Forgot to winterise!! Frozen

[mr_mojo97]

Hey all

We came back from a night away a couple of days ago and it wasn't too cold and never thought anything more. The following night it was down to -8 degrees and it was only yesterday morning I realised I hadn't opened the taps and drained the boiler. Now the taps in the kitchen and bathroom don't open as they're frozen solid. Have I wrecked my system? Will the boiler still work? Is there anything I can do?

Thanks
Les

 

[Googlebot]

Hi Les,

Turn the pump off if it’s on and put the heating on ASAP.

Wait till the vans warm and see what works and what doesn’t.

Hopefully you have got away with it.

Edited to add, sit in the van while it warms, you can catch any water dripping before it damages anything then if you have bust something.

Worst case is the boiler will be split.

What Motorhome and what boiler is it?

 

[KNWH]

If you are hookup, or can get a cable to your unit, then leave an electric fire on overnight to try and gently thaw things out. Then check the situation tomorrow.
Good luck

 

[Emmit]

I can only advise what NOT to do.

Don't artificially warm the van. A quick thaw to any equipment is a sure fire??? way
to wreck anything.

The above advice includes the boiler. Do NOT switch it on.

With luck, (and buckets of it)??? a slow increase in temperature may not
have done any damage but I'm not putting my pension on it.

Edit. I note that other Funsters have a contrary view to mine.
Your van, your choice.

I do however agree to switching off the pump and might I also suggest
opening the taps. That will allow, with the pump off, to allow the water to
escape from the pipes without pressure.

I'd also suggest taking up residency in the van, uncomfortable as that might be
because you will be on site should the worst happen.

You dont say where you are but from the latest weather forecast, by Friday/Saturday
you will be wiser as the temps will be back to maybe plus 10 instead of freezing.

 

[Googlebot]

I can only advise what NOT to do.

Don't artificially warm the van. A quick thaw to any equipment is a sure fire??? way
to wreck anything.

The above advice includes the boiler. Do NOT switch it on.

With luck, (and buckets of it)??? a slow increase in temperature may not
have done any damage but I'm not putting my pension on it.

Wouldn’t the best way to prevent damage be to stop it freezing ASAP?

If left overnight and something has popped, there will be water damage and broken pipes to sort out.

The boiler I can see you wouldn’t want to switch it on, in my mind it’s either bust or not, if it’s on and works, it isn’t bust. If it doesn’t work, it’s knackered and it’s a sure fire way of warming the water tank.

IMO anyway, I am not an expert at unfreezing pipes and gas appliances.

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[Dorwyn]

For no apparent reason the picture of a Delco Parafin sump heater came to mind! Strange that

 

[Googlebot]

For no apparent reason the picture of a Delco Parafin sump heater came to mind! Strange that

Remember that smell well.

 

[Emmit]

Remember that smell well.

Ah! The days of SAE 30 grade oil that turned into Gorilla glue in winter.

 

[Dorwyn]

Remember that smell well.

Didn't it just!

 

[meanders]

Agree with all the above. Ensure all drain valves are open. If you can remove the toilet cassette and warm that out of the van slowly.

The other thing is can you see all the pipes that carry water as you need to see if any joints have popped apart. Ours are between the floors so would be PITA. If they have popped apart, the water in those pipes will run into possibly difficult places, so best to identify earlier if you can.

Good luck and fingers crossed.

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[mr_mojo97]

Thanks for all the quick responses.

I should have been a bit more precise. It's a 2013 Peugeot Boxer Autocruise Alto with a Truma Combi 4e and we're back home. We emptied the fresh and waste tanks so the only water is what's in the closed system.
Ta

 

[Pausim]

The boiler should have been fitted with a frost protection device which would have dumped the water from it before it froze. This should have protected the expensive Truma Combi.

 

[mr_mojo97]

I believe it just has a manual drain valve

 

[Mikeco]

!

I believe it just has a manual drain valve

Have you tried to drain the boiler?

 

[Wildbill]

Just put a electric heater in on low setting
There’s mild wetter on the way in the next few days fingers crossed you haven’t done any damage
An

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[mr_mojo97]

The drain tap is open but nothing has come out. But I'd forgot to open the kitchen/ bathroom taps anyways so I guess the boiler wouldn't drain (i think)

 

[Brize]

Didn't you drain the boiler at the same time as draining the fresh/waste tanks? Always good practice to drain the lot at the same time.

Lot of good advice above. Whatever you choose, do it slowly, open the taps and the boiler drain valve as soon as you feel them freeing up, but don't apply any direct heat.

Good luck.

 

[BikerGraham]

Good luck and hope you’ve managed to avoid any serious damage. You never know as it was only low for a short time it may not have penetrated enough inside

 

[Mikeco]

The drain tap is open but nothing has come out. But I'd forgot to open the kitchen/ bathroom taps anyways so I guess the boiler wouldn't drain (i think)

I only remembered mine today but just opened the drain tap from the boiler and the water drained out okay.

