Strange weather/Winterization question

[padlin]

You need some of our weather forecasters, they are always wrong.

[Oldtimer]

I should of been a weather forecaster. Only job I know of that you can be wrong 99% of the time and still get raises and rewards. Go figure

David

[Iowa Dave]

I worked in Idaho years ago. Our Packer ( handled the mules and the horses) told me “It takes a damn fool or a foreigner to forecast the weather in Idaho.” In the next 50 years I’ve learned this is true in many areas. But we had a very nice Labor Day. My son in law and two grandsons came up for the day. We dug two buckets of red potatoes, the three year old was a trooper and picked them out of the dirt, I ran the fork. It was a lot of fun. We had a nice lunch, ran the dogs, picked some other produce, and yes I rode a bicycle up and down the driveway and attempted to explain gear ratios, cadence and wheel rollout to my soon to be 13 year old grandson. I let a few zucchini grow for the heck of it this week. They got pretty big.
Iowa

[UncleTim]

Okay this experiment is over for the most part. The temperatures are going to hover around 35° to 37° Today. I went out to the trailer this morning at 6 am. No frost on the pavement as there is still lots of heat in it. There is about 4 inches of snow on her.

The low temp was about 27° but for most of the time the temperature hovered around 32°. What a change in humidity. From 5% two days ago to 100% yesterday. And temperatures ranging from 98° (two days ago) to 27° is a big change too. Wyoming got a big piece of this storm as well.

The 5.0 stayed about 65° inside. The thermostat was set to 60° all night. The humidity inside the 5.0 hovered between 8% and 11%. I did not sleep in the trailer.

The heating pads were on the whole time. I took Glenn’s advice and filled up the fresh water tanks to create a thermal mass (early in the day). That plus the heating pads being on probably made the 5° difference in recorded temperatures.

I had a meter on the 15 amp connection into the trailer and the draw varied between 180 watts and 205 watts the entire time. And from between 1.8 amps to 2 amps. I just had one 120v light on so I could verify the breakers did not trip. The circuit of the house I put the electrical hook up on, is notoriously finicky. So I thought that would be a good test too. Never tripped the G.F.I. even once. All in all a pretty light load, but one that I would imagine would kill your battery over night if not for shore power.

Now that I have used the heating strips once, and I see how they can be useful, I am glad I added them. Colorado, as this storm verifies, is subject to sudden changes in temperature, humidity and moisture, and everything that goes with that. I can see the benefit of finding a spot with shore power and hunkering down for a few days until the temperatures come back up or the Sun comes out.

If you live on one of the eastern piedmonts or anywhere East of the Mississippi, where temperatures don’t very as quickly, it might not be a big deal. But if you intend to haul this camper up and down the Rockies or the Coastal ranges, the heating pads are kind of nice.

[EscapeBoulder]

I live at 8,300' elevation in the mtns west of Boulder, CO. Here's what I've been doing for this sudden cold. (We purchased the winterizing package from Escape so foam underneath, addn'l insulation, thermal windows, etc.)

Full fresh water tank w/ tank heater on.
Empty gray water tank, but with quart of antifreeze in it.
Empty black water tank, but with quart of antifreeze in it.
Ski glove hand warmer packets in outdoor faucet cubby, with cloth "liner" behind door. Changed out every 8 hrs.
Hot water heater on with its 120v element
Furnace set at 50 degs and to let the heat into spaces...
Cabinet doors opened on the cabinets in trailer with water lines in them.
Bathroom door opened.

So far, so good (I think). We had a 65 deg temperature swing here. 88 degs to 23 degs! It's unknown how much snow we've gotten because everything was so warm that for a while the snow just melted. Now 4" to 6".

I was planning to head out to South Dakota and Kansas for a couple of RC slope soaring (gliding) events yesterday, but continue to be stuck here. Yesterday: Snow of course. Now ice on the road to my house. Of course the road being so warm, the first hours of snow just melted. But with 23 degs, overnight that's all turned to ice! A couple hours of Colorado sun would clear that up fast, but it's predicted to be overcast all day.

Anyway... We badly needed this soaking moisture so no complaints here. Just being thankful.

[EscapeBoulder]

One question: At these temperatures in the 20's, with the furnace set at 50 degs, how long do you think two propane bottles will last?

[UncleTim]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

I live at 8,300' elevation in the mtns west of Boulder, CO. Here's what I've been doing for this sudden cold. (We purchased the winterizing package from Escape so foam underneath, addn'l insulation, thermal windows, etc.)

Full fresh water tank w/ tank heater on.
Empty gray water tank, but with quart of antifreeze in it.
Empty black water tank, but with quart of antifreeze in it.
Ski glove hand warmer packets in outdoor faucet cubby, with cloth "liner" behind door. Changed out every 8 hrs.
Hot water heater on with its 120v element
Furnace set at 50 degs and to let the heat into spaces...
Cabinet doors opened on the cabinets in trailer with water lines in them.
Bathroom door opened.

So far, so good (I think). We had a 65 deg temperature swing here. 88 degs to 23 degs! It's unknown how much snow we've gotten because everything was so warm that for a while the snow just melted. Now 4" to 6".

