I've had my cabin in the Virginia mountains for 30 years. Here are more plumbing tips for winter. (1) There is a little water in the kitchen sprayer. Disassemble it and squeeze the trigger. It can freeze and break. (2) If you have brass pipes connecting your kitchen faucet and lavatory faucet to the shut-off valves, replace them with flexible pipes. In the cold, they can shrink and pull out . (3) I siphon most of the water from my toilets, so I can use very little anti-freeze in them. It is not possible to drain the water in a conventional toilet's valve, since it is protected against backflow. Keep a spare handy. (4) I buy antifreeze in March when Walmart marks it down. (5) I have copper pipes and there is a low spot that can freeze. I replaced this with automobile heater hose. (6) I have a whole-house filter in my crawl space. While my crawl space doesn't get below freezing, I still unscrew the filter housing and dump the water, leaving a bucket under it. PUT A STAKE IN THE BUCKET so the mice can crawl out. or you will have a smelly situation. (7) I have never drained my 40-gallon water heater and doubt that it could freeze. I paid to heat that water so let it lose its heat over the coming days to keep the cabin a bit warmer. 40 gallons of water at 120F will give off 26,656 BTUs as it cools to 40F. (In reality, I always turn off my hot water power the evening before I leave, and I have enough for a shower and washing dishes.) (8) If you are considering a tankless water heater, and you cannot guarantee it will stay warm, find out if the model you are considering can be drained, or is guaranteed to survive freezing. (9) In my area, very few insurers will insure a log cabin, and fewer still if you do not have central heat. If you are building and considering heating with wood, as I do, find out if you can get insurance at a reasonable price without central heat. It might be smart to install a minimal central heating system just for the insurance advantage. This might be a Mr. Cool or baseboards. You just need enough heat to keep the space above freezing. I use 2 oil-type space heaters set to 900W and "snowflake" or 32F. (10) Buy some cheap high-low thermometers and learn what the actual low temperatures are in various spaces. My insulated crawl space has never gone below freezing, yet my cabin can fall to near zero in a power outage. For this reason, I recommend not burying water pipes in insulation, so they can take advantage of the warmth of the earth. I enjoyed seeing your cabin, thanks.
Wow! Thank you for the great comments and suggestions. Some of these you mentioned, I already do but didn't include in my video such as the high-low thermometers, kitchen sprayer, and flexible pipes. My crawl space will freeze some winters but not every winter. I didn't show me draining my pump, filter, and water tank. I actually didn't drain them on this trip because I knew if wouldn't freeze in my crawl space. Unfortunately a few weeks later winter set in in the high country and I had to drain the entire system, including pump, filter, and water tank. Yes, I had difficulty getting insurance and installed a small ventless propane heater to satisfy the requirements but we mostly use the woodstove. The ventless propane heater is nice when we snowmobile in the winter months. It is during this time we keep our cabin dry, meaning we don't use the water system, we haul in water, use one toilet and the kitchen sink so we don't have too much to pour RV antifreeze into when we leave. I sure appreciate all your knowledge and wisdom. You gave me some things to think about. We have had our cabin since 2019 and so far our method of winterizing has worked, except I learned about about the kitchen sink sprayer the hard way. Thanks again for your well thought out response an thank you for watching.
I live in Western New York state. Years ago my husband and I took a trip to Erie, Pennsylvania and travelled on Route 5 which goes along Lake Erie. There were over 10 huge rainbows, including doubles and several water spouts (tornados on the water) on the trip down. Very odd weather that day. Pretty but with all the water spouts a little scary too. Rainbows are God's blessing after the great flood. Unfortunately my husband suffered snow blindness as a young teenager and can't see rainbows which makes me feel very sad for him. You have a beautiful cabin and property! I enjoyed the drive to it.❤😊
Thank you for watching my video! It is unfortunate that your husband can't see rainbows. That makes me sad also. Yes, rainbows are God's blessing and promise. Take care.
