Why heated water hoses?

Wayne

Wayne

Administrator
Staff member
I have never understood why the need for a heated potable water hose. They are expensive and if you are paying for the electricity, they are not cheap to leave plugged in all the time.

We stayed for a month in Fort Collins last winter where the nightly temperatures were almost always below freezing and some nights were below zero. I would fill out potable water tank, then drain the hose and put it away. The 100 gallon potable water tank lasts for days. I don't understand the need to buy an expensive hose and pay to keep it unfrozen.

They are not cheap:
 
I'll bet they are bought by long-termers who are the same people who leave their grey and black gate valves open when they're at a full-hookup site.
 
when you are in an area with below freezing weather the water supply hose is the first thing to freeze. More important to permanent people than transient. People who may also have to skirt their RV for the winter.. those people.

Anybody besides me see the humor in someone who will spend money on a custom coach after owning an Airstream, not only uses but promotes the use of boutique motor oil, has no problems with using the latest greatest electronic gadgetry but a concern for them is the price of a water hose. :)
 
MSCH said:
when you are in an area with below freezing weather the water supply hose is the first thing to freeze. More important to permanent people than transient. People who may also have to skirt their RV for the winter.. those people.
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Yeah, those...

MSCH said:
Anybody besides me see the humor in someone who will spend money on a custom coach after owning an Airstream, not only uses but promotes the use of boutique motor oil, has no problems with using the latest greatest electronic gadgetry but a concern for them is the price of a water hose. :)
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Who? :cool:
 
I don't use them either. Its not the expense, its the trust. IF it stops working, i'll wake up to a mess. I only make 1 or 2 camping trips in winter weather, and its easy to just use the onboard water tank and unhook the hose.
 
fellas, I just returned from a 2 week stay in Hendersonville NC... overnite temps on about 4 of the days were below freezing, so I was having to remove the unheated water hose and roll it up overnite... there were several RV's which look to be long term stay units in the park with heated water hoses.. FWIW I'm glad to be back in FLA today, at least it aint freezing.
 
MSCH said:
overnite temps on about 4 of the days were below freezing, so I was having to remove the unheated water hose and roll it up overnite
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We are in the trailer for a couple months. It got to 20°F last night and I had to do the same. The weather here for the next week is > 30°F, so I'll just leave the unheated hose connected. When it gets below about 28°F, I drain the city water hose and pull from the tank.
 
Oh boy am I going to eat some crow on this one. It's been getting to around 15F-20F at night and I've been letting the cold faucet drip and night to avoid a frozen hose in the morning. There are many days in a row with lows around zero. I don't want to let the faucet run at a higher volume or bring the hose in every night, so I opted for a heated hose.

One of my objections was what seemed like a waste of electricity to heat the hose. Turns out the Camco is thermostatically controlled, so when it's above freezing, it shuts off and it only draws 10 watts/foot. I ordered the 15' hose, so it only draws 150 watts when it's below freezing.

Let the lashings begin...
 
Gotta do what you gotta do I reckon. I'm still thinking about getting one for our trip to Cherokee NC in Feb.

If their temps still look like this the week before we go I'll probably Amazon one up:

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Wayne said:
Oh boy am I going to eat some crow on this one. It's been getting to around 15F-20F at night and I've been letting the cold faucet drip and night to avoid a frozen hose in the morning. There are many days in a row with lows around zero. I don't want to let the faucet run at a higher volume or bring the hose in every night, so I opted for a heated hose.

One of my objections was what seemed like a waste of electricity to heat the hose. Turns out the Camco is thermostatically controlled, so when it's above freezing, it shuts off and it only draws 10 watts/foot. I ordered the 15' hose, so it only draws 150 watts when it's below freezing.

Let the lashings begin...
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honestly, it seems like a cold climate necessity if you insist on RVing when temps are subfreezing. lets face it, if temps only go below 32F for a few hours you are going to get away without one, but if it never reaches 32F you are either going to have to remove and drain the hose or its going to freeze.

We were just up in NC a few weeks ago and there were 4 days where the temps were below freezing and I had to take the hose up and stick it in the basement.. which would be a PITA if I was spending more time in those temps.
 
Wayne said:
Oh boy am I going to eat some crow on this one. It's been getting to around 15F-20F at night and I've been letting the cold faucet drip and night to avoid a frozen hose in the morning. There are many days in a row with lows around zero. I don't want to let the faucet run at a higher volume or bring the hose in every night, so I opted for a heated hose.

One of my objections was what seemed like a waste of electricity to heat the hose. Turns out the Camco is thermostatically controlled, so when it's above freezing, it shuts off and it only draws 10 watts/foot. I ordered the 15' hose, so it only draws 150 watts when it's below freezing.

Let the lashings begin...
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No lashings here, you use what you feel comfortable with and makes your trip easy and enjoyable. If i spent more time in colder environments like you do, who knows, i might use it.
 
MSCH said:
honestly, it seems like a cold climate necessity if you insist on RVing when temps are subfreezing. lets face it, if temps only go below 32F for a few hours you are going to get away without one, but if it never reaches 32F you are either going to have to remove and drain the hose or its going to freeze.

We were just up in NC a few weeks ago and there were 4 days where the temps were below freezing and I had to take the hose up and stick it in the basement.. which would be a PITA if I was spending more time in those temps.
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We picked three months in the middle of the winter to live in the trailer. It will probably be below freezing for most of the nights during those three months. The host is will be a great convenience.
 
dual purpose hose... I'm guessing that is like dual purpose air, now you don't need to change your summer air to your winter air..
 
Hooked up and ready to go for 15F tonight and 0F several nights in the next 10 days. Brrr.

The Camco hose comes with two female ends and a double male adapter, so you can switch the power and thermometer ends. It also comes with two foam insulation sleeves you can push up over the ends. In my case the trailer end of the hose is in the heated basement of the trailer so the sleeve isn't necessary. I put the powered end in the trailer basement and the temperature probe end outside at the hydrant. This hose is well made, I'm pretty impressed.
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