City water temperature

[Pa_5er]

Good morning,

We are in Southern Alabama for the summer. With daytime temps in the 90s, our city water stays very warm most of the day. I've put black foam insulation on the water hose, but it didn't help, so I took it off. Will foil tape help keep the water cool? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Tod

[Mikendebbie]

Im dont have an answer for your question but it reminded my of a stunning discovery i made summer 1967 when i was 12. Dad borrowed a 16’ camper from a friend and took us to the NEA (national educators assoc - teachers!) convention first week of July in Minneaplolis. Saw the Twins play the Senators July 4. Then we went to the Wisconsin Dells. I was hooking up the water hose to the camper, turned on the spigot and took a drink. I yelled to my mom - “Mama - this water is cold enough to drink out of the hose!!!” We had to keep a jug of water in the fridge to get cold water! Growing up in East TX i did not know cold water could be had from the hose in summer!

I guess my advice to you is to pack up and go north to the Wisconsin Dells!!!

[Bourbon County]

Do a little detective work first since I don't know what your perception of very warm is. Turn a cold water tap on and check it with your digital BBQ thermometer; then let it run long enough to run out all that would have been stored in the supply hose so you're checking water coming directly from the utility. Check the temperature again to see how much heat it's gaining. Better still, leave the thermometer there and watch it change noting the high and low temps.

The groundwater temps vary from location to location in the country; even in south Florida, Texas, and Arizona, they rarely run over the low 70s. If it's very warm to you coming out of the ground, you can't do anything practical to cool it. There's 3 different ways it can gain heat in the hose. Radiant heat from the sun, can be blocked by reflective coating like the tape you mentioned or a solar blanket. Dark colored hoses will gain more heat than white ones. The second possibility is just heat transfer from the hot outdoor ambient temperatures; the foam insulation you mentioned should have helped this. The third and least likely is the portion of the hose that is in contact with the ground may be picking up some heat. Again, the foam insulation should have eliminated this.

[DutchmenSport]

Your very warm water is normal. Water sits in your garden hose and heats up with the ambient temperature and can even be scalding hot if the hose is in the sun.

All insulation will do is slow the heat - cool process down. The only way to get cooler water from your shore water spigot and through your garden hose is to simply let the water run a few minutes. Eventually, the above ground water in the hose will be pushed out by the cooler water from the pipes under ground. Depending on the length of your garden hose and the length of pipes inside your camper, you could be running water for a couple minutes before you feel the cool.

What's worse is, if you put water in your fresh water tank and then pump water from there. The water never cools as it will eventually reach ambient heat.

Your best bet is to keep a pitcher or a jug of water inside your refrigerator for actual cold water to drink. Anything else, (bathing, washing dishes, even brushing teeth), water does not have to be refrigerator cold. Everything can use luke-warm, or even warm water.

Just wait till winter! As warm as the water is right now, it will be reversed cold then! That's not so bad either unless you have an unheated Bidet on your bathroom toilet. Then that COLD ... OOOOH! It takes some getting use to!

[Pa_5er]

Thanks to all of you for your responses! I will try the foil tape in the next few days. I appreciate your time, also. We have been keeping containers of water in the fridge because we like cold water to drink. Thankfully we won't have to worry about an ice cold bidet!! 😁😁

[BB_TX]

In Texas we have hot and cold running water in the winter and hot and warm running water in the summer.

[Pa_5er]

I finally ran water out of these second side of the Y splitter on the spigot. Water was the same temp as the water coming out of our faucets. Tha ks, everybody!

[bshgto]

Simple, fill up your fresh water tank in the morning. Use that water for everything it won`t get much warmer than cool if that,

[rames14]

Tod, you are fighting a losing battle. For those of us who grew up in the north, our water lines are buried 4’ deep to keep the lines from freezing. That is not necessary in the south. So, whatever the ground temperature is what you will get for water temp. Last year we started using a USB water pump on 3 gallon refillable water jugs. Our cabinet by the stove (3231CK) holds (4) of the 3 gallon jugs (works on 5 gallon jugs also). It had the side benefit of increasing our water capacity by 12 gallons.

[Cbrez]

I run as much of the hose as possible in the shade underneath the RV. But, as previously mentioned, we also use the fresh water tank most of the time.

[Mikelff]

The RV park don’t burry their water lines very deep and the water will heat up from the ground temps. Don’t expect cold water from water lines in the south in the heat of the summer. Keep a water jug in the fridge or use lots of ice. We carry bottle water and gallon jugs of drinking water. Fresh water from the park is used for everything else. Don’t even use a water filter anymore unless the water has an odor or there is something funky about the water. That’s about the only way you will get cold water in the south during the summer.

[Pa_5er]

Thanks for the suggestions and the reasons why water temps are so high. I would have never figured that out.