Monitor inside trailer temp.

[starfighter]

We did have some concerns about our snoozy water freezing over the winter.
We Put a small heater on "low" after blowing out water lines.........
(and adding antifreeze to selected areas)
Karen came up with the idea of putting the outdoor sending unit of an indoor/outdoor thermometer in the trailer and the indoor unit in the garage.
We could then monitor the temp. inside the trailer without unlocking and going in.
we have since moved the indoor unit (receiver) into a dining room window and can easily monitor temp. inside the trailer from inside the house.
really help us make minor adjustments to the heater and we now maintain 41 degrees inside.

[Carol H]

Many of use the same approach to monitor the fridge temps in the summer. I have a small receiver mounted inside the trailer and small sending unit inside the fridge. It works great as I can see at a glance what the fridge temp is compared to the inside temp of the trailer without opening the fridge.

BTW If you blow out the line and emptied out the tanks why the concern with freezing? Did you not run a little bit of RV anti freeze through the pumps? Its cheaper than running a heater in the trailer all winter.

[starfighter]

Although I do blow out the lines, the water heater retains several gallons of water that do not drain under pressure, and the manual calls for un-plumbing the heater and turning it upside down and............
This is just a whole lot easier.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by starfighter

Although I do blow out the lines, the water heater retains several gallons of water that do not drain under pressure, and the manual calls for un-plumbing the heater and turning it upside down and............
This is just a whole lot easier.

Hummm.... strange wheat heater does Snooze use? Most of the heaters I have seen it would be impossible to remove and turn upside down.

Although most of the typical RV water heaters due to design do not drain completely (always a little bit of water left in them) simple draining them and then pumping in a bit of anti freeze seems to do the trick. I also leave the drain plug off of mine in winter just to be safe.

[Bob Miller]

I use a "Thermo-Cube" it's a small device, plugged into an outlet in my trailer, that switches ON at 35 degrees/OFF at 45 degrees. With a small electric heater plugged into that, the trailer automatically gets warmed up when it's cold outside. Several different on/off temps are available.


Available on Amazon. <$15, here's a link:
Amazon.com : Farm Innovators TC-3 Cold Weather Thermo Cube Thermostatically Controlled Outlet - On at 35-Degrees/Off at 45-Degrees : Electrical Multi Outlets : Patio, Lawn & Garden

[mary and bob]

My Casita manual says to remove the anode rod in the water heater to drain it. Simple enough to do. And if I wanted I could easily pour in some antifreeze through that hole using a funnel and hose. I've only seen one Snoozy so have no idea where the water heater is, but on our Casita it is in an outside compartment that a inside heater would have no affect on. Another idea on heating; for a few years we lived in a mobile home that had a drilled well and a pump house over the well containing the pump and pressure tank. I insulated the building and heated it with two 100 watt light bulbs. It had a window so I could look out to see the bulbs were still on.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Another idea on heating; for a few years we lived in a mobile home that had a drilled well and a pump house over the well containing the pump and pressure tank. I insulated the building and heated it with two 100 watt light bulbs. It had a window so I could look out to see the bulbs were still on.

That was back in the day of incandescent bulbs. The new generation bulbs don't put out that kind of heat.

[mary and bob]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

That was back in the day of incandescent bulbs. The new generation bulbs don't put out that kind of heat.

LOL, you got me there Donna. I'm still living in the past, and have enough incandescent bulbs on hand to last me another 10 years at least !

[Mike Magee]

Surely the water heater has an anode rod, unless it's a strange kind we aren't familiar with. Just open a faucet to make sure the water pressure is released in the line. Then unscrew the anode rod... voila, all but a small amount of water will run out. The remaining small amount can't harm anything because it has plenty of expansion room. I usually would reinstall the anode after draining, so as not to forget. I never want to put pink antifreeze in the water heater, because it's a chore to wash it out come spring... and if you don't rinse it out well enough, the showers and dish water smell sweet all summer long (been there, done that).

[Glenn Baglo]

I thought the Snoozy was all-electric. Maybe it's an electric kettle?

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Surely the water heater has an anode rod, unless it's a strange kind we aren't familiar with. .

Or its an Atwood brand RV water heater. Atwoods generally don't use anode rods

A handy little gadget to have for cleaning anti freeze and other gunk that builds up on the bottom of hot water tanks is a Hot Water Tank Rinser. Works well. Cleaning out the gunk that builds up in the bottom of the tank will also help to extend the life of the tank.

