winterising water tanks

pandj2 · Newbie

winterising water tanks

Possum3 · Guru

It is the exposed water lines, (owing to their small size) that are most likely to freeze and split. It would be extremely cold to freeze a tank of water. That's another reason to ensure that you have good insurance cover.

Tony Bev · Guru

Hi pandj2, welcome to the forum

I am not a techi, but my gut feeling is

If I was storing a caravan in sub zero temperatures, I would empty the water tanks

I would also attempt to drain any water hoses, which were underneath the caravan floor

If I am wrong, then I am sure others will come along and enlighten us all

blaze · Guru

just leave your tap turned on, that way it wont crack pipes ect from pressure which is what causes the damage when it freezes.
cheers
blaze

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

In Aust if your worried about freezing pipes . Just put a tarp around the van to ground . Unless your living up the mountains theres little chance of freezing if they are covered . In NZ we just covered our galvanised on ground water pipes with hishion bags in -15* frosts . If you can get to pipes ? Try covering them with electrical crinkle spit conduit . Lets face it anything supported tight to Van or floor should be ok freezing wise . Another solution is to turn pump OFF and taps on . I add a little chlorine to tank before storage then drain before next trip . New tap water has enough chlorine in it anyway . Back flush or replace water filters ..

pandj2 · Newbie

thanks to you all for the feed back, have decided to keep the tanks full. open all of the taps and cover up the van. temps here rarely get below -9deg c we should be ok.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

blaze wrote:
just leave your tap turned on, that way it wont crack pipes ect from pressure which is what causes the damage when it freezes.
cheers
blaze

Leaving a tap on will make no difference. It is the ice that expands.

We have frozen our John Guest pipes with no ill effects. Other types may be a problem.

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The technique in Europe is to drain tanks and pipes completely when stored over winter.

Cheers,

Peter