Forum Discussion

lordnorth's avatar
lordnorth
Explorer
Mar 31, 2018

Heat Wrap Water Pump?

I am determined that I am going to use my RV to go skiing. It's great when it works... Nothing like coming back for lunch, taking off your boots and coats and ski pants, having a nice relaxing lunch. Not to mention waking up and not having to drive to the mountain.

But my Coachman Mirada was not really designed as a 4 season RV and have been having trouble with freeze-ups.

I am buying tank heating pads for the freshwater tank, and heat cable to run from my tank to the pump (this is the area that has been freezing first for me...) I am also going to wrap my waste tank drain lines in heating wrap as well.

Currently I use a small 200 watt space heater in my wet bay to keep the pump from freezing up, but I would like to replace it with a better system, and since I am getting a lot of heat wrap anyway....

Has anyone tried heat wrapping your water pump? I was thinking maybe I could use something like this: https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Fresh-Water/Therma-Heat/277-000162.html

Thoughts?

Thanks for the help!
-Chris
Class A
  • old_guy's avatar
    old_guy
    Explorer
    Mar 31, 2018
    a word of caution when using heat tape, DO NOT OVER LAP THE TAPE. it will over heat and burn you out of house and home
  • JaxDad's avatar
    JaxDad
    Explorer III
    Mar 31, 2018
    Heat tape is a poor choice for poly and PEX tubing, it doesn’t conduct heat the way copper does.

    Are you able to plug in somewhere when you’re skiing? All that electric heat is going to chew through frozen batteries pretty quickly.
  • lordnorth's avatar
    lordnorth
    Explorer
    Mar 31, 2018
    OldGuy wrote:
    DO NOT OVER LAP THE TAPE. it will over heat and burn you out of house and home


    JaxDad wrote:
    Heat tape is a poor choice for poly and PEX tubing, it doesn’t conduct heat the way copper does.


    Yes, that was true about the OLD heat tape.

    Check out the NEW stuff. https://www.oemheaters.com/category/1124/standard-speedtrace-cable

    Ideal for freeze protection and thawing:
    metal or plastic pipes and valves
    Easy to install – pre-assembled with power cord and plug
    Safe to overlap and insulate
    Self-regulated: automatically adjusts heat output based on surface and ambient temperature
    No temperature controller required to prevent overheating
  • JaxDad's avatar
    JaxDad
    Explorer III
    Apr 01, 2018
    lordnorth wrote:
    Self-regulated: automatically adjusts heat output based on surface and ambient temperature


    That was exactly my point. Metal conducts heat FAR better than any type of plastic will. If the heat tape senses the outside of the poly is warm it shuts off, regardless of the temperature of the water inside that pipe.

    At 8 watts per foot at 0 deg. F. it looks like it could add up fast. I didn’t see any answer to how you plan to power it. Is there shore power available?
  • lordnorth's avatar
    lordnorth
    Explorer
    Apr 01, 2018
    No shore power.

    Pair of 6v golf cart batteries and there is always the generator!

    Have to wrap the lines since they are exposed. Decided to skip the pump and just keep hearing the bay with the space heater.

    That will take care of the pump AND the grey and black tanks, plus the gate valves.

    It's been a three year process. Each year we get a little closer!

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