Last year i drained down the water system on my bailey Senator and that was the first i ever got a cracked mixer tap.After taking the sink to bits to fix it, i noticed a large loop of pipe down at the floor where water was trapped and i guess when it froze it it was pushed up to the tap.
Now my mates just noticed this loop of pipe on his bailey and i wonder if this is the cause of many taps cracking on all models ? Sorry for not posting a few months ago about this but i thought i was the only one affected.
The water turning to ice expands 8 to 9% in volume, would the volume of water trapped at the floor be enough to force the water up to the tap?
It of course depends how large a volume is trapped and the volume up to the tap but it sounds you were unfortunate.
a lot of the taps now contain a cartridge (each year on here people say they have a fault) and these hold water even after draining and leaving open.i open the taps mid way each time also cover the whole tap with an old walking sock and tie off.unscrew and remove the shower head too as these are very expensive.as said at 8 to1 ice does a lot of damage when it expands.
need to look at the floe idea again.
i have made but not used it.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
You can use a Floe device to get all the water out of your pipes, it puts the system under pressure and forces water out of bends etc, after draining down I used the floe and got another 3 pints out of mine
Quote: Originally posted by michael on 12/12/2012a lot of the taps now contain a cartridge (each year on here people say they have a fault) and these hold water even after draining and leaving open.i open the taps mid way each time also cover the whole tap with an old walking sock and tie off..
Do the same myself Michael i use an old tea towel wrapped round it and a old wollen sock to keep it in place.
I posted pictures of the pipes this year but cant find them in a search.
As michael shows in the link above just make your own drain down kit. Mine cost around £10, but most of that was the ultraflow pistol connector. I know many other people have made them cheaper.
It only takes a few mins to do and makes sure all of the water is removed.
I think the Floe kits cost around £45, but it's still probably cheaper than repairing the damage from frozen pipes.
Two years running the filter in our Pageant bordeaux cracked, even after what we thought was a thorough drain down and blow through. Since we do not drink water from the caravan system we did away with it replacing it with a small piece of pipe. Saved £30 odd pound each year.
------------- 74,going on 25
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder
We fell fowl of a cracked mixer tap in the shower caused by ice damage the first year we had the van, ever since then I made sure all the taps were left half open, and the shower spray tube was disconnected too.
Year before last our Bailey Peggy had to have a new pump (£80) as when it was serviced they found it leaking. It is the internal pump.
I drained it down as per the instructions, and the van is stored under cover although in an unheated metal hangar! It was a very cold winter.
The dealer said they had several go on the forecourt-all drained down.
I now connect a piece of hose to the inlet , close the taps and blow down the pipe. A small amount of water came out-but enough to kill an expensive pump. This is after normal drain down.
Not paying £40 odd for the floe kit.I may make my own, but hose and lung power seemed to work
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
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Topic: Bailey owners beware. Freezing Pipes
