Frozen sewer pipes

[dutchmensport]

Originally Posted by flybouy

....The flame is contained inside the heater. ...

Maybe we're getting off topic here, but here goes.

I am on my 5th "salamander" in my lifetime. And yes, you are absolutely correct they should be used in open spaces. And yes, they can throw a flame as far as a foot from the end of the funnel. I had 3 of them do this, and that was the first sign they were failing.

Regardless, they use a flame and that metal funnel tube gets really hot. Putting one of those under a cover is a disaster waiting to happen.

I use mine in my (larger) garage since it is not heated. The garage 30 x 50 can go from zero degrees to 70 degrees in about 15 minutes or less because (the larger ones) throw out so much heat. When in use, I make sure nothing is within 10 feet of the end blowing the heat. I make sure there are no leaves or paper or any objects on the floor in front of it either. They are incredibly hot, but also do exactly what they are designed to do ... blast an incredible amount of heat instantly!

Never put one under a cover or a small enclosed space. I tried using one of mine in my smaller garage (1 car attached garage to the house, my wood working shop), and only tried it once. It threw so much heat in that small space, I was afraid the saw dust floating in the air would catch fire! I decided to go ahead and flip on the baseboard electric heat and just wait for things to warm up after that. And wait, and wait, and wait......

[flybouy]

"And yes, they can throw a flame as far as a foot from the end of the funnel. I had 3 of them do this, and that was the first sign they were failing." A properly functioning heater will not have an open flame exiting the heater. Most torpedo heaters have a warning label on clearances to maintain from combustible objects. The heaters are available in varying btu capacities.

I too own several of these heaters. The one I use in my 2 car garage is 40K btu IIRC. I think the front of the unit is about 10" AFL (above floor level) because it's LP so tank underneath. I have a 120k btu unit as well (use it outside in winter to keep the smokers warm when we entertain at the house) but that needs a 100 lb tank to operate. So what I'm getting at is the OP asked for a quick way and that's how I would do it. JMHO, YMMV

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Maybe you missed the "Do not leave the unit unattended while running the heater." The salamander doesn't "throw a flame", it's not a torch or a flamethrower. The flame is contained inside the heater. These type heaters are commonly used at football games and construction sites when building out a space.

Using a hairdryer in sub zero Temps with a stout wind blowing would be painfully inefficient.

^^^Nah. Set on high, snout about an inch from the surface (as close as you can get without it cutting off due to overheating) and it works pretty well. Don't remember what the wind was doing as it was long ago but wouldn't make much difference since not much is going to move the air between the surface and end of the dryer....and your body blocking the wind.

That was about 40 or so years ago, never heard of a heat gun (and set at a too high a temp would damage the end of the dump) at that time IIRC, working out of the trailer and all I had was the dryer DW left in there. Guess I could have heated up a pot of water...but the water was froze and it would have taken LP I didn't need to waste. As efficient as was available. Heck, even used one a few weeks back to thaw a faucet that had us out of business.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Stevestrailer

It has been cold so I left my grey tanks open and water trickling ! The line has frozen and is showing both tanks are full! The black tank will not pull to drain so I imagine it is frozen too! Only one faucet still flows but it barely flows! I put a space heater in the belly to try and thaw it out! It looks like there is ice in the sewer hose that goes into the ground as well!! I’m new to rving so I’d appreciate any help as to where to start to get it all flowing! Thanks in advance!

Two gray tanks iced to the point of just a trickle flowing.
Black tank valve frozen shut and unknown how far it's iced up beyond the valve.
Only one faucet with water flowing, barely.
Thaw all that with a hairdryer? Good luck! Let me know how that works out for you.

Whatever method you try I hope you get it going and if the water supply lines under the floor has frozen I hope you don't have damage. Once the water starts flow listen and look for leaks very carefully as water and RV construction materials are mortal enemies.

[Alpine Custom Upgrade]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

I think the first thing I'd do is to remove the sewer hose from the trailer. No doubt it's frozen. Just leave it frozen and purchase a new one and use it for now.

