[A/S] Re: Water line drain '77 31' Excella 500

["Terry Tyler" <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Christopher,

You asked:

>  How was this elbow attached to the tank drain?

Keep in mind I did this job 25 years ago. Surely, I'd do it differently 
now. Go with the materials familiar to you. A few questions at a local 
plumbing supply house will get you the parts you need. They are 
probably available at Home Depot, too.

> Did you ever have water in the tank when it was below freezing
> outside and you were using the trailer or otherwise had the furnace
> running?

You asked about "having water in the tank when it was below freezing."  
Answer is  "yes - definitely."

But, I'm one of those who keeps his water tank full of filtered water 
most always. Likewise, I know all about giardia and the filtration 
techniques for dealing with it. That was part of Mountain Climbing 101 
back in high school.

Over the years I've learned our Airstreams don't have a problem with a 
full water tank and overnight temperatures in the high 20s followed by 
daylight temperatures in the high 30s - even while boondocking and 
using only our catalytic heater.

When temperatures are colder than that, we rent campsites with 
electricity and use our power goggling furnace. If the temperature 
takes an unexpectedly steep nose dive, we have several small electric 
heaters for blowing heat into vulnerable areas. When only a small 
amount of heat is needed, I often snake an ordinary 110 Volt trouble 
light into that area.

In our larger trailers, one vulnerable area is where the outside 
connector enters the side wall under a bed. That space is easy to heat. 
A second area is under the sink and under the floor down in the bowels 
of the Airstream. That takes a little more effort to heat. I have a 
favorite heater for that job.

In our smaller trailers, one vulnerable area is behind the bathtub. I 
have a specific small heater for targeting blown hot air into that 
space. It goes without saying that all doors to cabinets with liquids 
inside will be left open during the night while we're sleeping.

As a further precaution if I'm really antsy about staying on top of the 
temperature, i.e. in the bowels of the trailer, I have a spare 
refrigerator thermometer with a long flexible remote sensor. I slip the 
sensor into the area and leave it there for the duration. It's a handy 
little gadget for $25.

> I was concerned about the exposed valve and dead leg of water below
> the tank freezing and breaking.

I would be concerned too -- if overnight temperatures were in the low 
20s followed by daylight temperatures in the high 20s. That's when I 
would do an honest injun winterizing.

I'm all for taking risks - for testing the limits - but I was never one 
of those guys who slept during his high school physics classes.

Christopher, you'll do just fine if you stay with what you know and 
take your time creating the adaptation.  90% of it is just plain common 
sense.

Terry