Freeze

In this experiment, temperatures were below freezing sense midnight. The question: How cold can the inside of an RV get without damage?

No heroic measures were taken. When I say "heroic", I mean the furnace or stove was not used. However, the incandescent heaters for both water filters and water lines were employed, as they automatically are. Also, the Fresh Water Tank Heaters were employed, storing energy from the previous day. Thirty gallons of water holds a lot of heat that helps mitigate things through the floor. But, ultimately with no sun, all devices are at the mercy of the night.

Temperatures fell inside the RV and outside the RV. At first, the RV stayed 4 degrees warmer than outside, then down to 3, and finally only about 2 degrees warmer than outside.


Outside temperature according to Van.
20.5 F Degrees
Outside temperature according to RV.
19.6 F Degrees
Inside temperature in bathroom.
20.6 F Degrees. Commode is showing soft ice.
Temperature inside trailer.
22.8 F Degrees

Temperature of Fresh Water Storage Tank.
40.0 F Degrees
It was 45 yesterday, so it lost 5 degrees. Or, to put it another way: The tank gave the trailer 5 degrees worth of it's heat. Surely, that helped out.
Temperature of Hot Water Heater Tank.
38 F Degrees
Outside face of this tank is exposed somewhat to outside temperatures.
So, naturally it will be colder than the bigger supply of water. It is only 6 gallons.

The Keystone Filter.
Fracturing lines in ice or plastic?

The picture on left is freeze 2013.12.05, while the Keystone filter on the right is from Freeze 2013.01.13. Both show alarming fracture lines!
In carefully comparing the two pictures, the lines do not match! Therefore, the lines can not be in the plastic.
Another relief:
The lines of Freeze 2013.01.13 vanished upon thawing, indicating there was nothing to worry about.

Update:
Fracture lines were gone the next day!



Water bottles OK.
These bottles are withen two feet of Keystone Filter, in storage under stove to the left.
Doggie water bowl ok too.
While the doggie water bowl in the van was frozen.
So a car does not hold heat as well as this RV.

I suppose, instead of placing water bottles around to SEE the effects of freezing, one could place thermal packs touching filters, pumps, etc, to actually help PREVENT the freezing in the first place.






But here is the porcelain toilet.
It sits on a tank with no insulation. Easily stick my finger through. Some of us never grow up: Moms tell us to never play in the toilet.
That ends the experiment. Put an end to the inside temperature drop by turning on furnace.

Conclusion:
Inside temperature of 22 degrees is about as low a temperature that can be tolerated. And only for an hour or so! Truly, Inside Temperatures, well below freezing, can be tolerated for a short time with no damage.