snowyowl.13 wrote:

We will be doing this for the first time. we will follow the same method used by people with summer places. A plumber will come in and blow out the lines and add antifreeze to all drains. He will also winterize the washer etc. All heat will then be turned off. If we don't do things that way then insurance would insist that someone enter the house daily to check for frozen pipes etc. Total cost of the plumber - $85. Neighbours will keep a general eye on the place. There won't be any snow removal so access to the house should be fairly difficult without a snowmobile. The post office has a mail forwarding service that costs about $24 per month for the first two months of our three month trip. We'll get them to hold the mail for the last month.
As I said this will be our first time doing a trip of this length so I may have overlooked a better approach but sdo so far that's how i plan to organize things.

snowyowl.13 wrote:

We will be doing this for the first time. we will follow the same method used by people with summer places. A plumber will come in and blow out the lines and add antifreeze to all drains. He will also winterize the washer etc. All heat will then be turned off. If we don't do things that way then insurance would insist that someone enter the house daily to check for frozen pipes etc. Total cost of the plumber - $85. Neighbours will keep a general eye on the place. There won't be any snow removal so access to the house should be fairly difficult without a snowmobile. The post office has a mail forwarding service that costs about $24 per month for the first two months of our three month trip. We'll get them to hold the mail for the last month.
As I said this will be our first time doing a trip of this length so I may have overlooked a better approach but sdo so far that's how i plan to organize things.

RCMAN46 wrote:

We are planning a three month stay in Arizona this year. We are going to use the low heat setting. I would recommend when you turn off the heat to the water heater to run a hot water facet until the water is cold. Much like I do when I put the 5th wheel away after each trip. Less chance of bacteria getting a foothold and multiplying. I think leaving the tank full would be better than draining it. There is no air in the tank when it is full. Again
I think bactereia would not have as good of a chance on getting a foothold.

Deus Ex Machina wrote:



The water in your water heater will cool to ambient temperature in about 24 hours anyway after it is shut off. Running it till it is cold is just a waste of resources and accomplishes nothing.

No more risk of bacteria in the water heater that there is in any of the rest of the plumbing. It is just a bigger diameter "pipe". It is a closed system with no air, and clorinated if it is city water. You are doing extra work for no added benefit.

RCMAN46 wrote:

Then why does the water in my RV tank go bad at times??? It is also a closed system.

thgoodman wrote:

OK, here's something not too many people know about home owners insurance until it's too late and they have a claim. Check your policy and check with your agent. When I had a stick house and went to FL for the winter I found out that my policy was written so that if the house was unoccupied for more than 30 days and something happened, the insurance company would (probably) pay the claim but cancel my policy. When we actually did start full timing, we hadn't sold the house yet. I could only buy a commercial fire insurance policy to cover it. Not as much coverage as a home owner policy and 2x the cost.