5 Freeze Proof Tips: How Do You Insulate an RV Sewer Hose
You don't have to store your RV for the winter. It is possible to go on great RV vacations in colder months if you use the right equipment to protect your vehicle. All you have to do is learn how to insulate your RV sewer hose
How Do You Insulate an RV Sewer Hose? The simple way to insulate your sewer hose is to buy the right grade of insulation and wrap it around your hose. You can also get a heat cable that monitors your sewer hose’s temperature and heats up when the temperature is too low.
For more tips on how to insulate your sewer hose, just keep reading. Our article lets you know how to avoid a bad situation. It also guides you to not make a bad situation worse.
Insulating an RV Sewer Hose 101
Tip #1: Make sure to measure your hose. This will allow you to buy the right amount of insulation. Remember to measure twice and cut once.
Tip #2: If you do not like working with wrapped insulation, you can always buy foam tubes and slip your sewer hose inside. Foam tubes also are found in 90 degree forms so you can insulate your connections.
Frozen RV Sewer Hose Problem
When your sewer hose freezes up, you can try to pour anti freeze down into your holding tank and see if that helps thaw it. This may not always work, so you can put a space heater nearby the hose and let the heat take care of the unfreezing process.
Again, that may not be successful. One more idea you can try is to use a heating pad. Place the heating pad over the vital sections of the pipe to warm it up and get the ice thawed.
Heat is the only way to thaw out a frozen sewer hose.
Tip #3: To help protect against freezing, an RV skirt is very helpful. Once it is put in place it will keep a lot of the cold air away from your sewer hose and holding tank.
Freeze Proof RV Sewer Hose
One of the problems that come with RVs is that they are designed to meet warm weather conditions. This includes the sewer hoses. These hoses for the most part do not handle cold weather very well.
There is a freeze proof hose available and it may not be that expensive to purchase. It is claimed to handle extreme low temperatures down to 44 below zero F. The key to keep it from freezing is to make sure that no water remains in the 15 foot hose after you have finished dumping.
Plus, this hose is made from tough TPE which means that you can drive over it and it will not crack but bounce back and be ready for the next dump time.
Tip #4: Heat tape is a good alternative to space heaters and foam tubing. This tape will help keep your sewer hose from freezing over when it is to in use. Preventive medicine is worth a pound of thawing cures.
RV Sewer Valve Frozen
If a space heater and an RV skirt did not prevent your sewer valve from freezing over, then you may need to use more direct heat measures to get it working again. Two home accessories can really help you out in this situation.
First, your wife’s or daughter’s hair dryer will bring the direct heat you need to thaw out your valve. Just make sure you have their permission before using it. The hair dryer will produce very high temperatures and shouldn’t take too long to thaw out the valve.
Second, the home tool you can use is a heat gun. Like a hair dryer, this accessory delivers the high temperatures you want and need. To thaw out the valve correctly, start at the top and work your way down.
Just do not go to slowly or stay in one spot for too long. If you do, you run the risk of melting any plastic that is on the valve. You may also damage the holding tank region next to the valve.
You may also want to run these accessories over your holding tank to make sure there is no ice inside of it. Just keep the tools moving as ABS plastic is easy to melt.
Tip #5: After thawing your valve and holding tank, make sure to add 1 or 2 gallons of anti-freeze or windshield washer fluid to the tank. Or just add insulation to the valve to protect it from the cold weather
How to Unfreeze RV Sewer Hose
If your RV skirt or portable heater did not prevent your sewer hose from freezing, you may need to try some other measures to make sure you can hook it up and use it when it is time to dump the black water tank.
Here are some common sense suggestions to help you:
- Turn the thermostat on your heater up higher
- Add an extra portable heater to warm up the underneath portion of your RV
- Use foam tubing to make sure the hose and connections are completely covered
- Use heat tape in addition to portable heaters- just make sure to cover the hose as directed
- Use a heat pad, hair dryer or heat gun to open the hose a little then pour hot water down the hose
- Use vinegar, 1 cup per 25 gallons, to dissolve all toilet paper and solids. This helps avoid a poop pyramid which can freeze and block your pipes
Some Final Comments
There are lots of fine products on the market today to help you insulate your sewer hose. One is insulation that you can wrap around the hose. Another is foam tubing. This covers 100% of the hose and has special designs to help you insulate your connections.
Making sure your RV is ready for the cold temperatures doesn’t take a lot. Of course, some preventive measures before you go into the cold saves you a lot of problems as well. Try to have an RV skirt and extra space heaters on hand to keep the cold air away from your hose.
Anti-freeze in the black water holding tank may help protect your valve from freezing over and causing you a lot of problems. Whatever you do, the tips above are designed to help you ave a great time in your RV during the colder months of the year.
