Heated Water Line or Heated Hose: Temporary Hookup Versus Permanent Supply

One search term, three products

People who look for a heated water line want water that keeps running below 32 °F. What they find depends on what the line is.

The first is an appliance you plug in and put away. The second and third are plumbing. Most of the confusion, and most of the risk, comes from using the first where the other two belong.

The temporary line: a heated water hose

It is sold as a heated RV water hose, a heated garden hose and a heated drinking water hose; those are three names for one product type. The makers that publish instructions describe a seasonal tool:

• Limited use. PIRIT: “This hose is for normal farm and garden use and light commercial use only.” Miller Manufacturing: use outdoors only, like a regular garden hose.
• Not left alone for good. PIRIT: “It is good practice to drain and unplug the hose when not in use to extend the lifetime of the hose.” Both PIRIT and Miller say to store the hose indoors after winter.
• Tied to an outlet. PIRIT: “Do not use extension cords.” The hose plugs directly into a GFCI-protected, grounded outlet.
• Only as long as it is. The hose has to lie uncoiled (PIRIT), and it cannot be cut or spliced (PIRIT, Miller's instruction sheet).
• Heats only itself. PIRIT: “This hose is NOT designed to provide freeze protection to your water supply.” Miller's instruction sheet says the same of its hoses.

Within those limits it does its job well on paper: a 25 ft thermostat hose draws 180 W while it heats, according to PIRIT and Miller, and a thermostat hose heats only in the cold. How a heated water hose works explains the parts.

Our pick

Camco 25 ft (22911)

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Camco · Established brand

The 25 ft hose whose listing names its certifications and its certifiers.

Why here: For the usual heated water line of an RV: 25 ft from spigot to inlet, with drinking-water certifications named in the listing and a 3-year warranty on Camco's site. Camco publishes no wattage.

Best for: RV sites where the spigot is within 25 ft and named drinking-water certifications matter more than the lowest price.

What speaks for it

• Listing names an NSF/ANSI 61 certified hose and CSA lead-free certification to NSF/ANSI 372
• Thermostat-controlled heating cable that only heats as needed (listing)
• 5/8 in inner diameter
• Camco's own site lists a 3-year warranty with receipt

What to know first

• Camco publishes no wattage on its product pages
• Instruction sheet not available online: cord and insulation rules could not be checked
• Warranty is given as 1 year in the Amazon listing data and 3 years on camcooutdoors.com
• Costs clearly more than marketplace hoses of the same length

Length

25 ft

Rating (maker's claim)

−20 °F (Camco)

Inner diameter

5/8 in

Heat control

thermostat-controlled cable (listing)

Certification named

NSF/ANSI 61 hose, CSA lead-free to NSF/ANSI 372 (listing)

Warranty

3 years with receipt (camcooutdoors.com); 1 year in Amazon listing data

The choice by length and site is on the page about heated RV water hoses.

The permanent line above ground: pipe plus heat cable

A supply pipe that runs through the open air, for example from the ground to the floor of a manufactured home, is protected as a pipe. For manufactured homes there is a federal rule. 24 CFR 3280.603 requires that piping and fixtures subject to freezing temperatures be “insulated or protected to prevent freezing, under normal occupancy”, and that the manufacturer's instructions state that “if the heat tape or pipe heating cable is used, it must be listed for use with manufactured homes.” The same section calls for a receptacle outlet for that purpose.

Two things follow for the search term. The rule speaks of heat tape and pipe heating cable, not of hoses. And the cable has to match the pipe: Frost King, for example, makes its heat cable kits “for copper, iron or Schedule 40 plastic water pipes only”, recommends fiberglass or equivalent non-combustible insulation over the cable, and writes “never install the Heat Cable Kits on any type of hoses.” Its FAQ also excludes mobile home feed lines, so under a manufactured home the cable's sheet has to name the pipe it is going on.

Which cable suits which pipe is a question for the cable's instruction sheet and, in a home, for a licensed plumber or electrician. The page on heat tape for RV pipes covers rigid lines on an RV, and heated hose vs heat tape sets the two solutions side by side.

The permanent line below ground: no heater at all

Where water is needed at the same spot every winter, the standard answer is older than any heated product. A University of Nevada, Reno Extension article on winter livestock water puts it in one sentence: “The most common method is running a waterline below frost line underground.” According to the article this prevents freezing of the line and lets warmth from the earth reach the standpipe; for the vertical supply line it adds foam insulation and a way to drain the line when it is not in use.

How deep the frost line lies depends on where you live. The local building department or extension office knows the figure; this site does not quote depths. A heated hose is not a substitute for that trench: whether a heated hose can be buried is answered on its own page, and the answer is no.

Which line for which situation

Runs between 100 and 200 ft are the subject of 150 and 200 ft runs, and barn set-ups with tanks and waterers are covered under heated hoses for livestock.

For everything about the hose itself, the heated water hose overview is the starting point; the RV pipe guide covers the lines inside the vehicle.