De-winterized a week too soon!

[Houndbb]

We just picked up our trailer from service on Thursday. We had a coupon for that to be done for free, and they had to do it to inspect the water heater. Well, temps are predicted to be below freezing from 11am today til 5am tomorrow. Again, overnight Sunday til noon Monday, and again Tues night into Weds. Filled 4 gas tanks, opened all the faucets, drained the quick-connect hose in the pass-through and took it off. Opened the water heater drain (after all the above, it sucked air).

We have the heat set at 60 right now, with our weather station sensor in the cabin. Two refrigerator sensors- one on top of the water heater, and one on the hose pass-through tray under city water connection (no water hooked up). We have a small, ceramic heater plugged in on low setting in the pass-through.
I’m thinking I’ll be sleeping out there a couple nights this week. As I wake up several times a night anyway, I can check my temps, roll over and go back to sleep (or adjust thermostats).

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Bruce & Nancy,

Double-check your temperature forecast . . . I don't think it is going to get that cold. Temperatures in Kingston Ontario (north of you) are forecast to stay above freezing. Be sure you are checking "real" temps . . . not "wind chill". Only living things can feel wind chill . . . water goes by the actual temperature.

Only Sunday night will dip (briefly) below freezing https://www.theweathernetwork.com/us...-york/syracuse

Rob

[Houndbb]

Hi Bruce & Nancy,

Double-check your temperature forecast . . . I don't think it is going to get that cold. Temperatures in Kingston Ontario (north of you) are forecast to stay above freezing. Be sure you are checking "real" temps . . . not "wind chill". Only living things can feel wind chill . . . water goes by the actual temperature.

Only Sunday night will dip (briefly) below freezing https://www.theweathernetwork.com/us...-york/syracuse

Rob

Thanks, Rob, I have been watching for a couple days. We’re out in the sticks, in a valley that gets about 5 degrees colder than the predictions. We moved here in 2001 and built a big deck, brought water spigots out to both south and west sides. First oops (it wasn’t supposed to drop that low) was with the original copper we used-split right open. Second oops, we had pex with normal spigots. The south spigot froze. Now we have the recessed ones, but if the overnight prediction is 40, I still turn off that line and open the spigots. Our last overnight frost/freeze was May 31 last spring. Better safe than sorry.
N (one impatient tomato/pepper grower)

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Nancy,

Another thing that you can do to get through a short drop below freezing is to fill all your tanks. The “thermal mass” of a full tank takes much longer to drop below freezing than a thin layer of water which is always in the bottom of a drained tank.

Rob

[Tom&Joan]

Hi Bruce & Nancy,

Double-check your temperature forecast . . . I don't think it is going to get that cold. Temperatures in Kingston Ontario (north of you) are forecast to stay above freezing. Be sure you are checking "real" temps . . . not "wind chill". Only living things can feel wind chill . . . water goes by the actual temperature.

Only Sunday night will dip (briefly) below freezing https://www.theweathernetwork.com/us...-york/syracuse

Rob

Rob, I have a comment about wind chill, and only humans being affected. We owned a car wash at one time, and had numerous freeze ups. Interestingly, it was much more prone to freeze up when the temp was just below freezing and windy as when extremely cold and calm. Duration of the cold was of course another factor. So my conclusion is that everything, plants, water and more are affected by wind chill.

[Cate&Rob]

Rob, I have a comment about wind chill, and only humans being affected. We owned a car wash at one time, and had numerous freeze ups. Interestingly, it was much more prone to freeze up when the temp was just below freezing and windy as when extremely cold and calm. Duration of the cold was of course another factor. So my conclusion is that everything, plants, water and more are affected by wind chill.

Hi Tom&Joan,

Air movement can certainly affect the cool down rate, as you describe. “Wind Chill” is a calculated number that tries to equate this more rapid cooling to the temperature that this would feel like in still air. http://www.skyviewweather.com/learni...s-and-answers/. This can get to the actual temperature more quickly, but can’t lower that temperature.

So, for example, an actual temperature of 35F with a “Wind Chill” of 30F, will not freeze water.

Rob

[sande005]

Hi Tom&Joan,

Air movement can certainly affect the cool down rate, as you describe. “Wind Chill” is a calculated number that tries to equate this more rapid cooling to the temperature that this would feel like in still air. http://www.skyviewweather.com/learni...s-and-answers/. This can get to the actual temperature more quickly, but can’t lower that temperature.

So, for example, an actual temperature of 35F with a “Wind Chill” of 30F, will not freeze water.

Rob

In simple terms - wind chill cools it down to the actual temp faster. But it is meant to be a "feels like" metric, not an absolute determiner of how fast things get cold.

[Houndbb]

Hi Nancy,

Another thing that you can do to get through a short drop below freezing is to fill all your tanks. The “thermal mass” of a full tank takes much longer to drop below freezing than a thin layer of water which is always in the bottom of a drained tank.

Rob

All the above is good to know. I wasn’t at all concerned about the tanks themselves, because that’s where most of the antifreeze went. More concerned about the water intake area, water heater, and the outside port at the front of the trailer. For years I depended upon the Weather Channel app for forecasts, but over the last two years or so, it’s proven to be inaccurate. Replaced it with Accuweather, and that’s been more on the mark. On Thursday, I noticed that the overnight lows predicted for the weekend and beyond weren’t just brief dives into the low 30s and 20s. Some were prolonged, 12 hours or more. (Never saw anything re: wind chill, only a consideration when dressing to remove snow!) Now that we’re stocked up with an ample supply of fuel, and the sensors are in place, I’m not worried. For the next few weeks, we can turn it on and off as needed. Little fuel used yesterday with heat set at 65, so I’m not feeling wasteful.

Rob, really looking forward to doing your water heater plug mod very soon, as getting to that little devil with a wrench is sheet metal torture!
N

[Tom&Joan]

Hi Tom&Joan,

Air movement can certainly affect the cool down rate, as you describe. “Wind Chill” is a calculated number that tries to equate this more rapid cooling to the temperature that this would feel like in still air. http://www.skyviewweather.com/learni...s-and-answers/. This can get to the actual temperature more quickly, but can’t lower that temperature.

So, for example, an actual temperature of 35F with a “Wind Chill” of 30F, will not freeze water.

Rob

Rob, I do remember what temp water freezes, (and refreezes) but I don't remember the addition or subtraction of calories number.

[Houndbb]

Monday morning, nearly 7am and the temp is 24 degrees. It’s been that temp since about 9pm last night. Granny’s fine, 64 interior, 53 on top of water heater, and 44 at the water intake in the pass through. There’s heavy white frost over everything. Knew it was going to be a cold one when the week-long heavy cloud cover suddenly cleared yesterday at 3-4pm. The forecast for next week has changed. Now indications are for no freeze/frost overnight. Happy about that, but we’re ready, just in case, because we never know what May will throw at us around here!
N