Should I be worried about my Seneca freezing.

[Rick-in-Houston]

Hey guys, I live in Houston, TX and have owned Seneca's for several years. We have never had to winterize because it never gets that cold here.
Well, guess what the temperature has been in the low twenties for over 24 hours and I now worried about the water lines and pump. I do keep it in a storage unit with 3 walls and I did drain the unit a the low point drains and put antifreeze in the sinks and shower to protect the pee traps.
You guys that live up north and have lots of experience with this type of weather I would love to hear your input.

Thanks,
Rick
2017 Jayco Seneca 37RB

[Robbbyr]

Rick,
Do you have access to an air compressor to blow out all the lines? Short of a a full-blown antifreeze infusion, it is the next best thing. For some, it is all they do. Might need to warm it up with the furnace to thaw any low spots water might have settled in and froze.

Watch things carefully when it warms up, you might already have cracked a plumbing elbow, which will leak later. The pex piping is resilient, but the elbows are the weak link.

[wags999]

I would not be overly concerned, pex is very flexible and doesn't easily break with freezing. That being said I would blow out the lines anything its going to get below freezing.

[Sundancer330]

It looks like after tonight the Houston area won't get below freezing anytime soon. When you opened the low point drains did you open the faucets to help bleed off any pressure in the lines. You should be ok since the daytime temps will be above freezing.

[Rick-in-Houston]

Thanks guys for your response. I have an air compressor so what is the procedure for blowing out the lines?

[curbhugger]

Do a search on you tube to see how. Very easy. Blowing the lines out works for me in TX with fully enclosed storage. We had 20 last night. Don't forget the water line to the ice maker.

You will need to buy or make a fitting to connect to the water fill - which connects the air compressor line.

[Robbbyr]

I use an adapter I made, but you can get them at most any RV store too. It allows air to be introduced at the panel "water in" fitting. I regulate my air to about 25 - 30 psi and open the faucets in turn. Also cycle all the low point drains. I blow till it is (mostly) dry air coming out. Flush the toilet several times too. Cycle all the valves on the panel also to blow out those lines. Set them to "Country Fill" and turn on the water pump for a bit to push any water through the pump too. It won't hurt it to be run dry for a short time. I also remove my water filter before I start and replace the empty housing. No point in blowing a quart of water into the system when you are trying to empty it.

Then you need to put more antifreeze into the traps since it has now been diluted. Empty your tanks and to be extra safe put some antifreeze down the drain and toilet so it protects the dump valves from any remaining water.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by Rick-in-Houston

Thanks guys for your response. I have an air compressor so what is the procedure for blowing out the lines?

Go to Menards, if you have one in your area, and buy a male garden hose to air compressor fitting. I have only seen them at Menards, in the individually bagged brass fitting section. Or you can make one up with a variety of components. Screw it into the city water connection, set the AC (air compressor) regulator to under 40 psi. Connect the AC hose to the city water connection, co inside and open each valve, I usually start the faucet farthest away, for me that is the kitchen sink. Then I just work my way around to all the faucet, don't forget the toilet, outside shower, and the black tank flush.

If you have a tanked water heater I would drain it manually while you are setting the AC up.

I do not worry about the pex freezing, I worry about the fittings.

If the temp will below freezing for just a few hours, I would not worry to much about it, but a full 24 hours of below freezing, I would drain everything.

Your first time will take you a little longer, but 20 minutes and you should be done.

You can also buy a female hose to AC adapter. I use this on my garden hose bibs at the stick house to blow the larden hose lines out, but I have all my hose bibs tied to one master shutoff, so they are easy to blow out for the winter.

Robbbyr, also has a good point, make sure to blow out the water pump, including the prefilter screen.

[pconroy]

Blowing out the lines and/or winterizing with RV Antifreeze is the best and safest approach. That said, we see mid 20's all the time and all I do is keep the heat on (either furnace or electric space heaters).

[Rick-in-Houston]

Thanks again Guys for your help. I just hope it not too late.

Rick

[Sundancer330]

You can purchase a blow out fitting at any RV dealer or Amazon has them, don't use more than 40PSI when blowing. Here is a link to one on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-36143-B...ow+out+fitting

[McGintys924]

I most time in my Seneca up here in WV and have found that even with the furnace on at 80 degrees the wet bay and tank bay are only at 5 degrees above ambient. Therefore there are heaters in both those locations. Theoretically there would be enough heat being dumped into the wheel well area to keep those lines safe (tested to 24 degrees ambient). But, I completely agree with Robbyr and pconroy that you should take measures to prevent freezing at the connections. Even if that plastic elbow does expand and not break, the crimp ring may be stretched and cause a leak. I personally am a fan of antifreeze, but If you feel good with air, then go that route. My concern is likely only theoretical that water could be left in a low spot that the air passes over on its way to your fixture.

The one point I want to make is that since you have a '17, you have the macerater unit on your wet bay. I feel that traps a lot of water. Maybe drain all water from gray/black, then make sure that a good 1/2 gal gets drained into that macerater when you are filling traps. That is something that the pre '16 units do not have to contend with.

From something I read once it does take time to cool the water down to the point of bursting, so you might be fine. Good luck!

[Robbbyr]

Originally Posted by Rick-in-Houston

Thanks again Guys for your help. I just hope it not too late.

Rick

You are welcome.

Before your next adventure I would make sure you test the plumbing. First I would again use air and listen all over the rig for escaping air when all faucets and low point drains are closed. If that passes, I would suggest slowly pressurize the system with city pressure and again look and listen carefully for any leaks. If it passes that test, I would then recommend lining up the pump and pressurize the system using the tank/pump. Make sure all air is bled out, then shut all the fixtures and leave it sit with the pump left on. If you have a hidden leak the pump will cycle regularly. How frequently it does cycle may indicate how severe it is leaking.

A bit cumbersome, but far beats the trouble a hidden leak would cost you into a trip!

[Rick-in-Houston]

Thanks Guys for all your responses.