RV Water Hose: Keep from Freezing

[Batman_777]

I use a high grade fresh water drinking hose, pipe foam insulator (below pic center) and a heat tape 25 foot made by 3M (Home Depot) (below pic Left). This method has worked several winters below zero temps.

Lay the heat tape inside high grade plumbing pipe foam insulator (Don't twirl the heat tape around the hose). There are two quality levels of pipe unsulator.. Get the better. You'll need two or three. They come in 6ft length.

Lay and keep the heat tape on the bottom side of the pipe foam insulator tube in a straight line. Lay the water hose inline on top of the heat tape.

Note: Don't let the heat tape touch itself since that may create a hot spot and melt the heat tape where it touches.

Once you have the pipe insulator and heat tape inside it and water hose inside the insulator tube, take some black duct tape and wrap every 5" inches or so (Not too tightly).

Allow the heat tape coil thermostat to stay exposed to the air. It will come on at about 35-40 degrees. The heat tape when on should be slighty warm to touch.

Coil the left over heat tape up (if any) and place inside your water compartment to help warm it up. The heat tape doesn't get hot enough to damage anything except maybe itself.
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[Clay L]

You can get pipe foam with an adhesive on the edges that is covered with a plastic strip you remove after you install it. The only taping on the foam then is the butt joints.

The themostat should be taped to the hose so it senses the water temperature in the hose. I cover that area with foam also.

Also I prefer to secure the heat tape to the hose every few inches with electrical tape.

I made mine up about eight years ago and it is still working.

A lot of people say to take the hose in when it's cold and use water out of the tank but that's too much hassle for me. I prefer the heated hose.

[BigSkyBob]

What Clay said.

[wa8yxm]

What I do.. WHere I winter temps rarley drop to the teens. Though 20's are common

I taped (Duck tape) a string of rope lights to the hose,, Just enough heat to keep it liquid and it looks neat with the ty-dye type duct tape and the colored lights (or are they all white, I forget)

Second. .Due to over clornation of the water where I park I took to filling the fresh tank on the motor home. let it sit and the chlorine taste fades.. So since I'm not actively using the park water save to fill the tank, ONce full I drain the hose

The lights are on a thermostat, And I'll coil it around the park's water pipe to keep it from freezing when I drain it.

[mustang652]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batman_777 I use a high grade fresh water drinking hose, pipe foam insulator (below pic center) and a heat tape 25 foot made by 3M (Home Depot) (below pic Left). This method has worked several winters below zero temps.......

Been using the foam of a couple of years but reading the above post means a trip to HD and get some of that tape to add to the mix. I keep a couple of the insulated faucet covers as well and have wraped the sites exposed water line more than once. Got cought in a bad freeze two years ago so I have added a safety caged shop light with 75w heavy duty bulbs to the water and sewer compartment. I hang them above the water lines for extra safety.

[Batman_777]

There are several commercially available market products for winter freeze proof hoses similar to the one below.



Order Yours Today - No Freeze Water Hose

[Batman_777]

Here is another:
Heated water hose for RV and Motorhome use all winter long.

[Cat320]

If we are in an area that requires heat tape or heated hoses...it's time to move farther south...we don't own any of that stuff, and don't want any.

[LadyFitz...]

One advantage to using pipe insulation is it will also keep the sun from heating up the water in the hoses.

[Clay L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cat320 If we are in an area that requires heat tape or heated hoses...it's time to move farther south...we don't own any of that stuff, and don't want any.

I sure agree with that.

Unfortunately we have had several family emergencies over the years that have forced us to spend some time in winter weather. Sure didn't and still don't like it.

I had a hip replacement on Sept 1st in Grand junction CO (one of the best hospitals in the country for joint replacements) and can't leave here for AZ until about the 1st of Dec. It's going to be cold here by then so the heated hose is already connected.

[hhansen054]

I had posted the question on what to use when I signed up in the New Member Introduction(?) section and got a lot of info.
This is what I discovered. I watched a video link of a member here that was excelent but had one large flaw. In the video they were weatherizing the hose for a motorhome. They first wrapped the hose with foil to distribute the heat around the hose, (also stated on the heat tape instructions as an option) then laid the heat tape and the hose into the foam isulation and pulled the plastic strips to seal it. I followed the video to do my TT but it showed the thermostat hanging outside of the foam to the air. I used a rubber pipe insulator instead of foam but I found with the thermostat on the outside and air temps not getting above 40 for a weekend the heat tape was on all the time and got the water too hot to hold my hand under until it finally ran all the water through. By putting the thermostat against the hose you keep the water between 35 and 45 degrees no matter what. I mentioned TT vs motorhome because with a TT you must get as close to the same length heat tape as your hose. I could not find the same length hose and heat tape that I needed, 25' hose, 24' heat tape, but I ran the insulation all the way down and that helped.

[wa8yxm]

An advantage of pipe insulaton or even "Fun noodles" is this:

Where as that frost proof hose has one BIG!!! price tag (As I recall it has 3 digits left of the decimal) heat tape plus pipe insulation, or fun noodles, adds less than 25 bucks to the cost of the hose.. My rope lights are in the under 20 league.

[Mr_D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mustang652 Been using the foam of a couple of years but reading the above post means a trip to HD and get some of that tape to add to the mix. I keep a couple of the insulated faucet covers as well and have wraped the sites exposed water line more than once. Got cought in a bad freeze two years ago so I have added a safety caged shop light with 75w heavy duty bulbs to the water and sewer compartment. I hang them above the water lines for extra safety.

I use a 100 watt bulb in an alum reflector for many years now in the wet bay. However, I found a 200 watt heater with a fan at Wal*Mart. I'm going to connect it to a temp sensing plug in that turns on at some temp (forgot what temp now) above freezing and stays on till it reaches 40° or so. The 100 watt bulb is on all the time, the heater will only come on at lower temps and save some elec.

[CorLynn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batman_777 Here is another: Heated water hose for RV and Motorhome use all winter long.

This is the one i bought this season. I had to return my 1st one as it froze. Got my 2nd one home and it has been working good. The thermostat is at the tip where you plug into your motorhome, if you have a motorhome where that conection is in the bay you will have to get a extention hose so the thermostat is out in the weather.