[A/S] Winter damage, the second time around

["Warren C. Stankiewicz"]

Well, for those of you who remember last year's story (did I even tell it
here), we took the Silver Suppository out last spring to find that the pipe
under the sink had frozen and cracked, and it had to be re-soldered.
Actually, it was too hard for the tech to join them together, so there's a
splice.

This fall we drained all the fresh water out, and left all the spigots open.
It doesn't get extremely cold where we leave it, but it does get below
freezing.

(BTW, I've never had success with that water tank antifreeze. I've never
been able to successfully flush it, or the taste, out. Maybe I'm too fussy).

Well, last month, we went up, got it ready to roll, and found that the water
filter had cracked. Today I went up there and took it out.

It didn't crack as much as it exploded; there's actually a couple of pieces
missing. I guess enough moisture and water remained in the filter to pop it
wide open.

So I've got to get a new filter and a new cartridge; does anyone know if I
need to try to scrape the teflon tape off the old connections and use new
tape? Or can I get away with snugging it up, and pressurizing to see if it
leaks?

warren & mary ellen