Thank you for your comment. Winter prepping would have been a great title but 10 days later I was back at the off-grid cabin with family for a long weekend stay. I didn't entirely winterize the cabin. I didn't drain the pump under the cabin because I knew I would be back in 10 days and I didn't think it would get cold enough in the insulated crawl space to freeze the pump. When I returned, I was able to turn the pump on and we had water for our stay. It was an emergency because this system was supposed to stay north of us but a sudden turn in the weather and the system move further south than previously predicted, so I had little time to get up to the cabin and make sure it didn't freeze the toilets and pipes in the walls. Once, I again, I appreciate you viewing this video and thank you again for your comment. Take care.
I have just one more observation. I bought a ventless propane heater, hoping to satisfy the insurers, but my county would not allow a ventless heater in a home without central heat. For all the nuisance of buttoning up the place in the winter, it's worth it to be there when there is a nice snowfall, with all the animal tracks and no traffic on our dirt road, which is quite steep.
The ventless propane heater we installed met our insurance requirements for an off-grid cabin. I agree, about checking on the cabin during or after a large snow fall. I usually snowmobile in after a large snowstorm, once the road is plowed. The plowed road gets me within a couple of miles of my cabin, so it is a short snowmobile ride from there. I appreciate your comments. Take care.
So this was CLICKBAIT title as there wasn't a TRUE EMERGENCY, just winter prepping for the winter off-grid cabin since you won't be staying there ! A common sense thing to do. Re: tire pressure sensors.....really hate them. Tire pressure drops 2 psi in 1st cold weather and get warning. Wife and daughter think the SUVs are undrivable and you can see they are still up.
Yes, tire sensors can really be a good thing and a pain in the butt. The sudden change in the temperature as I drove up the mountain I am sure is what triggered the sensors. The good news is I added air and they have been fine since. Thanks again.
The snowstorm ended up dumping 24 inches of snow the following two days. Had I not went up that day and drained the system, it would have frozen and broken pipes and plumbing. To me, it was an emergency. Thanks for watching.
That was a beautiful offgrid cabin
Thank you James! I appreciate your kind comments and you taking the time to watch. Take care.
I've had my cabin in the Virginia mountains for 30 years. Here are more plumbing tips for winter. (1) There is a little water in the kitchen sprayer. Disassemble it and squeeze the trigger. It can freeze and break. (2) If you have brass pipes connecting your kitchen faucet and lavatory faucet to the shut-off valves, replace them with flexible pipes. In the cold, they can shrink and pull out . (3) I siphon most of the water from my toilets, so I can use very little anti-freeze in them. It is not possible to drain the water in a conventional toilet's valve, since it is protected against backflow. Keep a spare handy. (4) I buy antifreeze in March when Walmart marks it down. (5) I have copper pipes and there is a low spot that can freeze. I replaced this with automobile heater hose. (6) I have a whole-house filter in my crawl space. While my crawl space doesn't get below freezing, I still unscrew the filter housing and dump the water, leaving a bucket under it. PUT A STAKE IN THE BUCKET so the mice can crawl out. or you will have a smelly situation. (7) I have never drained my 40-gallon water heater and doubt that it could freeze. I paid to heat that water so let it lose its heat over the coming days to keep the cabin a bit warmer. 40 gallons of water at 120F will give off 26,656 BTUs as it cools to 40F. (In reality, I always turn off my hot water power the evening before I leave, and I have enough for a shower and washing dishes.) (8) If you are considering a tankless water heater, and you cannot guarantee it will stay warm, find out if the model you are considering can be drained, or is guaranteed to survive freezing. (9) In my area, very few insurers will insure a log cabin, and fewer still if you do not have central heat. If you are building and considering heating with wood, as I do, find out if you can get insurance at a reasonable price without central heat. It might be smart to install a minimal central heating system just for the insurance advantage. This might be a Mr. Cool or baseboards. You just need enough heat to keep the space above freezing. I use 2 oil-type space heaters set to 900W and "snowflake" or 32F. (10) Buy some cheap high-low thermometers and learn what the actual low temperatures are in various spaces. My insulated crawl space has never gone below freezing, yet my cabin can fall to near zero in a power outage. For this reason, I recommend not burying water pipes in insulation, so they can take advantage of the warmth of the earth. I enjoyed seeing your cabin, thanks.
