Artic pack

[NCIC105]

Is this something a user can add?

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by NCIC105

Is this something a user can add?

Yes you can add tank heaters.

Unless your going to camp thru winter at temps below 20 sustained then not worth it imo.

What are your reasons for adding ?


Turbs

[NCIC105]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

Yes you can add tank heaters.

Unless your going to camp thru winter at temps below 20 sustained then not worth it imo.

What are your reasons for adding ?


Turbs

Thanks....We though about doing some winter camping..(A first for us).
But we don't get that much below freezing temps in SC.....

Sounds like we may not need it....

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

Yes you can add tank heaters.

Unless your going to camp thru winter at temps below 20 sustained then not worth it imo.

What are your reasons for adding ?


Turbs

Thanks....We though about doing some winter camping..(A first for us).
But we don't get that much below freezing temps in SC...

Sounds like we may not need it....

[DXSMac]

The tank heaters automatically come on (if you have the switch turned on) at 40 degrees. On my current RV, the water tanks are in an enclosed area. On previous RV's, the tanks were "exposed" (not in a compartment).

If your tanks are in a "compartment" then a light bulb should work for you if you aren't going to camp at temps below 30.

[F and E Damp]

IMO, don't bother. According to the documentation I got (my MH has the system), the built-in, non-adjustable thermostats in the heater blankets switch on at 40F and don't switch off again until they sense 60F. I expected something more like the "Frost-stats" you can get for house plumbing that is susceptible to freezing, on at 34, off at 39.

Who the hell wants to drain 7 amps @ 12 volts for each of four pads to heat the sewage up to 60 degrees? I've disconnected the system on my (used) MH. I have a hard time conceiving of a dumber system design.

[DXSMac]

Wow, I didn't know about the 60 degree thing. I figured it would shut off at, oh..... 45 degrees. And yeppers, you have to figure in the tank heaters in the amperage count.

[mjones12]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

Yes you can add tank heaters.

Unless your going to camp thru winter at temps below 20 sustained then not worth it imo.

What are your reasons for adding ?


Turbs

Agreed. We camp all winter in North Carolina without heated tanks. Our dealer's service department talked us out of adding $800 heated pads. Told us that unless the tanks are full with no space for expansion, freezing won't hurt anything, anyway.

We have never had problems with this in 8 years of camping all winter. As you say, unless the freezing tempeatures are sustained, not much to worry about. We just detach (and empty) fresh water hose at night and hook back up the next morning. Never a problem despite some nights down to 15 or 20.

We leave our gray tank valve open when we have hookups, and everything we put in the black tank is 98.6 degrees LOL. If it does freeze, we'll dump it when it thaws out. But it never has.

[BarryD0706]

Usually there's a switch on them so you don't have to use them if you know its not going to be cold.

[Taylorgso]

Originally Posted by BarryD0706

Usually there's a switch on them so you don't have to use them if you know its not going to be cold.

And if you're concerned about them staying "ON" until temp reaches 60, just reach up and turn the switch off when you're satisfied the temp is not going to drop again! My valuable $.02 worth!

[bclemens]

Not to mention the Sunseeker come with heated and enclosed tanks anyway. If you're running the furnace in cold weather, you're heated the tanks in cold weather.

[RoadTrip]

Originally Posted by bclemens

Not to mention the Sunseeker come with heated and enclosed tanks anyway. If you're running the furnace in cold weather, you're heated the tanks in cold weather.

Thanks! This may sound stupid, but I always wondered if we were "enclosed" or not.

[bclemens]

A 2009 might not be. If your valves are in a compartment, then you're enclosed. If your valves are just exposed below...then you are not heated and enclosed.

The other way to tell is the entry step. If you have a power step, that is the old design. If your step is integrated into the sidewall (drops down) then you have the new design which includes heated, enclosed, tanks.

[DXSMac]

I've had both exposed and enclosed.

Exposed: easier to connect the sewer hose, don't need to play "thread the needle" through the hole. Disadvantage: Exposed to the cold. This is what I did in the 2860 I used to own (I used the silver windshield cover to "intensify" the lightbulb):

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ids[]=9037

With the enclosed tanks, they stay warmer. But... downside is having to "thread the needle" with the sewer hose. It adds 2 minutes to my hookup time, ok, it's only two minutes, but STILL!