Heated Tanks ?

[G McCall]

I see some Cardinal 5th Wheel's holding tanks are heated with what I suppose are heating strips of some kind. There is a switch on the wall to activate the heat. Is there an advantage with heat strips heating the tanks vs heating our tanks with our central heat furnace ?

Don't no if the strips run off AC or DC. If AC how would the tanks get heat ?

Speaking of our supposed heated tanks....The underbelly on my Mountaineer has more holes in it(that air can get through) than Swiss Cheese.

[sreigle]

I guess the advantage would be you wouldn't have to run the furnace to heat the tanks. The furnace does a good job but it does burn propane.

I left the holes in the underbelly of ours. The furnace air has to displace the air in the belly so it has to have somewhere to exhaust. We "only" had lows of 8, 9, 11, 11, and teens back in December and no problems with freezing. The furnace duct is two inches so that's quite a bit of air that has to get out. Plug the holes and you'll have less heat getting into the belly. Just my opinion.

[bsmeaton]

Steve,

That is an interesting approach. The displacement idea makes sense. Did you make new holes, or just rely on the general leakage from the belly cover? If you made holes, did you notice any airflow loss in the above registers?

G McCall,

Back in 03 when we were looking at Cardinals, they were using the 24VDC tank heaters in lieu of heating the belly. I suppose there are advantages/disadvantages to either method. To get any heat from a 24VDC strip must account for a large draw on the batteries or converter which I might not be willing to give up. I've never heard feedback from a tank heater owner to hear how well the setup works.

[G McCall]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle
[ quite a bit of air that has to get out. Plug the holes and you'll have less heat getting into the belly. Just my opinion.

Steve, I agree so I would need to leave a few holes.

And if those heating strips pulled too many AC amps or DC, I believe I would prefer at least to have the option of heating the tanks with furnace ducts, which they may have.

[Illini Trekker]

I also wish that Montana had pads as an option has I would have them! I have been in the belly and have added extra insulation as I work out of the trailer in all seasons in Illinois. I'm of the school to close off has may holes to keep that little bit of heat in the belly. There are many holes that I can not close like the holes around the slide mechanisms, hydraulic pistons, holes to the front storage areas. SeeYa

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by G McCall

I see some Cardinal 5th Wheel's holding tanks are heated with what I suppose are heating strips of some kind. There is a switch on the wall to activate the heat. Is there an advantage with heat strips heating the tanks vs heating our tanks with our central heat furnace ?

Don't no if the strips run off AC or DC. If AC how would the tanks get heat ?

The heating of the holding tanks is usually done with 12 volt "heat blankets." I had them in my Teton pull trailer back in 1987. They do work well, especially in below zero weather. I spent two winters in Iowa in that rig and NEVER had a freeze up; and the temperature dropped to as low as -20 °F.

For me, they were worth the money and IF I get another rig, it'll have them installed from the factory.

Orv

[rickfox]

By the way, while working on the furnace in my 3400, I noticed something surprising. When I removed the furnace for repair, I noticed a large 5" x 8" hole that the furnace sits over. This seems to be the air duct that allows forced air into the under belly. This is also the largest duct in the ducting system.

I did not turn the furnace upside down to see how large the hole in the furnace duct was, but I did notice there was a foam sealing gasket all around the hole, and that metal ducting tape was also used to seal the hole around the furnace.

It sure seems that quite a lot of air is being pushed into the underbelly by the furnace.