On my Atwood Hot water tank there is always about an inch or so of water left in the tank after draining but never several gallons as the OP has indicated sits in theirs after draining. Which I find a bit odd. But mine is only 7 gallons or so to start with.

[CampyTime]

Hi Carol,

I'm writing on this post in curiosity of the receiving/sending unit you use to monitor fridge temp as it relates to trailer temp? Would you share with me what that's about or how it works and perhaps a link to a product so I might see it for myself? Cheers!

Wendy


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[Darral T.]

I wish someone would state what water heater the lil Snoozy is using as I will avoid it at all costs!! I dont know of ONE single RV water heater that you cant drain. Mine is the Atwood and removing it to fully empty??? That is NON-SENSE! Again, until we know what they use.....

I know my Atwood doesnt drain 100%. But what some people do not understand, it's "full" water under "pressure" that freezes and does damage....or in a small area like a drain trap or water pump. What little water is left in my Atwood has plenty room for expansion and will not hurt the water heater if it freezes.

For what it's worth though, there is a trick that Floyd Clark taught me and it works well. With the water heater "bypass" set, when I'm applying antifreeze, I will put my finger over the kitchen sink faucet, turn on the hot water, then turn on the cold water (That has had antifreeze running through it), and it will literally "push" the antifreeze down the hot water faucet and feed tube into the water heater. So mine does in fact have a little antifreeze in it and clears the lines of water.

[Darral T.]

Im not Carol but I've used these types to monitor my fridge temp from inside my house with good results. These seem to have very good range which is what you need to monitor from an RV to the house.

AcuRite Digital Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer - Walmart.com

Originally Posted by CampyTime

Hi Carol,

I'm writing on this post in curiosity of the receiving/sending unit you use to monitor fridge temp as it relates to trailer temp? Would you share with me what that's about or how it works and perhaps a link to a product so I might see it for myself? Cheers!

Wendy


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Or its an Atwood brand RV water heater. Atwoods generally don't use anode rods

I learned something new here. So, what is the method by which one drains an anode-less Atwood?

[Darral T.]

They have a nylon drain plug. In it's place on mine, I installed the "HottRod" to make my Scamp all-electric now. I designed a special tool to remove it and drain the water heater as I normally would by using a special nylon bushing setup. Works beautifully! I like the Atwood.

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

I learned something new here. So, what is the method by which one drains an anode-less Atwood?

[Carol H]

Mike as Darral indicated Atwood has a simple nylon drain plug. The reason for not needing an anode rob with an Atwood heater is that they build the tank using aluminum.

Wendy I use a cheap wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer I picked up for under $20. Not near the trailer and can't recall the brand but it looks a bit like the Bios one in this photo - I looked for one with a fairly small sending unit for in the fridge so it doesnt take up much space - its about 2"x2"X 3/4". I stuck the receiving unit up on the trailer wall. Has worked well for about 5 years now - just need to change the batteries once a year.

[CampyTime]

Thank you Carol and Darryl. I see the accurite brand is available at my local walmart do I'll pick that up and give a try. Happy new year all!


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[starfighter]

The Snoozy water heater is an Ariston,
The user manual says 1. remove and turn upside down over sink OR 2. remove fitting and siphon water (4 gallons) out.
Since the unit is mounted under under the bed, and the piping is such that removal of pipe connections would be extensive to be able to siphon water out, I chose to blow out water lines and apply heat to the area for the remaining water. probably a "belt and suspenders" approach, but I'd rather not have to replace the heater, and/or lines.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by starfighter

The Snoozy water heater is an Ariston,
The user manual says 1. remove and turn upside down over sink OR 2. remove fitting and siphon water (4 gallons) out.
Since the unit is mounted under under the bed, and the piping is such that removal of pipe connections would be extensive to be able to siphon water out, I chose to blow out water lines and apply heat to the area for the remaining water. probably a "belt and suspenders" approach, but I'd rather not have to replace the heater, and/or lines.

Allan is this the heater? Ariston 4.0 gal 1500w water heater.

If it is, it pretty clear why you are taking the approach you are. Would seem that owners of Snoozy's who don't have the option of plugging in their trailers through the whole winter to keep the trailer heated would have a bigger job winterizing their trailers with that heater than those with a more typical RV water heater from Atwood or Suburban with a simple drain plug would.