We have moved to a colder climate and want to figure out how to keep camping despite below freezing temperatures. Need to make modifications in several areas but first was worried about the water supply.
I investigated installing tank heaters--ours are exposed. Tank heaters are pretty expensive, but seat heating pads are not--about $40 for a set. So I ordered a set that came with two pads and one controller but no instructions.
There were four wires that had to be hooked up--only two were what I expected--red and black. For this project I ordered some good 14 ga. Marine wire but in red and yellow because it was a bit cheaper than red and black. I wired an empty fuse on the electrical box with the yellow to hot and the red to ground. Then I promptly miswired the switch red to red and blew the new fuse! Duh.
Correcting that error was simple if counter-intuitive, red to yellow and black to red. But what to do with the green and yellow? I tried wiring them to a switch, thinking that they would normally go to the ignition to turn on only when the car was on, but that was wrong. I ended up finding a car forum that described a similar switch install and the explanation was yellow is the switch wire--shows the amber light in the photo that the pad is turned on and green is the power light--just shows power is available. Both are wired to the hot wire along with the red/yellow power wire.
The switch is located below the shower tray--in the open area that holds the drain pipes for the plumbing. I drilled the hole to the tank sensors a bit larger and got the connectors through to the tank area. The power wire is routed from the panel in the closet past the vanity in the bathroom through the chase behind the toilet and under the shower. Kind of a pain to pull, but nice that there is a path for the wire.
The pads are a white paper-like material with two adhesive strips. I cleaned the underside of the tanks well and then peeled off the protective strips and adhered them to the tanks.
Not very substantial but I plan to put some insulation board over them to hold in the heat and protect them from the elements.
The valve that goes to the gray tank is pretty exposed, but the black tank valve is more protected. I will need to think about how to keep these from freezing too.
I think just a little heat will keep the tanks from freezing up especially if I box them in with insulation. The temp of the pads was about 70 degrees with the heat dial turned all the way up.
I investigated installing tank heaters--ours are exposed. Tank heaters are pretty expensive, but seat heating pads are not--about $40 for a set. So I ordered a set that came with two pads and one controller but no instructions.
There were four wires that had to be hooked up--only two were what I expected--red and black. For this project I ordered some good 14 ga. Marine wire but in red and yellow because it was a bit cheaper than red and black. I wired an empty fuse on the electrical box with the yellow to hot and the red to ground. Then I promptly miswired the switch red to red and blew the new fuse! Duh.
Correcting that error was simple if counter-intuitive, red to yellow and black to red. But what to do with the green and yellow? I tried wiring them to a switch, thinking that they would normally go to the ignition to turn on only when the car was on, but that was wrong. I ended up finding a car forum that described a similar switch install and the explanation was yellow is the switch wire--shows the amber light in the photo that the pad is turned on and green is the power light--just shows power is available. Both are wired to the hot wire along with the red/yellow power wire.
The switch is located below the shower tray--in the open area that holds the drain pipes for the plumbing. I drilled the hole to the tank sensors a bit larger and got the connectors through to the tank area. The power wire is routed from the panel in the closet past the vanity in the bathroom through the chase behind the toilet and under the shower. Kind of a pain to pull, but nice that there is a path for the wire.
The pads are a white paper-like material with two adhesive strips. I cleaned the underside of the tanks well and then peeled off the protective strips and adhered them to the tanks.
Not very substantial but I plan to put some insulation board over them to hold in the heat and protect them from the elements.
The valve that goes to the gray tank is pretty exposed, but the black tank valve is more protected. I will need to think about how to keep these from freezing too.
I think just a little heat will keep the tanks from freezing up especially if I box them in with insulation. The temp of the pads was about 70 degrees with the heat dial turned all the way up.
