12 Volt tank heater on 2006 Interstate

[AZtraveler]

I have an Interstate with separate black and grey water holding tanks (rear sleeper model). Airstreams literature lists 12 Volt Heaters for both, but all that I can see is some kind of a coil between them. Can anyone tell me how much good this will do in moderately freezing temperatures (+15 degrees for maybe six hours or so)? Everything I find on the internet looks like a heating pad that attaches to the bottom.

Larry C. in AZ

[Skater]

I wouldn't worry about it, not for 6 hours, even if you left the coil off.

We had a recent discussion in the B190 mailing list on a similar topic. From what I gathered from that discussion, I don't think you have anything to worry about - 6 hours is not a long time by any means. It's when you get into 18 hours or 24 hours that things start getting more interesting.

If it does worry you, you can always buy a bottle of RV antifreeze and dump it in the tanks.

I've camped in my B190 in winter-like conditions - once in Pennsylvania over Thanksgiving, when we actually had some snow (maybe an inch). It actually got pretty cold at night, definitely below freezing, but I didn't do anything special to my tanks and had no problems.

[herrgirdner]

My impression of your foto is that the coil is associated with the propane system. I would think that if it is a waste tank heater, it would need to be attached to the tanks in some fashion. My 2005 Interstate has a 12 volt heater on the black water tank, and also has some mysterious coils near the propane tank.
regards

[AZtraveler]

I received a reply from Airstream Support stating that the tanks do have heaters attached, but they are not visable. We've spent about a week camping in sub-freezing overnight temperatures. I drained & blew out the water lines but didn't add anti-freeze to the tanks. Lots of homeowners have had broken pipes, but we seem to be doing fine.

Thanks for the input.

Larry C. in AZ