Second, more heat to the underbelly. Keep the furnace going. If your Avelanche is anything like my Montana, about 50% of the heat that blows from the furnace blows under the floor. It's intentional to keep things from freezing under the floor, but does use an incredible amount of propane. When temps reach zero, your furnace will probably run non-stop. Yes, its costly, but the alternative is frozen pipes.

Next, use a hair dryer / blower on the valve handles and anywhere else you can reach with the hair dryer. However, if the slides in the valves are frozen shut, then all you can do is pump heat under the floor until the valves themselves unfreeze. It will take time and patients.


Meanwhile, don't run any more water down any drain and don't flush the toilet any more. The more water you put in there, the bigger potential for a bigger ice block if things are not thawing.

I strongly, strongly discourage you from using anything to unthaw anything using any kind of device that throws a flame. Placing a Salamander under a tarp is a fire waiting to happen.

No, no. Don't use anything like this under a tarp.

The electric version of this is much safer. Click here. You may be able to rent one at a tool rental outlet store as they are expensive to purchase.

The heater mentioned pulls 40 amps on 240 volt. If it were me, I would look for a little smaller one that pulls less amps and put it in the basement. Either way, to get 240 volts to the heater may be a challenge.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Two gray tanks iced to the point of just a trickle flowing.
Black tank valve frozen shut and unknown how far it's iced up beyond the valve.
Only one faucet with water flowing, barely.
Thaw all that with a hairdryer? Good luck! Let me know how that works out for you.

Whatever method you try I hope you get it going and if the water supply lines under the floor has frozen I hope you don't have damage. Once the water starts flow listen and look for leaks very carefully as water and RV construction materials are mortal enemies.

I am the one that mentioned using a hairdryer; I did and it worked. I also said what I used it for:

"I used a hair dryer around my dump outlet until I could disconnect the sewer hose, threw it away and bought a new one."

I did not say, nor imply, that the OP should try to use a hairdryer to try to thaw everything that was frozen. If the sewer hose is frozen full it has to come off before you can start trying to thaw, and drain, the frozen waste water. If the OP is stuck somewhere, in a hurry and does not have access to all kinds of thawing equipment the hairdryer WILL WORK FOR WHAT I STATED.

[wiredgeorge]

I think the winter blues have set in across Keystone nation... I know the weather is really crappy here. Hovering around freezing and a constant misty rain that will be slick ice in the morning if this morning is any indication. Pulling out of the north wind cold snap towards the end of the week.... perhaps I and everyone else will not be in the mood to argue about hair dryers? I suspect the OP as a first time RVer and sitting in a block of ice probably has more right to some grumpy than I do but I am grumpy. Come on triple digit temps and let global warming reign!

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

I think the winter blues have set in across Keystone nation... I know the weather is really crappy here. Hovering around freezing and a constant misty rain that will be slick ice in the morning if this morning is any indication. Pulling out of the north wind cold snap towards the end of the week.... perhaps I and everyone else will not be in the mood to argue about hair dryers? I suspect the OP as a first time RVer and sitting in a block of ice probably has more right to some grumpy than I do but I am grumpy. Come on triple digit temps and let global warming reign!

George have you tried your generator yet this year? i know the last time you guys had a ice storm your gen carb gave out on you..i figured you were wearing bermuda shorts and flip flops this time of the year…i have a lot to learn about Texas…i always picture sage brush and and dusty roads with the sun beating down..like the old westerns

[wiredgeorge]

Had a biker friend who was from WVa and he constantly dogged me about Texas being a flat prairie. Pointed out that the mountains in Texas were a lot higher than anything in the Mountaineer State. We have mountains, prairies, dessert, pine forests, bayous and the Texas Hill Country is covered with scrub cedar and hills and canyons. Pic is from back of my house during the wildfire of last year (about 2 miles away but wind was blowing elsewhere; that is smoke you see on the horizon).

