The Pirit Heated Water Hose
I was in the "great" northwest this fall and winter season and was advised that I would need to insulate my water hose and getting some type of heating apparatus because my hose would definitely freeze. Just to keep everything in perspective, I lived in the Portland, OR area where the temperature rarely gets below freezing and when/if it does it doesn't stay there for long periods of time (i.e. days and days). If it gets down to freezing or below it is usually only at night and then during the day it warms up.As I am new to full-time RVing I didn't know exactly how effective I would be at getting my water hose insulated and heated. I went to the local Home Depot thinking "they will be able to tell me exactly what I need." Not so lucky. They had no idea what I was talking about. They pointed me to a heating apparatus that was for pipes. This may be something that would work, but as it was for pipes and not water hoses I opted not to purchase that. I went online and did a little bit of research and decided the simplest avenue for me would be the "heated water hose." Although the reviews for the heated water hose are not good, for some odd reason, they were on backorder by several hundred and were not sure as to when I would actually receive mine. This wasn't clear until AFTER I had ordered mine. I bought mine from Camping World online. It actually didn't take to long to receive it (but I highly recommend your ordering it in the late summer/early fall if you are interested in purchasing a heated water hose).
Unpacking the Pirit Heated Water Hose
After I received it, I unpacked it from the box very gingerly to ensure that I didn't tear anything away from the hose as there is something (I assume a type of heating element attached - as you can see in the picture). It is very easy to "install"; there is only one additional step from that of an ordinary hose: the electrical plug.Does the Pirit Heated Water Hose Work?
Now, the reason you are reading this article... did the water hose work? Well, I'm not sure. There really isn't anyway of knowing whether or not the water hose is actually working. It is supposed to come on automatically and heat up when the temperature outside gets below 45 degrees. What I can share is that the water inside the RV never froze. I did wake one morning and had no water. However, I believe that the water had frozen at the water spigot as I was unable to turn it on or off at the spigot itself. I simply used my water pump until it heated up outside slightly and then everything was fine. The hose itself, I don't believe ever froze and I never had any other issues besides that one morning.Fair warning, they are very expensive for a water hose; the 25ft hose that I purchased was $105 + tax. But, I guess it would be much more expensive if your pipes froze and flooded your RV.
