full-timer water filtration and pressure regulation

[BrianTX]

I'm a full-timer considering a water filter "standard dual-canister system" from rvwaterfilterstore.com, and was wondering if anyone has built an outdoors enclosure for a system like that, providing cold&hot protection (26-105 degree range here): Some of the filters on the site have a 40-degree low end printed on the label. I normally drip a faucet or two during our few sub-32 nights in the winter and have never had a problem with our current WalMart in-line filter. Ideally, I'd like to mount the unit inside the '06-L33RLO but there isn't much room with the ReelEZ on the wall and many pipes, etc. on the floor -- maybe on the ceiling of that area? -- I'll also be ordering a WATTS H560 or IR56 pressure regulator and would like to have that in the same container/area as the filters. Any ideas? Thanks!

[BrianTX]

I'm a full-timer considering a water filter "standard dual-canister system" from rvwaterfilterstore.com, and was wondering if anyone has built an outdoors enclosure for a system like that, providing cold&hot protection (26-105 degree range here): Some of the filters on the site have a 40-degree low end printed on the label. I normally drip a faucet or two during our few sub-32 nights in the winter and have never had a problem with our current WalMart in-line filter. Ideally, I'd like to mount the unit inside the '06-L33RLO but there isn't much room with the ReelEZ on the wall and many pipes, etc. on the floor -- maybe on the ceiling of that area? -- I'll also be ordering a WATTS H560 or IR56 pressure regulator and would like to have that in the same container/area as the filters. Any ideas? Thanks!

[Clay L]

I have the regulator on the supply hose bib end to protect the water hose from high pressure.

When I am in cold areas I use a heated hose with a five gallon bucket filled with fiberglass insulation over the hose bib and regulator.

I use a single GE whole house filter I got at Home Depot and use a carbon filter cartridge in it.

It is in the service bay. I added a GFI protected 120 v outlet to the service bay and use a small 1500 watt Westinghouse electric heater with a "FrostGuard" feature. It comes on at 40 degrees and maintains that temperature. That prevents freezing down to at least 10 degrees overnight.

The dual filter system is okay but I am not sure it's much of an advantage over the single.
Not enough for me to mess with anyway.

[Still Working "NOT"]

Brian,

Your on the right track. I don't have mine inside but I put the Watts Regulator just in front of the filter that I bought from the farm supply store here locally. Never stayed when it was cold but Clay has the answer there. I would use some small roll insulation around the hose,heat tape and then use some duct tape to protect the hole thing. Don't overlap the heat tape as it will melt it's self down.

I know they make a heated hose but to me the cost is prohibative, $250.00 to $300.00. It is real nice with the heating unit built into the hose and fauct connection.

[Ray,IN]

That outrageously expensive "heated hose" does nothing to protect the metal ends. The owner must use something else to protect the metal ends from freezing.
I emailed the seller with that question. The response basically said they have no plans to improve their product.
I've been wondering about infra-red heaters to keep the filter above freezing. They use less electricity than standard heaters.

[LarryGodby]

I lived up in Idaho during a winter in my tag-a-long and all I did was run heat tape over the hose, then the pipe insulation and duct tape. Only precaution was I laid a strip of duct tape over the seam of the insulation and then around it to keep it on. That was it and it got pretty darn cold up there that winter.

[Clay L]

Regarding my heated hose - it's not the expensive one!!

Based on local advice in Grand Junction CO where they have a lot of oilfield workers and sell a lot of heat tapes, hoses, etc, I bought a black polyethylene water hose and a heat tape at a True Value hardware store.

Be sure to check the instructions with the tape, because some specify that the tape should not be spiral wrapped, but simply taped along the length of the hose.
I used sections of foam pipe insulation with sticky edges - there is a plastic strip that keeps them from sticking until you are ready - to cover the hose with after installing the heat tape. I covered the butt joints with duct tape.

This has served me well for four full timing years.
Of course I try hard to never have to use it, but sometimes you just have to be in a cold place for a while.

[powerboatr]

maybe i am missing something
we keep it very simple in freezing weather
i fill the fresh water tank every tim eit gets to 1/2 and since its heated and my water filters are in the heated basement i have never had a freezing problem, even at 40 gallons of fresh water i can go several days without having to refill, but then i open the stand pipe and fill her up then drain everything and put it back in the warm basement.

