Two winterizing questions

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

We go into heated indoor storage at the end of the month.  On occasion, temps here drop below freezing overnight for a couple of hours.  Do I need to winterize the water system or can it withstand temps of 27 o4 28 for a couple of hours?

Second, we have about 40% in the gray tank and 10% in the black tank.  Can I defer dumping the tanks until spring?

Thanks!

[Joel Ashley]

As long as temps get above 32 after a few hours, it should be okay.  If you have power, you could set the hydronics thermostat at 40 (electric side only if unventilated indoors).  That would also protect the bay tanks.

Leaving uncleaned waste tanks for months might be fine if you can check drain traps occasionally.  If trap water dries up, odors could get in the living area and potentially permeate fabrics enough to be a problem by spring.

Joel

[Bill Lampkin]

Drain your ice maker water line, that 1/4" line will freeze first when the temp drops. If your fridge is an absorption type (Norcold, Dometic) blow out the blue ice maker solenoid with a good burst from your lungs; water gets trapped in there and it'll freeze. Make it a point to drain and rinse your black tank 'till the water runs clear. In the spring, check the ice maker lines for leaks.

[Joel Ashley]

Good point re the ice maker solenoid, Bill.  But water can still be trapped if it’s not in the open position during blowout.  I usually manually cycle the ice maker motor to do that, but it’s a bit of a hassle. 

A new idea to me is using 2 wires with female spade connectors, connected to the solenoid’s male spades after removing its ground and hot wires coming from the ice maker.  Fasten the temporary ground to some grounded point behind the fridge, and the other to some live 12 volt source back there.  That should open the solenoid for thorough draining.  I just got a power supply for my workbench that I’ll try next time, since all I have to do is set it at 12v and put its alligator clips on the solenoid’s spades.  The ice maker itself is 120v, so the solenoid may be too, and I’ll have to safely do this differently.

Joel