Heating water lines safely?

[JPConley]

Last night my hot water line to the bathroom froze, down in the storage area - it was COLD for southern Maryland - teens. Thankfully it thawed OK in the "warm" 35 degrees - grin.

I'm going to run power into the storage area and keep a light bulb on down there for warmth. I've also got to replace the worn weather stripping on the access doors. Those will definitely help warm it up a little.

I'm considering getting some heat tape and running it along all the water lines in there as extra insurance. But I'm just a bit concerned as to whether or not this will damage the lines. I'm inclined to think it won't - the hot water is around 120 degrees, & I can't imagine heat tape being more than that.

BUT, reality doesn't always match my "reality," so I was wondering if anyone has done this, and can tell me if it's a good idea or a bad one.

Oh, a suggestion for others: where I am the electric is included in my lot fee, so I'm running extension cords from shore power, both the 30A (with an adapter), and the regular 120v in through the side at the bottom of my TV cabinet. I'm going to cut off the ends and install outlets down there, to make it look better, and easier to use. This will effectively double my electric capacity to about 100A. That's more than enough for however many space heaters I need. That should cut down nicely on my propane, for less than $50 - that's about 2 weeks of propane for me.

Thanks!

JP

[Trailer Trash 2]

What about that pipe insulation stuff at Hame Depot its a lot less money

[camper4]

You didn't say if you were running the furnace or just electric heaters. The furnace will add some heat to the basement and will typically keep pipes from freezing.
If you are using only the electric heaters while temps go into the teens, you could freeze a lot more stuff. Holding tanks and all other pipes. The furnace has a run to the holding tanks too.
Burrrrr. It is cold in upstate NY this time of year.

[camper4]

You are running the furnace. Sorry about that.
What I said is still true if you rely mostly on electric heaters and use the furnace only a little.

[JPConley]

Yah, I do run the furnace too, I'm just trying to keep it from running as much. In my 02 3255RL, I only see 2 ducts that go in there, neither one directly to the 2 tanks up there. And the one that goes to the front of the compartment really doesn't have much air flow. I only have one vent open in the main area & it still doesn't do much. That's my biggest reason for putting a light bulb up there, to get 24/7 heat.


Whereabouts in Upstate are you? I've lived in both Plattsburgh (USAF guy) and Binghamton. I definitely remember the cold up there - yuch!! I'm SUPPOSED to be away from all that down here - sigh.

[camper4]

Born and raised in Ticonderoga. Living in Corning for the past 35-40 years.

[mhs4771]

JP, I would be careful with those extension cords, especially if you plan to plug electric heaters into them. Most heater are between 1000 and 1500 watts, so just using round number that's 10 to 15 amps. If you can find cords that are 12/3 or at least 14/3 you probably would be OK, but most cords are 18/3 or if lucky 16/3 neither good for electric heaters. Just a word of caution from someone north of Camper4 (mid way between Corning and Rochester)

[JPConley]

Michelle, you are SO right. Thankfully, electrical and electronic stuff is something I feel comfortable with - I generally know how to make the 'trons go where I want. Now plumbing, yuch! That stinkin' (sometimes literally) water ALWAYS finds my mistake.

I got 14/3, it's rated to 15A - my 1500w heater draws 12.5 amps, so that should work. I also got 20A rated outlets. Although I may just go back and get the 12/3 - a few more $$ is cheaper than a new trailer! Y'know though, the weird thing is that the heaters themselves use wire that's smaller than 14, AND they don't have a 3-prong plug.

And I think I might've found an answer to my original question. Here's a link for anyone interested: http://www.mygreathome.com/fix-it_guide/heat_tape.htm

It says to use thermostatically controlled heat tape. Duh JP!!! I can just set it to a reasonable temp so it won't hurt the lines. I'll give this a closer look.

So you're in the Finger Lakes area. An old girlfriend lived in Newark, and on one visit she took me to an amusement park somewhere in there. Me, I'm down next to the Chesapeake Bay.

[H. John Kohl]

Jape,
You do not post the model and year of your unit.

[Illini Trekker]

John they say its a 02 3255RL. Our pipe may also be getting to cold in the belly of the camper and freezing up? It is safe to use heat tape but it should be wraped after you install the tape.

[JPConley]

Yeah John - when I set this up back in the summer I didn't notice that most everyone filled in the details. I just took a few minutes & added ours.

[H. John Kohl]

Jape,
I think you have a plan. Around 06 Keystone increased the heating in the storage compartment as well as better routing of the water lines through the floor. With that said, I agree use what ever means you can to help keep the pipes warmer.

OH thanks for adding your info in the signature block. It does make it easier for us to give advise.
Best of luck.

[Exnavydiver]

I for one would advise against using heat tape. From very personal experience heat can be a fire hazard especially when in an enclosed area. My parents vacation home burned because we had used the tape and had one area where the tape had crossed at a right angle and had overheated igniting the pre-70/pre-Ralph Nader stryofoam which was very flammable. An A-frame burns just a bit slower than a RV. Since that episode I not longer use the tape in any enclosed area... Dave

[coyoterick]

quote:Originally posted by JPConley

Oh, a suggestion for others: where I am the electric is included in my lot fee, so I'm running extension cords from shore power, both the 30A (with an adapter), and the regular 120v in through the side at the bottom of my TV cabinet. I'm going to cut off the ends and install outlets down there, to make it look better, and easier to use. This will effectively double my electric capacity to about 100A.

Umm....if you already have the 50A service connected to the RV, then you already have 100A of capacity (50 amps on each leg). The 30A and "regular 120v" on the pedestal are shared with the 50A outlet so you are not gaining anything by running extra cords....

[JPConley]

[quote]quote:Originally posted by coyoterick

v

O

Umm....if you already have the 50A service connected to the RV, then you already have 100A of capacity (50 amps on each leg). The 30A and "regular 120v" on the pedestal are shared with the 50A outlet so you are not gaining anything by running extra cords....

Ah, did not realize that. What initially set me off on the whole adventure was that when our furnace fan kicked on, and I had the 1500w heater running, it'd trip a CB. So I've already run a cord from the standard outlet inside and have the heater on that. Maybe what I was really facing was Keystone "logic" in how they wired this thing. I for one wouldn't've put appliance power on the same CB as outlets.

So I may still clean up the one cord arrangement and leave it at that. So much for my claim of electrical skill.

Thanks Coyoterick

[mhs4771]

JP, I worked in Electronics for 40+ years. Lived in the Herald Harbor area back in 1972 while I worked at NSA on Fort Meade.

[JPConley]

Michelle - ?? With just posting I'm not sure if you're just giving me the gouge on your background, or if you feel that I was dismissive of your suggestion. If it is the latter, I apologize - that was not my intent. I only intended to say I agreed with what you said and that I was trying to approach this safely. I've appreciated every response to my question - MOC has been so helpful from the very first time I posted.

And you've sure got me beat - I've got 31 years in flight simulation, but only about 1/2 of that was hands on with the trons.

[mhs4771]

JP, I just meant that I too had worked in electronics that was all. Just sort of drawing similiar backgrounds, like the fact you had a girlfriend in Newark, and now live in the Chesapeake Bay area.