Anyone using the Camco heat traced water hose? Has it been working for you? What other "alternate" methods/brands would you suggest?

I checked at Lowes today...They want $40 for the heat trace of 15', plus the price of insulation and tape. I don't think that method will be of value. I have thought about digging a trench and burying the hose and insulating the part out of the ground...Again, it does not see to be value driven or convenient...

We tried the Camco heat traced water hose and it failed on the first use. Bought a 30-foot heat trace at the local feed store and wrapped the hose in aluminum foil and as we put on the insulation, we put the heat trace along side the hose. We have started our 4th winter with it.

Lesson learned...

We went ahead and bought the Camco 25' heated water hose. It was on sale at Camping World for $89 + tax.

I came home before the cold weather set in and connected everything up. It was easy.

HOWEVER, I seem to be a go getter and connected the hose without FULLY reading the instructions.

So last night, it reached 15 degrees. I got up this morning to make coffee. Are you following?? NO WATER! The line froze. So I resorted to Plan B. I turned on the water pump and drew water from the tank. That worked fine. Always keep a backup supply!

A result of the frozen line this morning, I grabbed the directions and decided to read the rest...There it was...

READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USE...(I think this is where I stopped last time. It's a water hose right? Just connect to the water source and plug it in).

Had I read further:

STEP 10 (under "WARNINGS): Never install a portion of the hose in a climate controlled area. Always install the ENTIRE hose in ambient temperature.

Now, who would have thought that having 12" of the hose in the cabinet would have had any effect on the hose? Guess that's where I should of kept reading.

It goes on the say:

Ambient temperature must be below 37 degrees before it will begin to heat. (Per the advertisement, the hose is good to -20).

I guess having that 12" inside the warm cabinet kept the hose from starting.

With that, this morning, I decided to re-read. The last NOTE:

If water is frozen inside hose, plug in the heated hose cord for 30 minutes to thaw and allow water to drain.

Guess what? The instructions actually work. Go figure...I took the hose apart and made sure it was ALL outside. I also shut off the water so that when it thawed, I didn't have my own ice rink. I let it set for an hour (Not 30 minutes. I just hate instructions) and everything thawed out just fine.

SO...If you buy one of these hoses, be sure to read the directions or re-read this thread if you want to save yourself a headache. I ended up making a small hose that would extend thru the bottom of the utility area and reconnected the hose. It is insulated separately (just in case) and now, all is well.

As for heat, so far we are roasty toasty. Just as warm as a sticks and bricks house. I cranked it up to 75!) We've gone thru a 40# in about 4 days. I'll go to tank 2 tonight. It's supposed to be in the 20's...The electric blanket now heats the bed just right before crawling in!

:woohoo:

It may be that the thermostat is at the male end of the hose so it never saw the cold.

We have opted to not use the heated water hose. When the weather started getting below freezing, we filled our fresh water tank. We run off the tank with the water pump. We have had no issues. I just didn't want one more thing to carry around.

We have done this for years. Before we started full-timing, we winter camped in Colorado.