Why Heating Pads for Tanks

[Traps90]

Was just curious why Newmar has the option of heating pads for there tanks, (we're seriously looking at the dutch star line) don;t even know where they install there tanks but would think the basement would have enough heat for the tanks,.

That said since we're in Canada I know that is a must have option for us,


Trap

[RickO]

Yep, I'm thinking it's because you want to make sure they don't freeze.

Rick

[Traps90]

Just never seen this offered by coach builders before this, have seen it on lower end 5'ers, but Newmar is the first coach builder I've seen to offer this.

Was just curious if the tanks were'nt in that warm of an are, won't have a chance to look closely at a DSDP for a couple of weeks yet.

Trap

["007"]

The holding tank area is heated by the gas furnace with a foil tube with a 12v fan inside the tube that will cycle as the furnace goes off and on.
Now a DP may have a different heating system with heater in tank compartment suppling heat in that area.
I have camp during winter months with a gas furnace down in the -1* night time temps and have never had a problem with the gas LP setup.
If you do allot of winter camping in Canada with winter sports you have the added option of the use of heat pads under tanks, I believe they work off your 12V house batteries.

[bbohn]

I have the heat pads on my 04 Dutch Star (I ordered as an option) Quite frankly, I have never used them as they seem to stay warm enough with the propane furnace on. We head South in December from ND so get into some cold weather. The operate on 120V.

["007"]

bbohn, the 120v comes from your inverter is that correct?

[Skip426]

The tank heating pads on my 99 DSDP are on a dedicated circuit breaker in the main panel and controlled by a switch with a indicator light in the bathroom. They are definately not powered through the inverter. I think the pads are used to warm the holding tanks because the tanks fit so tight in the compartment that the limited air flow around them would not keep them from freezing. The forced air from the furnace is directed towards the plumbing control panel/valves/filter and return air comes back into the furnace/main living area through a grill on the front of the shower. So very little of the basement gets any real amount of heat. Having a sewer line hooked up on cold weather allows heat out /cold in, and increases the chance of freeze up. In freezing temps, use on board water and dump before traveling. Use the heating pads any time temps below 28f/ -3c.

["007"]

If your going to do winter camping you need to close all sewer hose exits and maybe place a insulation blanket on floor of water closet.
Have to fill fresh water tank and use sparingly.
Furnace has always supplied enough heat to keep everything operational.
When you get ready to empty the tanks the fun sets in.

[wa8yxm]

No matter if the tanks re heated by the furnace or not, the pads will give you about 10 more degrees of "Safety" and if it's 20 degrees out that can mean the difference between a morning cup of coffee, and a morning block of ICE.

[frankdamp]

I have the Georgetown "Arctic Pack" (placarded on the switch as an "Artic Pack") on our used rig. After reading the system document, I don't think I'll ever use the heaters. They're only on the waste tanks, not the potable water tank.

They are 12Vdc and draw between 5 and 9 amps (each) depending on which model is installed, which is the first problem. They'd sure run the batteries down in a hurry.

The switching temps are strange also. They come on at 40F and don't go off until the tank conrents get to 60F. I don't see the point of trying to heat 30 gallons of sewage to 60 degrees. With the amount of contaminants in the water, it probably won't freeze until about 24F.

There doesn't seem to be any protection from the heaters coming on when the tanks are empty, either.

I'd take a very serious look at Newmar's set-up. If they're 115V, have reasonable "frost-stat" switching temps (say on at 35 and off at 40) and have protection so they won't melt the plastic tanks when they're empty, they might be a reasonable system for folks living in the "nine months of winter and three months poor sledding" part of the country.

A boondocker would have to run the generator for either a 12V system or a 115V system, so the much lower current on 115 would make for smaller wiring.

["007"]

Here is some more info on Newmars heat pads.

[NITEHAWK]

On our old 1997 Georgi Boy Maverick class C whenever the furnace kicked in heat was blown into the tanks compartment and controls area.
On our "new" 1989 Foretravel Grand Villa the black and grey water tanks are exposed to the elements but the dump valves are in a compartment that I installed a 6"x6" thermostatically controlled electric heater. This keeps the valves from freezing. We try to not use either tank but when we have to we also dump RV antifreeze after each use. The potable drinking water is up front between the driver and passenger-below the dash- and kept warm by the front furnace.