 

[Googlebot]

The boiler is a large mass to freeze, hopefully, it won’t have wrecked it, freezing something that size will take a while.

The taps, fingers crossed.

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[nicholsong]

I am sorry for the OP but it is a cautionary tale for all of us.

We came back to Poland from Austria/Slowakia on Monday and I immediately drained the system. Just in time thankfully as it is -1C now.

 

[KNWH]

I can only advise what NOT to do.

Don't artificially warm the van. A quick thaw to any equipment is a sure fire??? way
to wreck anything.

The above advice includes the boiler. Do NOT switch it on.

With luck, (and buckets of it)??? a slow increase in temperature may not
have done any damage but I'm not putting my pension on it.

Edit. I note that other Funsters have a contrary view to mine.
Your van, your choice.

I do however agree to switching off the pump and might I also suggest
opening the taps. That will allow, with the pump off, to allow the water to
escape from the pipes without pressure.

I'd also suggest taking up residency in the van, uncomfortable as that might be
because you will be on site should the worst happen.

You dont say where you are but from the latest weather forecast, by Friday/Saturday
you will be wiser as the temps will be back to maybe plus 10 instead of freezing.

I certainly agree with not running the boiler, and opening the taps if possible, but I’m curious as to why you think gently warming the van is a bad idea? Maybe there’s something I’ve not thought about, apart from pipes leaking as they thaw?

 

[L' Hobo]

I am sorry for the OP but it is a cautionary tale for all of us.

We came back to Poland from Austria/Slowakia on Monday and I immediately drained the system. Just in time thankfully as it is -1C now.

Yep! Saw the forecast and did mine on Monday.

For the OP, one night of frost should not have done any serious damage but remember, when drain down is possible, open all drains after you have blown system through, either by mouth or another kind of air imput and then leave ALL taps open including toilet. Good Luck!

 

[PlacidoD]

Yep! Saw the forecast and did mine on Monday.

For the OP, one night of frost should not have done any serious damage but remember, when drain down is possible, open all drains after you have blown system through, either by mouth or another kind of air imput and then leave ALL taps open including toilet. Good Luck!

I did the opposite. Van is on the drive and I popped out before the temperature dropped and set the Truma hot air on to give an air temp of 10C in the van. With two 19 litre cylinders on board the cold spell would have to last a long time before I run out of gas.

Given that I want to make some winter use of the van I dd not really want to drain down systems.

 

[The Coops]

I did the opposite. Van is on the drive and I popped out before the temperature dropped and set the Truma hot air on to give an air temp of 10C in the van. With two 19 litre cylinders on board the cold spell would have to last a long time before I run out of gas.

Given that I want to make some winter use of the van I dd not really want to drain down systems.

Did something similar, drained down, left dump vales open, set temp to 7C on gas and electric as fail safe and put in small dehumidifier as well as thermal screen as hopefully using van soon

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[Brize]

The drain tap is open but nothing has come out. But I'd forgot to open the kitchen/ bathroom taps anyways so I guess the boiler wouldn't drain (i think)

Let us know how you get on

 

[Diabalo]

If you have a shurflo pump check that the clear plastic strainer has not cracked, I always unscrew mine when over wintering.

 

[Pausim]

I believe it just has a manual drain valve

The Truma Combi installation instructions say “ The FrostControl must be installed in the immediate vicinity of the appliance” so you should have one.

The drain tap is open but nothing has come out. But I'd forgot to open the kitchen/ bathroom taps anyways so I guess the boiler wouldn't drain (i think)

The boiler should have a venting elbow that allows the boiler to drain. The whole point of the frost protection device is to protect the boiler if owners get caught out by a frost. If it has been installed correctly you should be ok.

 

[L' Hobo]

I did the opposite. Van is on the drive and I popped out before the temperature dropped and set the Truma hot air on to give an air temp of 10C in the van. With two 19 litre cylinders on board the cold spell would have to last a long time before I run out of gas.

Given that I want to make some winter use of the van I dd not really want to drain down systems.

Oh I still use my van all through the winter, I just used it differently, such as staying at more sites with shower & toilet facilities or a kettle on the gas.
It's just like the old days in my VW Camper but a little roomier.

 

[Barclaybasher]

Last year I had a 12mm plastic pipe split between boiler and sink (frozen).while travelling through France on my way to Spain.

I carried on and let the system thaw out without extra heat after opening taps and emptying the water tank.

Couldn't find any 12mm fittings in France or Spain.

I could reach the split but all efforts to bodge a repair failed.

Replacing the whole length of 12mm would have been a big job so when I got home I cut the pipe either side of the split and fitted a John Guest 12mm push fit straight convector bought from Don Amotts - plumbers merchants don't have them.

I now carry a spare 12mm connector

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