A Brass Monkey Night

Tonight is forecast to be -25F.  My coldest previous van sleeping record was -16 one night last year.  I was actually kind of disappointed because we had a minus twenty-two night but it was over a weekend and I was comfy in my bed at home.  I think I will be OK.  I keep telling myself propane tanks work down to -44 so I should be fine.  I have actually considered running a pipe back to my propane storage area that so I could blow some heat back there if I really had to. But really a better idea would be to just get a hotel room (with a hot tub!) if it actually gets that cold.

This past weekend I spent some time rebuilding my plumbing system.  I have a background of house building and so that previous experience warps me for doing what I am now. When you are building a house you want it to all look pretty.  You hide all the pipes in the walls.   Doing that doesn't translate well to van life at all. The outside walls of the van get pretty cold.

It takes pulling out the sink to service any
of this stuff.  Things to consider in the
next design. (file under mistakes)

I was having trouble with freeze ups.  Every time it would get down to single digits… an event that occurs fairly regularly in this god forsaken frozen wasteland in which I live …my water pipes would freeze.  Over time I discovered if I pull out my bottom pots and pans drawer they would thaw back out in a few hours.  It wasn't a hard freeze.  No damaged pipes.  Just an annoyance.

When you are building, as I have learned, in a van you are heating the center space. The air in the middle. Anything not touching that middle air though gets pretty darned cold.  So my pipes, tucked back behind the water tank, got to be closer to outside wall temperature.  Low double digits.

The fresh water tank in contact with the
very cold floor.  No wonder it freezes.

The fresh water tank I purchased had multiple taps on it. I was just hooked to the back ones. My first step was to unhook the old pipe going from the tank to the pump. Luckily I thought ahead when I originally built this.  The pipe had a coupler about mid way. Removing the pipes was as easy as just undoing that coupler.  To keep my options open I cut the old pipe a bit shorter and capped it.  Then reinstalled it back at the coupler.  If I ever need to hook up to that spot again at least it is there.

The other thing I had thought about as a design change, I wanted to lift my water tank up off the floor.  To have an air gap.  Again, this is just as I mentioned, I am heating the interior air.  If the tank is sitting in contact with the floor, it will become floor temperature.  With an air gap, it will have a buffer against that.  I should even be able to circulate air into that space using a thermostatically controlled fan.  I used two strips of one inch foam insulation, one under each side to make this air gap.

Auto sound proofing.  It is adhesive on one
side, you just have to heat it to pull the
paper off.

The next job was to move my pump upward and out somewhat.  Previous to this rebuild The pump was mounted to a half inch hunk of pine (that warped).  Then the pine was attached to the wall of the floor to ceiling cabinet with a folded cloth napkin that I think I stole from an Indian restaurant in-between. This napkin was meant to reduce vibration noise.  To that end, I think it worked fairly well.  But it was thicker than it needed to be.  Putting the pump very close to the sink and in general just looking sloppy.  I replaced the pine with some 1/2” plywood.  The napkin with some auto sound proofing mat.  This is the stuff the wealthy teeny boppers use to keep all the boom-boom-boom from their over priced sound system in their car.  It worked great for this pump job and it is loads thinner.

Then on to the piping.  The tank has to have each tap drilled out before you can use it.  I drilled a 5/8” hole, trying to be very careful to not get any of the waste plastic bits inside the tank.  Then I ran 1/2 CPVC pipe up over the front of the tank and pointed it toward the new spot where the pump is attached.

The tank up on blocks.  No longer in contact with the floor.

Here is where I tried to do something again where I had failed before.  Back when I first did the build I purchased a water filter.  It isn’t for flavor, it is just a large particle filter.  So if I refill my tank from some camp ground and there is sand in the water, it won’t damage my pump.  Before, when I got the filter I installed it the day before The Wife and I went on a week long camping trip.  Mistake.  Never install something major the day before you go on a trip with your other half.  It won’t go well.  The second day into the trip I was re-plumbing to remove the filter because it didn’t seem to be working right.

You can't see this real well. But I
warmed up the CPVC pipe with a
torch and bent it to create a custom
hunk of pipe.

The same thing happened when I installed it this time.  I think some how, some where, this filter is allowing air to get sucked in.  The pump won’t stay primed and the faucet would sputter and blow air, splashing water all over just like the last time.  I don’t understand it but at least I wasn’t on vacation.  I guess I am going to give up on the filter idea.  Hell, with my record, the van will run out of propane again and the pump will freeze and crack long before it dies of sand poisoning.

My last part of the project was to move the tank vent backward, closer to the pump.  The tank has to be vented.  And I wish I could find some smaller vent filter.  But this works.  Before it was sticking out a bit too far and prevented me from building an attractive cabinet face.  Moved back, as I have it now this won’t be a problem.  One thing I did that was a little bit special for this is I heated the pipe up with a torch and then bent it to create sort of a pair of custom 45s.  This isn't something I could have done if there was water pressure on the pipe.  But for a vent it worked just fine.

Here is everything all put back together.  Next I will be
building the cover to go over all this and makin' it
look all purdy. :-) 

All it all it was a good two day project.  It will work much better than what I had.  Maybe still not good enough to protect me at -25.  But I would think it will get me down to zero with no freeze ups.   Next week I am hoping to build the fan and front enclosure to do the air circulation and protect me further.

Keep warm van lifers!