[RedneckExpress]

Could a couple of you point me in the direction of the heat tape? I've found pipe wrap heaters, but not heat tape exactly. Is there a website where I can look at this stuff? I have about 50' of fresh water hose I need to keep from freezing this winter (My fresh water supply is inside a green house).

[Clay L]

Mine was not exactly a tape but rather a pair of insulated wires with an insulating jacket on them. it is designed to be taped along the hose ( not spiral wrapped).
I got it in a True Value hardware store. Sorry but I don't recall the brand name.

[Clay L]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by powerboatr:
maybe i am missing something
we keep it very simple in freezing weather
i fill the fresh water tank every tim eit gets to 1/2 and since its heated and my water filters are in the heated basement i have never had a freezing problem, even at 40 gallons of fresh water i can go several days without having to refill, but then i open the stand pipe and fill her up then drain everything and put it back in the warm basement. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The only thing you might be missing is that some of us don't want to go to that much "trouble". At least we consider it trouble - different strokes for different folks.

[Workshop]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BrianTX:
I'm a full-timer considering a water filter "standard dual-canister system" from rvwaterfilterstore.com, and was wondering if anyone has built an outdoors enclosure for a system like that____a WATTS H560 or IR56 pressure regulator____in the same container/area as the filters. Any ideas? Thanks! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

BrianTX,

My filter is one of the simple in line units, as we are weekenders. But___I'm sure your looking for it to be small and portable as possible and when in use, be next to or under the unit or possibly be stored under a slide? Of course a way to secure it to the unit with a cable? Would it be transported in the bed of the truck or in a storage bay?

What was your thoughts other than heated hoses?

[MakinSmoke]

BrianTX,
I like 2 filters. The less expensive ($4.00 for me) sediment filter protects the more expensive charcoal, chlorine, etc. "flavor" filter. ($17 for me)

Your WATTS regulator will do a great job keeping the pressure at what ever you set it at, even from park to park.

I have a WATTS. IF the park will supply 45lbs, I can get 45lbs into the fiver.

My water "flavor" filter is the blue one from Walmart. Works fine and because of the sediment filter is first in line, the flavor filter lasts about 3 months.

But if I were to do this again, I would buy two JUMBO whole house cannisters, put a sediment filter in one and a higher level "flavor" filter in the other and see if I could get more water into the trailer.

Can't prove that the little blue water filter form Wally is restricting my water flow but when I just hook up a hosepipe on the regulator, I seem to get more water into the shower. I call that having more water volume
Meanwhile, ain't fulltiming wonderful? We have time to worry about the size of water filter we're using. How cool is that?

[Lorna]

We spent last winter in NE TN parked in the back yard of a house we were working on. It was a mild winter with nights that dipped below freezing but warmed up during the day. I enclosed my water filters in a foamboard box (1" thick house type insulation board). I use a permanent sediment/sand filter (from a flea market) inline with a Whirlpool brand house type single canister filter with a $33 WHKF DB2 (from Lowe's) drop in filter to reduce sediment, chlorine taste and odor, cysts and lead. I wrapped Frost King brand Pipe heater tape (from Lowe's) on our 4 ft water hose (from filters to city water inlet on RV) then wrapped that with neoprene pipe insulation. I used one of those insulation caps for hose bibbs at the city water inlet. This was my most suseptible spot to freezing as I have a metal 90 degree elbow at the city water inlet, that was wrapped with heat tape as well. The filters have heat tape loosely wrapped around the filters in the insulated box. The heat tape was put on a thermostatically controlled switch (found with the Frost King heat tape). My 50 ft water hose from the house to the RV had the 50 ft extension cord laid alongside the water hose the wrapped with neoprene pipe insulation. We kept an electric space heater on the pulled enough power that the extension cord stayed warm all winter. My pressure regulator is just one of those little brass ones that I tend to leave in campgrounds. I put it on between the hose bibb & my water hose. We have never run into overly high water pressure in any park that we've ever stayed at in over 29 years of camping. And the Whirlpool filter I use really drops my water pressure in the RV. I started using the DB2 filter because we had been camping in an area that farmed intensively in very sandy soil. Water quality was questionable.

Now that I'm back in NC, I will rework a knock-down box I had previously built to accomodate my filters & line it (permanently) with foamboard.