotland this week, on my way to Ireland. The temps don't look to be too low so I take it I can stick to butane gas or do I need to change to propane?

thanks

lyn


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## Deleted member 775 (Feb 7, 2010)

we have had frozen pipes over the past few weeks but. We use bottled untill we thaw out by the way we changed to propain while its realy cold


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## Tony Lee (Feb 7, 2010)

lyn said:


> Thanks for the answers. I am off to Scotland this week, on my way to Ireland. The temps don't look to be too low so I take it I can stick to butane gas or do I need to change to propane?
> 
> thanks
> 
> lyn


Butane stops forming a gas at ambient temperatures below about 5ºC (depending on how fast the gas is being drawn off) so unless the bottle is in a gas locker getting a bit of heat, you might find your gas heater giving up in the small hours. 
For the sake of a few dollars, I would stick to propane


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## Coach (Feb 7, 2010)

*Pipe Insulation.*

Hi the type of insulation ive put around my pipes & boiler is the insulation that they put up in the roofs of houses, not the roll out type, neither the type you put around pipes. The type you put under the tiles it comes in square boards, B&Q have it & Wickes it also comes in diverent sises, if you put your hand onto it you will feel the heat straight away.
I go of to the French Alps Skiing every year, of this Thursday comeing, & since i put this type of insulation in, ive never had a frozen pipe.
Sorry i cant remember the name of it

Coach.


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