Winterization Part 2

 A few weeks ago we built skirting around the trailer with OSB sheeting.  Now it's time to get a little more serious.  Lows next week are predicted to drop to the single digits Fahrenheit.  Time to figure out how to keep all water in a liquid state.

For the water supply line, I purchased a heated drinking water hose on Amazon (see it here).  It cost about $70.  Kind of expensive, but worth it, as long as it works.


For the sewer connection, I bought a heater cord with a thermostat (also on Amazon, here).  I ran the heater cord along the sewer hose, using zip ties to hold it in place. I got some Reflectix insulation at the hardware store.  It's basically bubble wrap-style plastic with a reflective foil coating.  I wrapped the Reflectix around the sewer hose, with the heater cord inside the insulation. I used foil tape to seal the seams.  Make sure to leave the thermostat, which is located in a pigtail at the end of the cord, out of the insulation so it can sense the outside air temperature.  I also ran the heater cord along the water filter in the water supply line and wrapped that in Reflectix, too. In between the sewer line and the filter, I looped the heater cord around the sewer valve and the water supply valve, just to be safe.

 

P.S. - I didn't get this posted last week as planned.  So the low temperatures have now come.  The lowest temp I saw was 12 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday night/Tuesday morning.  Good news - everything worked, nothing froze.  ( Except that the refrigerator still insists on freezing everything we put in it, but that's a different problem for a different day.)

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