Last night as I was falling asleep to the sound of the wind battering the outside of the RV with gusts of up to 50 mph, temperatures in the teens, and sub-zero windchill, my final conscious thought was, “I should leave a faucet dripping.” I promptly went off to the land of Winken, Blinken, and Nod without ever stirring from beneath my toasty electric blanket.
Not surprisingly, when I woke up at 6 a.m., there was no water. I bundled up in three layers of clothes and ventured outside in the still-brutal wind and cold to see if I could resolve the problem. With hair dryer in one hand and hammer in the other, I chipped away the ice that had collected around the city water faucet. Apparently, there was a leak, and the water source had frozen solid.
After about an hour, I got the water running again and managed to fill up a couple of buckets at the faucet so that we would have water to flush the toilet, wash hands, etc. I then removed our water pressure regulator and y-adapter having determined that they were the source of the problem leak and headed off to the RV aisle at Wal Mart to pick up new parts. I found the parts, came home, and once again braved the elements (our temps never got out of the 20s today, and the high winds never subsided) to see if I could once and for all fix the water issue.
I have to tell you that it is difficult working with plumbing when water freezes as soon as it contacts the air. I have a whole new respect for plumbers who do this sort of work every single day, regardless of the weather. I had a pair of waterproof gloves on but had to remove them so I would have the dexterity to screw the regulator, adapter, hose, and outlet all together. Of course, my hands kept getting wet, especially as I STILL had a leak somewher, so I had to stop every five minutes to blow the hair dryer onto my digits to keep them moving.
After slicing a finger open, cursing a blue streak, and nearly bursting into tears (I would have, but they would have frozen to my face), I figured out that the problem was actually with the hose. I suppose that last night water froze in and around the connections, causing the metal to expand just enough to start the leak.
Okay, replace the hose. Easy fix, especially since I have a spare drinking water hose, right? Wrong. A month or so ago I winterized said hose by using electrical tape to bind a length of heat tape to the hose itself and then attached a layer of foam insulation to the outside of the house. So to replace the hose, I would have to remove all that, toss the hose, and winterize the new hose all over again, this time making sure the heat tape came in contact with the hose connections as well as the hose itself.
I was out of electrical tape and patience and had lost feeling in my face and toes, so I turned off the water and went back inside where I just sat in front of the space heater for an hour so I could thaw out. Since Lex had gone and gotten us drinking water earlier in the afternoon, and I had gone to the Y early in the morning to get a shower (thank god we kept up our membership there), I decided to say screw it and just take a nap. The hose will still be leaking in the morning.
We have power and heat, so we’ll weather the night just fine. There just won’t be showers or loads of laundry. I have to go to school tomorrow morning, but in the afternoon, I’ll go to Home Depot and pick up more electrical tape and foam insulation and then wrap up the new hose (which I will actually check for leaks BEFOREHAND this time).
Temperatures are supposed to get above freezing tomorrow during the day, but we’re also supposed to get a little snow. I hope once I get everything back together, there are no leaks and the hose holds up for a while. I really don’t want to wrestle with this every time the temperatures fall below 25 degrees. After spending most of the afternoon out in the cold, I’m rethinking that winter camping trip. Brrr!