I was planning to head out to South Dakota and Kansas for a couple of RC slope soaring (gliding) events yesterday, but continue to be stuck here. Yesterday: Snow of course. Now ice on the road to my house. Of course the road being so warm, the first hours of snow just melted. But with 23 degs, overnight that's all turned to ice! A couple hours of Colorado sun would clear that up fast, but it's predicted to be overcast all day.

Anyway... We badly needed this soaking moisture so no complaints here. Just being thankful.

And the Pine Gulch fire is effectively put out now! Thank you God! The others are greatly set back and the smoke situation should be under control now. Thank God for snow!

Can you explain this part?
Ski glove hand warmer packets in outdoor faucet cubby, with cloth "liner" behind door. Changed out every 8 hrs.

[EscapeBoulder]

Skiers (and others outside in the winter) can purchase these hand warmer packets to put in their gloves. (There are ones for boots too.) Perhaps a chemist out there can explain this better, but I understand that they are a combination of ground up iron, charcoal and other stuff which basically, when exposed to oxygen causes the iron to rust rapidly giving off a little heat for up to 8 hrs. Packets are available at Costco and sporting goods stores in the fall and winter.

So, I just put a packet in the outside faucet cubby, padding the door a bit to keep the warmth in.

[UncleTim]

Can we hold the rally up by your place?

You got a better view!

[UncleTim]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

One question: At these temperatures in the 20's, with the furnace set at 50 degs, how long do you think two propane bottles will last?

So far I have burnt thru less than an eighth tank. I jut checked it. I know I got eight nights on one tank two to three weeks ago (2 trips), but it did not go down to 20°F.

[salmo7000]

I just got back to my home in Idaho after a week camping in eastern Montana. This trip started with temps in the 90s during the day and lows in the 50s at night. Sunday night a low settled in, with hard rain and plummeting temps. I headed west Monday morning and had to contend with an extreme wind out of the north the whole way across the highline in Montana. Cross winds at 40 mph with gusts up to 60. Then from Great Falls to Missoula heavy snow! Towed up Roger’s Pass through 5” and still blowing hard and not a snowplow in sight. Terrifying!! At camp that night, temps dropped to the mid 20’s. I had done nothing to the tanks or system and still had a half a tank of freshwater. I ran the furnace all night, set at 66 degrees. Everything was totally fine in the morning.

I do not have heat pads but do have the insulation on the bottom of my 19.

It was beautiful and sunny when I arrived home, a perfect 72 degrees. Those were some of the most difficult towing conditions I had ever experienced, and was I ever glad to unhitch and relax with a cold adult beverage. I did learn a lot on this trip, including I’m not ready for winter yet! The weather in this part of the world over the past 5 days has been crazy!!

[azjack]

After spending many years in CO, N. Dak. and N. Utah I remember why we are in AZ.
It has been a little warm the last few months, but it Is only 30 to 200 miles to nice weather if we want.
AZjack

[UncleTim]

Originally Posted by salmo7000

I did learn a lot on this trip, including I’m not ready for winter yet! The weather in this part of the world over the past 5 days has been crazy!!

Did you do any slippin and slidin on the way home?

[ColoradoSwany]

We had overnight lows of just 31 degrees, so all I did was go to the storage yard and turn my furnace to 50 degrees and opened cabinet doors (those with plumbing inside) as well as the bathroom door. Went back out this morning and shut off the furnace. We have the extra insulation and spray foam. All tanks were empty. I think we are probably just fine. Glad we don’t live or store the camper at Greg’s elevation! Good thing he has his Escape on-site and can plug in. Interesting to hear how others handled this! If it gets bad again before I winterize, I may bring our camper back, park it near our drive overnight and plug in as well. Thanks for all the input!

[MyronL]

We got a taste last night, of your cold front, Colorado. I haven't winterized but did cut off water to the toilet. Fortunately it only got down to 31 degrees here at 6600 ft. but we did get a nice crust of ice on the windshield. It's up to 36 degrees now. I think that's Colorado back there behind that white area.

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by ColoradoSwany

Fort Collins, CO: Ok, so 98 degree highs (Fahrenheit) forecast for today & Sunday, 89 Monday. THEN 32 degree low Tuesday morning, 36 degree Tuesday high, 22 degree low on Wednesday morning, then 52 for Wednesday high followed by more normal, well above freezing temps.

We would like to have one more fall outing before winterizing but concerned that maybe I should go ahead and winterize, maybe twice. BTW, we do have underside spray foam and extra interior insulation and thermal windows.

Whaddya think? Winterize or no?.

Put a splash of pink antifreeze in each trap, let a little run down the drain to protect the two tank dump valves, you could add some antifreeze to the water tank most of that stuff is good to -25 or -50 so you don't need much(you are making a dilution).

[Iowa Dave]

Hi Jack
52F with a cold rain here in Eastern Iowa. Record low “high Temp”
For the day yesterday and today broke a record from
Like 1896. Was pretty dry but this couple of inches should green us back up. Soybeans are turning yellow. Nice break from the heat. Working in my shop, finding long lost treasures.
Iowa Dave