-
Hard Freeze in Houston
-
Based on Dicks post with the weather forecast I would be seesawing between doing nothing, to spending a night in the coach, running the generator and keeping it warm and comfortable.
The coach has an electric bay heater and I am presuming at least a couple of heat choices for the house so a few hours of living in the coach puts the problem in the rear view mirror.
-
Spending the night in the coach and then running the generator to provide power and running the Webasto is actually the safest. I’m plugged into 50amp/240volt here at home at temps this week down to -14*F at night and max of +15*F during the day. Water heater on, two cube heaters with fans in the coach, and the water bay heater on at night. I haven’t gotten close to turning on the Webasto yet. I check the coach in the morning and again late evening. Remote thermometer in the water bay.
The Hilgers have had their Country Coach out in Wyoming snowmobiling at -22*F and had no problems. They used the Webasto.
Spending a cold night in the coach will enable Eugene to learn how the coach reacts to the cold.
-
Eugene’s comment about never using the Webasto means it is NOT going to fire, period. So no Webasto for him till he gets it serviced. I am about an hour away.
Plus, as mentioned before, once serviced, a Webasto has to be fired once per month or more to keep fresh diesel on the nozzle. Sitting for weeks on end allows the diesel on the nozzle to congeal messing up the fine mist spray pattern of completely plugging it up, no diesel flow at all.
And, no one mentioned to open all cabinet doors below the sinks in the coach. The freshwater lines are all run up and down the walls. They need warm air in the cabinets to stay above freezing.
Winterizing the fresh water system solves all issues. But don’t miss the clothes washer or ice maker.
-
If you’re going to try to ride it out, you should probably already be running the water bay heater continuously to store as much heat as possible. Make sure the fresh water tank is full. A full waste tank helps store heat, too. Running continuous heat now may also give you an early warning if something electrical is going to trip. My biggest concern would be something tripping upstream due to high current by other users. I had that happen in an airplane hangar, and that breaker wasn’t accessible to tenants.
-
If this is covered (not enclosed) storage you will be able to use your Webasto, but with only a 15 amp circuit you are not going to be able to run much of anything without tripping a breaker. Depending upon the inverter/charger setup you have you may be able to turn the charger down so it doesn’t draw full amps as that plus most anything else will trip that tiny breaker. Can you set your generator for auto start? This might be a way to run the Webasto on a minimal circuit and know that if the batteries get too low the genset will kick in, get you charged back up and then start the cycle all over again.
You might also want to consider getting a remote temperature sensing device so you can monitor the water bay temps remotely. That means you have to have internet available at the coach but there are some really good systems like the Govee that I use.
-
Like others have stated, WINTERIZE IT. Drain the fresh water tank. Put 15 gals or so of the pink RV antifreeze in it. Pump that into/thru all the plumbing.
I don’t believe 15 amp will suffice. If you can’t winterize it? I would run the generator, turn on the inverter/chargers, turn on the water heater, and run the webasto.Our bus lives here at our house under cover. It is suppose to be in the single digits here NW of San Antonio, TX soon. This isn’t the first time. I plug it into 50 amp service for rare events like this. I never winterize our bus or feel the need to run the webasto. I turn on both inverter/chargers on. I turn the hot water heater on. It radiates heat into the plumbing bay where the bulk of the plumbing is at and where the gray and black tanks are. I drape a 110v electric blanket over the mostly full fresh water tank. Set a radiator looking heater in the bathroom and set it to 800 watts(medium) and open the cabinets under each sink. Last, I close all the window blinds.I hope this helps -
I have never winterized a coach. My coaches have been in unheated storage (but under cover) and have been exposed to sub zero temps for as long as a week at a time.
I have had 50 amp and when stored I had a continuously operated 500 watt cube heater aimed at a full water tank to keep the tank warm and have sufficient stored heat in the water to keep the bay above 45 at all times.
For the interior I opened all cabinet drawers so piping under sinks was exposed, and with a 1500 watt oscillating fan set on the kitchen countertop the interior stayed well above freezing.
The shades were down to minimize heat loss through window glass.
-
If you must winterize, I suggest using your air compressor to simply blow the water out of the lines. You then just pour some anti-freeze anywhere you have a P-trap (don’t forget the washer) 50-60 PSI connected to your city water line and then open each water line one at a time. You don’t have to get every drop as the left over droplets will not be enough to burst a line. It’s simple and pretty quick and you don’t have to flush the lines to get rid of the anti-freeze you put in with the other method.
-
Rudy is coming to work on my Webasto tomorrow!! I’m looking forward to meeting him and learning how to eat another bite of this elephant.
Does anyone know if my 1994 Liberty (w/8V92TA) has a 50K or 80K Webasto unit?
He’s almost certain my nozzle needs replacing since I haven’t fired it up in over a year – another expensive lesson!!
-
Eugene, I have had a bus in Houston for the past 20 winters. Over the years, we have had some temps in the low 20s. Fortunately, I have never had a problem just running the heater in the water bay. The bus is stored indoors but without any heat in the building. Generally, it doesn’t stay below freezing for more than a couple of hours although Monday may go for ten or more hours below freezing. We are leaving Sunday for Florida so we will avoid the real cold. If I was staying in town, I would probably go over on Sunday night and get everything really nice and warm (run the Webasto until I got into the mid 60s) in the bus and then shut it all down except for the bay heater. I would go back Monday morning and do the same thing and then look to see if the temps warrant a return trip on Monday evening. Good luck.
Rudy did a service on my Webasto a couple of weeks ago. He really knows his stuff and will get you fixed up.
-
Thanks everyone – I sincerely appreciate all the help. To be clear, do I fill the fresh water tank up or not if I keep a small heater pointed at the open cabinets under the sink? Sounds like a great time to be headed to Fla. Safe travels everyone
-
if your not gonna winterize it, fill it
-
I’m not winterized. We’ve had a week of low teens, some single digits, and below zero and that is the forecast for the next week. Outside, 50amp/240 volt, fresh water full, water heater ON. Temp in water bay 39 to 47*F, when I turn the 120volt bay heat on I quickly go to 61*F. Two cube be heaters with fans in coach. Cabinet doors open.
Eugene has only 15amp, 120volt service. So he has different challenges
-
Luckily, the nozzle is NOT an expensive lesson. It’s quite cheap and I often replace it every year as it’s easier than trying to remember that I should run the Webasto when it’s 115 outside!
-
Don’t think you will have trouble with it being below freezing for 10 hrs. I don’t do anything until it is hard freeze for at least 8 hrs (below 23) your bus is fortunate you live in a mild climate. It is heat sinked(sp) If you check inside temps prob in mid 40’s at lowest. Don’t drive on the ice!! It is not your friend. 4-wheel drives can’t do much better stopping on it than a car. I said it so let the flogging begin..I live on Ohio River. We are in ice belt where we get more ice than snow. Snow is much less hazzard! We had 1/4 inch of ice tuesday will not be above freezing for more than a week from now-Looking foward to snow forecast monday to help traction. You said 15 amp service. amps Xvolts=watts so a 15×120=1800 watts so how much do your heaters draw? Only good wishes from this side.. trainer will help you allot.
Log in to reply.