Winterized FWC

The FWC manual has a chapter on winterizing. You can shut off the line to the outside shower. There was a good post on this in 2014. Click in the search area. You can go to the website and download the manual.
 
longhorn1 said:
The FWC manual has a chapter on winterizing. You can shut off the line to the outside shower. There was a good post on this in 2014. Click in the search area. You can go to the website and download the manual.
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2X-and lot's of good threads here on your winter options-to many things to learn at once-take your time and enjoy your rig :D !

Smoke
 
You just have to be careful. There are many that do a complete winterizing and if they decide to load up, take water jugs and don't use their water system. I can't speak from experience since I haven't done winter camping and probably won't. If you use your water tank, water heater, make sure the bypass is closed to keep water from the outside shower. I'm not sure whether keeping the heater on will help or not. Hopefully others will chime in and share their winter time camping procedures. jd
 
I opted to not get the DSI water heater because I have an on demand system I'm gonna install. Plus it's less weight and more space I can utilize. I'm mainly concerned about the water tank and any lines. I wonder if I could drain just the line going to the outside shower after each use? Also, is the water tank insulated at all? Is there a way to drain or pump out the lines without also pumping out the tank? Is there access to the water lines that I might have access to wrap line insulation foam around them?
 
I don't have a shower so all I did was drain the water and pump the pink water through it and through the sink. Then I quit using them.
 
KILR0Y said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but "winterize" insinuates that you're done using it for the year and/or are keeping important water systems from freezing (dry camping in sub-freezing). In that case, the threads have you covered thoroughly! Enjoy, they have lots of good info.
If you plan to use it, the heater can keep the water systems thawed between camps depending on temps. (Also discussed)
Sent from my SM-G900P using Wander The West mobile app
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Thanks.
 
100acrehuphalump said:
What's the pink water?
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The pink stuff is RV anti-freeze. Not harmful to humans. It is good to -50. You can get it at any RV store. You can order online, which I did and found out it is government regulated as hazardous and the shipping cost was rather high. I just went to an RV place when I needed another. jd
 
Walmarts almost always have a small RV section with cheap RV antifreeze...might be seasonal, though. But I switched to blowing it out with compressed air instead of using the pink stuff.

Several times, I've de-winterized long enough to take showers in my (recently sold) Class C, and then re-winterized before anything had time to freeze. It can be a little risky depending on temps...one time in single digits, it froze up before I could redo it and popped the outdoor faucet. The fix for that was about $20 and 30 minutes of work, but I got lucky...and it was a good lesson. Given that system, I could still do it below freezing but I wouldn't do it in single digits. Later, I installed a valve to isolate that whole line so I wouldn't have to worry about it again

Anyway, the point is that once you understand how it works, you can do things like use your water system during the day and then protect it (winterize it) at night. Sometimes, it's as simple as opening the cabinets where your water lines run so your cabin heat can get in there. Just depends on the design.

I don't have a FWC yet, but I suspect that would be a much easier process than it was for the Class C.
 
Being a fair weather socal camper I try to avoid the situations being discussed here but there are times when it does get cold. On a recent trip it got down into the 20's overnight and I was concerned about things freezing. I normally don't run the heater overnight.

So my question for anyone who deals with this more often than me is how cold does it have to get to freeze things up overnight assuming daytime temperatures in the 50's?
 
camelracer said:
Being a fair weather socal camper I try to avoid the situations being discussed here but there are times when it does get cold. On a recent trip it got down into the 20's overnight and I was concerned about things freezing. I normally don't run the heater overnight.

So my question for anyone who deals with this more often than me is how cold does it have to get to freeze things up overnight assuming daytime temperatures in the 50's?
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My two cents - I think you would need multiple days below freezing before you might have a problem with water in the lines and water tank. If it is freezing at night but gets above freezing during the day while you are out camping you probably will be OK, and using the heater would be a big help. If you have an outdoor shower you would be best to drain the line and turn the valve handle to prevent water from getting into the shower line. What year FWC do you have? For me we winterized the first week of November and since we couldn't get all of the water out of the Porta Potti, we moved it inside. If you are going into the Mountains in California often during the winter you might want to do a full winterize and take water jugs. jd
 
camelracer said:
Being a fair weather socal camper I try to avoid the situations being discussed here but there are times when it does get cold. On a recent trip it got down into the 20's overnight and I was concerned about things freezing. I normally don't run the heater overnight.

So my question for anyone who deals with this more often than me is how cold does it have to get to freeze things up overnight assuming daytime temperatures in the 50's?
Click to expand...
I spent Jan 3 and 4 camping at The Pinnacles, and expected temps to be about freezing for five or six hours, based on forecasts, thus did nothing about freezing temps.

First morning woke up with thermostat telling me it was 27 degrees in the camper, icicle hanging from faucet, ice in sink. Opened door to under sink and water pump, ran furnace a few minutes to thaw out, everything worked fine. I cautioned girlfriend not to turn on pump to wash hands after bathroom visit, but to use provided hand cleaner.

Next night I turned pump off, opened both faucets, and woke up to same situation, icicle and 27 degrees. Same response to furnace.

The inside cassette toilet had no freezing issues.

I should receive my new thermostat with a 35 degree setpoint today, to replace the factory 45 degree setpoint model. I would set it as a 'freeze protect' in the future in similar conditions.
Quite comfortable with our normal bedding and sleeping attire down to 40 or so.

This was only the second and third time I've used the furnace in 27 nights, once before for using the inside shower at Yosemite in the mid 30's. Both the furnace and inside shower are rarely used options, but sure are nice when needed.

Hope this helps. Park staff indicated their temp measurements for campground were at 21 degrees both days. Outside water spigots were frozen until mid day, and restroom toilets had ice.
 
I've frozen the outside spigot (drain valve) at 18 degrees and had no issues inside the camper. So far I haven't winterized.
 
DesertDave said:
I spent Jan 3 and 4 camping at The Pinnacles, and expected temps to be about freezing for five or six hours, based on forecasts, thus did nothing about freezing temps.
First morning woke up with thermostat telling me it was 27 degrees in the camper, icicle hanging from faucet, ice in sink. Opened door to under sink and water pump, ran furnace a few minutes to thaw out, everything worked fine. I cautioned girlfriend not to turn on pump to wash hands after bathroom visit, but to use provided hand cleaner.
Next night I turned pump off, opened both faucets, and woke up to same situation, icicle and 27 degrees. Same response to furnace.
The inside cassette toilet had no freezing issues.
I should receive my new thermostat with a 35 degree setpoint today, to replace the factory 45 degree setpoint model. I would set it as a 'freeze protect' in the future in similar conditions.
Quite comfortable with our normal bedding and sleeping attire down to 40 or so.
This was only the second and third time I've used the furnace in 27 nights, once before for using the inside shower at Yosemite in the mid 30's. Both the furnace and inside shower are rarely used options, but sure are nice when needed.
Hope this helps. Park staff indicated their temp measurements for campground were at 21 degrees both days. Outside water spigots were frozen until mid day, and restroom toilets had ice.
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Thank you.
 
Sheesh. I'm with Kilroy on this one. I see nothing at all "snooty" about his comments and believe he's providing good suggestions. Keep 'em coming.
 
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