BAC Forum
General Boards => Technical Support => Topic started by: Jason Worman on October 09, 2018, 08:02:56 PM
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So we took the coach in to assess the cause of the fire and it turned out to be a frayed fresh water tank heating wire. The wire insulation had worn away and made contact with the metal underside of the chasis. Amazingly no other damage to electrical. We need a new fresh water tank, its beyond repair/patching. The heating tape has been plugged in this whole time, now we now. A costly rookie mistake, could have been so much worse.
Jason
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I do not remember reading about a freshwater tank heater here in the Forum. I know our coach has two wall-style light switches on the wall in the basement that are labeled something like black tank heat tape and gray tank heat tape. I do not recall seeing any other switches in the basement. Now I wonder if our coach has a freshwater tank heater and where its wiring would originate.
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David,
Ours turned out to be an after purchase change, the RV tech said it was not done very good. The weird part is we paid two different techs to go through the coach when we purchased and warn us of the potential problem. All we would have had to do was unplug the plug.
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A definite heads-up to new owners here of older coaches.
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Jason,You will not be able to locate an exact fit for a replacement fresh water tank. So your choices will be to use a "universal" tank that probably will not work with your fresh water tank sensor, and it will probably will be smaller. A good plastic fabricator can plastic weld a new side or bottom panel on your existing tank to correct the damage for the same cost or less, and that will retain your sensor system and water capicity.
Gerald
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So Gerald-
Were heating strips installed as standard on our coaches? I don't remember seeing any switches in my basement or reading anywhere about heater strips for the fresh water tank in any of the research or documentation I've read. This is the first I've heard of this.
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I don't know about the 2000 model, but the 2005 Patriot has "Heat Tape Strip" located in the curbside rear basement compartment. There is a plug hanging from basement ceiling/support next to a 120V receptacle located in basement compartment side wall. The plug must be "manually (intentionally) plugged in" to work.
From the Owner's Manual:
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Mike,
Heating tapes were only universally installed on coaches built before hydronic basement heating systems became common. After that they were installed on an as needed basis. Some of the newer multi slide coaches have fresh water plumbing under the slide that is exposed, so the least expensive way to prevent that from freezing in very cold weather is to use heating tapes on the water lines that run under the slide.
Gerald
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Hi Everyone,
Thank you for the info about the plastic welding. A buddy of mine came over tonight and was able to repair about 99% of the hole. It got dark and we ran out of material. I ordered more of the low density plastic off of Amazon and he will complete repair next week. Hope it holds over time. Spent 10.95 on the welding rods, much better than the $600-800 for a replacement tank plus labor.
Jason