amps used by 12v tank strips

[cargofool]

anyone know how many amps these strips use?

trying to figure out what I can run off regular 15A household outlet.

[padlin]

What's a 12v tank strip?

[Jim Bennett]

It keeps the grey and water tanks from freezing.

[gbaglo]

That's an option, correct?
I wonder about the value. If you have a full tank, or even half, it will take a long time to freeze. But, a very small amount of water in a line or valve can easily freeze under the same conditions, expanding and causing a leak.
Thoughts?

[cpaharley2008]

Those tank heaters are 12v and use a lot of battery amps. It is not recommend to use unless you are hooked up to electric that will allow your converter to supply the power for the tank heaters. They are thermostatically controlled, on/off at 34 degrees. There is a switch under the bed in the 19' to turn them off/on, similar switch as the battery disconnect under dinette. I did not get the heaters on the new Escape as with the foam and heat inside the camper, I did not feel you needed them. I think it is a $300 option, spray foam without tank heaters, $500, $800 spray foam with tank heaters.

[cargofool]

approx 4.1 amps per hour, per pad.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cargofool

approx 4.1 amps per hour, per pad.

4.1 amps (no "per hour"), so about 50 watts at 12 volts? Sounds plausible... although my heated dog water dish has about the same power if heater.

I don't see the point of 12V heaters if they are only to be used when on shore power (why not just use 120 VAC?); I assume the intent is to be able to run them while driving as well.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

If you have a full tank, or even half, it will take a long time to freeze. But, a very small amount of water in a line or valve can easily freeze under the same conditions, expanding and causing a leak.
Thoughts?

I agree - I suspect that heaters for the plumbing to the dump valves would be of more value.

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I did not get the heaters on the new Escape as with the foam and heat inside the camper, I did not feel you needed them. I think it is a $300 option, spray foam without tank heaters, $500, $800 spray foam with tank heaters.

This makes sense to me, but validity depends on the outside temperature. If I were to get the foam, I would get the heaters... in part because it seems to me that it would be a miserable job to add the heaters later if they did turn out to be needed, due to the foam on everything.

[Brian B-P]

Just in case it is not apparent, that 4.1 amps at 12V (more likely 13 to 14 volts from the converter) will correspond to much less current at 120V AC. For example, if the converter puts out 14 volts and the pads still use only 4.1 amps that's 57 watts each, or 0.48 amps of 120 volt AC power into a perfectly efficient converter, or 0.53 A each if the converter is 90% efficient. Very small stuff compared to the 600 to 1500 watts that might be going into an interior space heater.