Wow! Thank you for the great comments and suggestions. Some of these you mentioned, I already do but didn't include in my video such as the high-low thermometers, kitchen sprayer, and flexible pipes. My crawl space will freeze some winters but not every winter. I didn't show me draining my pump, filter, and water tank. I actually didn't drain them on this trip because I knew if wouldn't freeze in my crawl space. Unfortunately a few weeks later winter set in in the high country and I had to drain the entire system, including pump, filter, and water tank. Yes, I had difficulty getting insurance and installed a small ventless propane heater to satisfy the requirements but we mostly use the woodstove. The ventless propane heater is nice when we snowmobile in the winter months. It is during this time we keep our cabin dry, meaning we don't use the water system, we haul in water, use one toilet and the kitchen sink so we don't have too much to pour RV antifreeze into when we leave. I sure appreciate all your knowledge and wisdom. You gave me some things to think about. We have had our cabin since 2019 and so far our method of winterizing has worked, except I learned about about the kitchen sink sprayer the hard way. Thanks again for your well thought out response an thank you for watching.
I live in Western New York state. Years ago my husband and I took a trip to Erie, Pennsylvania and travelled on Route 5 which goes along Lake Erie. There were over 10 huge rainbows, including doubles and several water spouts (tornados on the water) on the trip down. Very odd weather that day. Pretty but with all the water spouts a little scary too. Rainbows are God's blessing after the great flood. Unfortunately my husband suffered snow blindness as a young teenager and can't see rainbows which makes me feel very sad for him. You have a beautiful cabin and property! I enjoyed the drive to it.❤😊
Thank you for watching my video! It is unfortunate that your husband can't see rainbows. That makes me sad also. Yes, rainbows are God's blessing and promise. Take care.
More accurate title should have been " Winter prepping at off grid cabin".
Thank you for your comment. Winter prepping would have been a great title but 10 days later I was back at the off-grid cabin with family for a long weekend stay. I didn't entirely winterize the cabin. I didn't drain the pump under the cabin because I knew I would be back in 10 days and I didn't think it would get cold enough in the insulated crawl space to freeze the pump. When I returned, I was able to turn the pump on and we had water for our stay. It was an emergency because this system was supposed to stay north of us but a sudden turn in the weather and the system move further south than previously predicted, so I had little time to get up to the cabin and make sure it didn't freeze the toilets and pipes in the walls. Once, I again, I appreciate you viewing this video and thank you again for your comment. Take care.
I have just one more observation. I bought a ventless propane heater, hoping to satisfy the insurers, but my county would not allow a ventless heater in a home without central heat. For all the nuisance of buttoning up the place in the winter, it's worth it to be there when there is a nice snowfall, with all the animal tracks and no traffic on our dirt road, which is quite steep.
The ventless propane heater we installed met our insurance requirements for an off-grid cabin. I agree, about checking on the cabin during or after a large snow fall. I usually snowmobile in after a large snowstorm, once the road is plowed. The plowed road gets me within a couple of miles of my cabin, so it is a short snowmobile ride from there. I appreciate your comments. Take care.
Is that FS 250
Thanks for watching.
Beautiful cabin. Where are you?
Colorado
So this was CLICKBAIT title as there wasn't a TRUE EMERGENCY, just winter prepping for the winter off-grid cabin since you won't be staying there ! A common sense thing to do. Re: tire pressure sensors.....really hate them. Tire pressure drops 2 psi in 1st cold weather and get warning. Wife and daughter think the SUVs are undrivable and you can see they are still up.
Yes, tire sensors can really be a good thing and a pain in the butt. The sudden change in the temperature as I drove up the mountain I am sure is what triggered the sensors. The good news is I added air and they have been fine since. Thanks again.
Click bait, no emergency
The snowstorm ended up dumping 24 inches of snow the following two days. Had I not went up that day and drained the system, it would have frozen and broken pipes and plumbing. To me, it was an emergency. Thanks for watching.