Tank heaters?

[Timmer]

Hi all,

I've seen a few references on here about tank heaters. I know they exist, but don't know much about them. What perplexes me most is the threads on here where I've seen references are from people who don't camp in cold often and state things like "at what temperature should I use the tank heaters?" This leads me to believe this must be standard equipment in some GD models? We have the Arctic Four Season package on our camper but I don't believe we have tank heaters. Given we bought our camper up here in Minnesota, it seems like this should have been included or presented as an option. I would be interested to learn more about them. How well they work, how to install them, if GD offers something specific vs other brand, etc.

Thanks!

[Ynot4me2]

Hi all,

I've seen a few references on here about tank heaters. I know they exist, but don't know much about them. What perplexes me most is the threads on here where I've seen references are from people who don't camp in cold often and state things like "at what temperature should I use the tank heaters?" This leads me to believe this must be standard equipment in some GD models? We have the Arctic Four Season package on our camper but I don't believe we have tank heaters. Given we bought our camper up here in Minnesota, it seems like this should have been included or presented as an option. I would be interested to learn more about them. How well they work, how to install them, if GD offers something specific vs other brand, etc.

Thanks!

I don't have them and from what I can gather, they only come with the Solitude. They are 2x3 heating pads located at the bottom of the tanks and work off 12v. I think they have a builtin thermostat and an on/off button in the control panel. They could be added but that would require dropping the coroplast underbelly.

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[Always Learning]

Hi all,

I've seen a few references on here about tank heaters. I know they exist, but don't know much about them. What perplexes me most is the threads on here where I've seen references are from people who don't camp in cold often and state things like "at what temperature should I use the tank heaters?" This leads me to believe this must be standard equipment in some GD models? We have the Arctic Four Season package on our camper but I don't believe we have tank heaters. Given we bought our camper up here in Minnesota, it seems like this should have been included or presented as an option. I would be interested to learn more about them. How well they work, how to install them, if GD offers something specific vs other brand, etc.

Thanks!

Call GD with your VIN# and they can look up your trailer and tell you if you have tank heaters. I have a 2020 Reflection 337RLS and it came with tank heaters. The switch is in the control panel labeled “TANK HTRS”.

[D2Reid]

We have the Arctic Four Season package on our camper but I don't believe we have tank heaters.

I cannot guarantee that you have them. But I did a little research. First I went to the GD website and looked up Reflection 312BHS and went to the specs page and popped out the Arctic package and noted that tank heaters are part of the Arctic package. See highlighted text below.



Next I went to the GD parts lookup page and found that GD lists the tank heaters like this. "TANK HEATER PAD W/36" LEAD WIRE 7 1/4 X 25"
Part Number: 730008" Now they don't list the make or model, so some guess work here. But correlating the picture in the parts list with the pictures of tank heaters our found on Amazon I believe the ones listed in the parts list are Facon Tank Heaters. I assume that because we have Facon lights. So reading the specs on the Facon Tank Heaters I found on Amazon they are thermostatically controlled and will turn on when the temps drop below 45 F.

I don't know anything about Reflections, but on my Momentum the tanks heaters are on the one control panel under the Monitor Panel Icon, simple on off toggle labeled "Tank Heaters".

Again, I am comparing apples and oranges. I have had my Momentum in -22 F temps. Only lasted a couple of days but that was right chilly. We winter at a ski resort, our average temps run from 0 f to 15 f at night. We have a skirt. We run the propane heater a lot. I have frozen and RV twice in 9 years. The first time was our previous other brand RV. The tanks heaters failed, we got caught in an unexpected blue norther in Amarillo TX. Subzero with 30 mph+ winds. The second time I left a bay door open for 4 days. I flew from our winter ski resort to visit family, was gone 4 days. Did a quick dump before I rushed to the airport, forgot to close the bay door. Tank valve closest to the bay door froze.

Hope that helps.

[Timmer]

Call GD with your VIN# and they can look up your trailer and tell you if you have tank heaters. I have a 2020 Reflection 337RLS and it came with tank heaters. The switch is in the control panel labeled “TANK HTRS”.

I cannot guarantee that you have them. But I did a little research. First I went to the GD website and looked up Reflection 312BHS and went to the specs page and popped out the Arctic package and noted that tank heaters are part of the Arctic package. See highlighted text below.

Thanks so much for your help. My wife and I are both 95% sure we don't have any buttons on our panel or we would remember them and/or would have questioned them by now. We can obviously check that easily enough. What is of interest to me is whether they may have been part of the 4 seasons package, or should have been, and we somehow came up short. We are going to look back over our paper work.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

According to GD, all Reflection trailers with the Arctic pkg have had heaters installed since June 2019.
I don't remember seeing a switch anywhere, they may be 'self regulating', on all the time.

[CoChris]

According to GD, all Reflection trailers with the Arctic pkg have had heaters installed since June 2019.
I don't remember seeing a switch anywhere, they may be 'self regulating', on all the time.

I really doubt they would be on "all the time". They draw a fair amount of power ( about 5 amps each or 20 amps/240W for our four tanks) when on.
@Timmer. Here is a picture of the switches on our control panel. This is a 2018 Solitude and may not be the same on your trailer, but they are pretty clearly marked.




I hope this helps.
Chris

[Second Chance]

If you have them, there will be switches for them on your convenience center panel. Also, if you have them, they have a thermostat on them that comes on when the basement/tank temps get to about 45F. Our 2016 Reflection did not have tank heaters - but that doesn't mean the new ones aren't coming with them. Only GD can tell you for sure with your VIN.

That said, if you're running the main furnace to keep the water lines in the basement from freezing, the tanks are the least of your worries. The large mass in the tanks takes a lot longer at sub-freezing temps to freeze than do 1/2" Pex water lines. In our Reflection, we routinely weathered nights with temps in the 20s (again, F) without tank issues. During one stretch in our Reflection when we had lows around 11F and highs in the lower 20s with 40 MPH winds for 4 - 5 days, the water lines to the kitchen island froze, despite running the furnace. The tanks never did freeze. Now that we have tank heaters in the Solitude, I turn them on when the temps are going to stay significantly and consistently below freezing and forget about them... probably don't need to though, since the underbelly of the Solitude is insulated better than that of the Reflection.

Rob

[Redapple63]

Hi Timmer,

I have the tank heaters on my unit and use them whenever the temp gets down to around 35 degrees.

The heaters are a 12 volts heater strip on the actual tank that will do its best to prevent the liquid in those tanks from freezing.

I am sure the uses and temp guidelines will be varied, but about 35 deg is when we think to use them. Others may wait until actual freezing temps or use them sooner.

Look in your control center and you should see the switches for the tank heaters.

Good Luck,
Bill

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I really doubt they would be on "all the time". They draw a fair amount of power ( about 5 amps each or 20 amps/240W for our four tanks) when on.
@Timmer. Here is a picture of the switches on our control panel. This is a 2018 Solitude and may not be the same on your trailer, but they are pretty clearly marked.




I hope this helps.
Chris

A self regulating heat trace or pad doesn't use power above it's design point, say 40 degrees. Slowly conducts more as temp drops.
Good to see there are switches though. I bought my GD October eighth. Drove it home, parked it in the yard and haven't been in it since. While I don't remember seeing those switches, I likely have the same thing.