David veillette Posted February 18, 2021 Report Share Posted February 18, 2021 HELP. as many may know or are part of it TX has had the ccoldest week on record going back to 1899. We have managed to do go job and have water heat and power. I kept the gray tanks open and drip water followed by very hot water every couple of hours which has kept the drain pipe clear, HOWEVER, in order to prevent a “poopsicle” I closed the dark talks and now I can not open the valve to drain. We have a heartland 2017 Big county and I would appreciate any suggestions for getting the valve opened to drain. We need to leave on Saturday AM and really don’t want to travel with a full dark tank!,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homelesshartshorns Posted February 18, 2021 Report Share Posted February 18, 2021 "Dark Tank" I love that! Quote Still seeing Places we have never seen before and others that we thought we would never see again! . homelesshartshorns | Trying to spend the last Dollar on the Last Day! (wordpress.com) George Hartshorn | Facebook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat & Pete Posted February 18, 2021 Report Share Posted February 18, 2021 Heat gun or maybe hair drier might thaw the valve enough ... Quote Goes around , comes around . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alie&Jim's Carrilite Posted February 18, 2021 Report Share Posted February 18, 2021 If you If you can get a hot water salt water brine into the tank it will help thaw the ice out. Use a lot of salt. The other idea is to get a hair dryer aimed at the lower pipe and valve where it leaves the belly area. It takes time to thaw it. Quote Alie & Jim + 8 paws 2017 DRV Memphis BART- 1998 Volvo 610 Lil'ole 6cyl Cummins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lappir Posted February 18, 2021 Report Share Posted February 18, 2021 When the temperatures get above freezing everything will thaw out pretty quickly. It's thawing today in Oklahoma from the sunshine even though it's still below freezing. Put something black or dark colored under your trailer and extend it to the sunlight. The heat will radiate up and maybe assist with the thaw. They are talking the 50s again soon. Rod Quote White 2000/2010Volvo VNL 770 with 7' Drom box with opposing doors, JOST slider hitch. 600 HP Cummins Signature 18 Speed three pedal auto shift. 1999 Isuzu VehiCross retired to a sticks and bricks garage. Brought out of storage the summer of 2022 2022 Jeep Wrangler Sport S Two door hard top. 2007 Honda GL 1800 2013 Space Craft Mfg S420 Custom built Toyhauler The Gold Volvo is still running and being emptied in July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjim Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 One issue is it may not be hard to get the valve itself thawed but you can still have a pretty good ice blob in the tank that may not drain and could block you shutting the valve. Where I am even a light freeze can keep me from opening the valve in the morning but if it warms up for several hours in the day and an assist by some sunshine as mine is on the morning sun side where I am parked allows me to open it later in the day. This was covered recently in another post on the forum and some of the advice here was there as well and some more that might be useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjim Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 1 hour ago, lappir said: Put something black or dark colored under I had not thought of this. I have used reflective dash cover as I stated somewhere else but this seems reasonble too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whj469 Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 As noted above, I would try a hair drier first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblr Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 I had a sump pump line freeze once at my house after it exited the house, and I used a ceramic heater that I set up to blow hot air around the line, worked just like a hair dryer would but did not have to stand there holding it, just another option if you have a heater Quote 2017 River Stone Legacy 38MB 2001 T2000 Kenworth 2009 Smart Passion ET Junior hitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danandfreda Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 Try to tarp around the valve and tank and put a small ceramic heater under it on low. We did this on a water hydrant last year when it was around 10 f It worked for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnlin Posted February 19, 2021 Report Share Posted February 19, 2021 I use a plastic milk crate with a 1x2 slid thru the lower openings and a utility light with clamps and a heat lamp for source. Then take a sheet of insulating foil, wrap around crate leaving top open. slide crate under and locate where drain valve is. Should not take too long for heat directed to bottom of tank covering to thaw valve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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