I am new to the Heartland Owners Forum as I just purchased a 2015 3450TS Big Country. We are about to make a trip to Kentucky, where the weather is forecast to be in the teens for several nights. To protect the water supply line to the icemaker, I have turned off the icemaker, turned off the water supply line under the sink, opened the drain cock under the slideout, turned off main water supply to RV, released pressure from refrigerator by depressing water dispenser paddle and released pressure from under sink supply by opening up kitchen faucet and opened up pressure relief valve on hot water tank for a few minutes. Is there anything else I need to do to keep the water supply line from freezing? Maybe insulation on as much of the water line as I can get to?? Thanks.
Residential refrigerator in freezing weather conditions
- Thread starter Nealp49
- Start date
jimtoo
Moderator
Hi Nealp49,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.
If you have questions about anything in/on your unit, you can usually find the answer right here. We have a great search engine on the forum, both simple and advanced. Sometimes that is the fastest way to find an answer instead of waiting on someone to reply.
Also we have a great owners manuals and Heartland User Guide area in the Tools tab at top of page. A lot of the guides are written by members or owners that actually used the subject.
Hopefully you will get the info from some of our other members that do the winterizing all the time soon.
Jim M
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.
If you have questions about anything in/on your unit, you can usually find the answer right here. We have a great search engine on the forum, both simple and advanced. Sometimes that is the fastest way to find an answer instead of waiting on someone to reply.
Also we have a great owners manuals and Heartland User Guide area in the Tools tab at top of page. A lot of the guides are written by members or owners that actually used the subject.
Hopefully you will get the info from some of our other members that do the winterizing all the time soon.
Jim M
danemayer
Well-known member
A couple of us tested the passive drain approach on a residential refrigerator last Spring and found that only a little bit of water in the feed line and frig actually drained. I'd suggest you use compressed air. The procedure is detailed in the Residential Refrigerator Guide. Depending on which refrigerator came with your trailer, the steps involving the refrigerator controls could be a little different.
EPaulikonis
Well-known member
Temps in OH are at 8F and it's only getting colder in the next few days, so single digit temps in KY are probably. While it may be a little lengthy, I'd go through the winterization process in the HUG manual using compressed air to insure all water is out of the line from the sink valve through the refrigerator unit. This will insure the water is also removed from the solenoid, which will contain water and is susceptible to freezing even though you bled water using the valve on the frame assembly. I'd also remove the water filter once you have bled the line just to be on the safe side.
I also double wrapped as much of the exposed line under the slide as possible. I used the adhesive thermal aluminum wrap and 1/4" foam pipe insulation. The inner tape wrap will help remove most of the annular space since it's almost impossible to find someone who carries 1/8" pipe insulation in stock. I also put pipe insulation over the external drain valve mounted on the frame.
I also double wrapped as much of the exposed line under the slide as possible. I used the adhesive thermal aluminum wrap and 1/4" foam pipe insulation. The inner tape wrap will help remove most of the annular space since it's almost impossible to find someone who carries 1/8" pipe insulation in stock. I also put pipe insulation over the external drain valve mounted on the frame.
Bohemian
Well-known member
Once the main water lines are drained, the simplest thing to do is keep the RV heated to above 40F.
I personally would not trust that air would effectively purge the ice maker lines in the frig. I would want to see pink RV antifreeze in the ice bucket.
Still, if the RV interior never gets near freezing temps, the inside ice maker water lines will not freeze.
If you are putting the RV away for the winter unattended, forget this post.
I personally would not trust that air would effectively purge the ice maker lines in the frig. I would want to see pink RV antifreeze in the ice bucket.
Still, if the RV interior never gets near freezing temps, the inside ice maker water lines will not freeze.
If you are putting the RV away for the winter unattended, forget this post.
danemayer
Well-known member
Using antifreeze in the ice maker line in the Frigidaire residential unit will create quite a mess in the frig. If you use compressed air to clear the lines, you'll understand why antifreeze would be a problem. I assume you'd get similar results with the LG and Samsung units.
ALSO, no matter how warm the inside of the RV is kept, the short run of water feed line under the slide is certain to freeze when outside temps drop.