[jxnbbl]

"...I think the first thing I'd do is to remove the sewer hose from the trailer. No doubt it's frozen. Just leave it frozen and purchase a new one and use it for now..."


You might want to get two end caps to put on the frozen hose when you buy a new hose. Eventually it will thaw and the mess can be handled easily if contained.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Had a biker friend who was from WVa and he constantly dogged me about Texas being a flat prairie. Pointed out that the mountains in Texas were a lot higher than anything in the Mountaineer State. We have mountains, prairies, dessert, pine forests, bayous and the Texas Hill Country is covered with scrub cedar and hills and canyons. Pic is from back of my house during the wildfire of last year (about 2 miles away but wind was blowing elsewhere; that is smoke you see on the horizon).

i definitely want to make a trip to texas …many places i need to see in this country of ours

[rhagfo]

As frozen as the OP states I would place a salamander heater about 8’ to 10’ from the entrance side of the 5er, opposite the drain. I would affix a tarp on the utilities side to capture the warm air from the salamander and monitor closely.

[Stevestrailer]

Just to give you an update! The tanks are starting to thaw I have a pretty good trickle going now! Hopefully it all thaws out soon! Thanks for your help!

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Stevestrailer

Just to give you an update! The tanks are starting to thaw I have a pretty good trickle going now! Hopefully it all thaws out soon! Thanks for your help!

What are you doing? There were several suggestions offered. Are you using any of them? All of them? None of them and found another way to proceed?

Inquiring minds want to know ...

[Stevestrailer]

I unhooked the frozen sewer pipe and have been running the furnace at 75 every night! I also took the little wall down in the crawl space and put a space heater right near the tanks to help them thaw faster! I also got a heat buddy propane heater and have been using that on the exposed sewer pipe under the rv! I sat with it the whole time to make sure there was no fires! I think the warmer temps have helped as well! Once I get it completely thawed I’ll do a tank flush and hopefully ���� there are no broken pipes!

[hankaye]

Stevestrailer, Howdy;

Good to hear your getting some positive results.
Keep after it, small steps. When you try to hurry is when it bites ya on da butt.

Let us know when it's resolved.

hank

[Stevestrailer]

Originally Posted by hankaye

Stevestrailer, Howdy;

Good to hear your getting some positive results.
Keep after it, small steps. When you try to hurry is when it bites ya on da butt.

Let us know when it's resolved.

hank

I got it all thawed out! Thanks for all the help everyone!

[wifi_guy]

Originally Posted by Stevestrailer

It has been cold so I left my grey tanks open and water trickling ! The line has frozen and is showing both tanks are full! The black tank will not pull to drain so I imagine it is frozen too! Only one faucet still flows but it barely flows! I put a space heater in the belly to try and thaw it out! It looks like there is ice in the sewer hose that goes into the ground as well!! I’m new to rving so I’d appreciate any help as to where to start to get it all flowing! Thanks in advance!

I might have recommended leaving them closed with the tank heaters on. Hopefully there aren't any cracking or anything like that.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by Stevestrailer

I got it all thawed out! Thanks for all the help everyone!

Glad you figured it out ..so what’s next? how are you going to prevent it from happening again?

[WDPatterson]

Originally Posted by Stevestrailer

It has been cold so I left my grey tanks open and water trickling ! The line has frozen and is showing both tanks are full! The black tank will not pull to drain so I imagine it is frozen too! Only one faucet still flows but it barely flows! I put a space heater in the belly to try and thaw it out! It looks like there is ice in the sewer hose that goes into the ground as well!! I’m new to rving so I’d appreciate any help as to where to start to get it all flowing! Thanks in advance!

Does your travel trailer have a furnace heater? If you do, that is what runs through the floors and the lower area to keep things warm. You must run it, as it is what keeps everything warm, including your holding tanks.
Do not leave any drains open, as that allows cold air in. Leave those shut.
Are you living in this trailer, or do you have it stored? If you're living in it, use it like you're living in it. Never keep those valves open, unless you are emptying them.