I was wondering if its possible to only run heat tape on the plumbing during the winter, and not run the heater? And how much does it generally cost to have it on and running?

Well if you only use the pipe wrap, then you will want to keep your water heater on to keep the water warm. The wrap is ment to trap heat in..

If you want to turn your water heater off, you can use the wrap and the electric thermal couplings, and put them on the pipes, they will keep the pipe warm.. May or may not be enough depending on how cold it gets in your area.. And i imagine Minnesota gets pretty cold.

As for how it will affect your power bill, im not really sure..

[This message has been edited by Jonesy (edited 10-19-2013).]

My brother routinely plugged in heat tape on exposed plumbing. Less costly than plumbing repair, or drain all the water lines. When I had a cottage that wasn't used during upstate NY winters, we drained lines, after pipes froze. Water in pipes will freeze after hours in sub freezing temperatures, and we had a few days of sub zero temperatures.

quote Originally posted by Jonesy: And i imagine Minnesota gets pretty cold.

He's in Michigan--not Minnesota. Abbreviation for Minnesota is Mn or Minn. Abbreviation for Michigan is Mi.

The distinction is a little too subtle for cold to care, mj.

quote Originally posted by heybjorn: The distinction is a little too subtle for cold to care, mj.

Very true, cold is cold no matter what state you are in. we have heat tape anywhere the pipes are exposed to freezing temperatures with the insulation over that. we also turn the water heater off every night, saves money, but remember those heat tapes are only good if the water is in the pipe so don't bother if you drain the pipes. and if you drain the pipes make sure you also blow them out with compressed air, just to make sure you got it all. I help a friend winterize a few cottages every winter.

Steve

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Of course, here in the Atlanta area, it doesn't get near as cold as in Minnesota, but non-the-less, we do occasionally experience temps below 10 degrees. We had a mobile home that was about 5 feet off the ground on the back side where the water pipe came up out of the ground and into the trailer. I had that wrapped with electric heat tape and it got plugged in any time the temp was to get below about 28 degrees.

One year, between tenants, we were doing some remodeling inside, so the trailer was vacant. We left the thermostat set at 50 degrees to reduce power consumption and to also get some heat into the house well before the temperature dropped to the freezing level. We left the water on and the water heater on, but the thermostat on it was turned down pretty low partially because it was accessible through an outside access door that was only about an inch thick. Don't remember what we set it at, but it was still turned low. Came in handy for washing up after painting and doing other work in the house. I

quote Originally posted by 84fiero123: Very true, cold is cold no matter what state you are in. we have heat tape anywhere the pipes are exposed to freezing temperatures with the insulation over that. we also turn the water heater off every night, saves money, but remember those heat tapes are only good if the water is in the pipe so don't bother if you drain the pipes. and if you drain the pipes make sure you also blow them out with compressed air, just to make sure you got it all. I help a friend winterize a few cottages every winter. Steve

This.

I lived in a 40' travel trailer for years so the heat was on. I also had heated pads on the holding tanks and heat tapes on the other exposed plumbing. It never froze. They didnt seem to add much at all to my electric bill.

I just bought a ceramic heater thats supposed to be good for up to 1000 square feet for the motor home. All the plumbing is inside the coach except for the drains (which ill keep drained). It has a digital thermostat that goes down to 39* so im going to set it to like 40-45* so i can use it all winter too. Ive had it on a few days that were in the 40s and I was doing some interior mods. I set it to 65* and it heated up pretty fast. Since the hot water heater is open to the outside, I closed off the valves and drained it. I seldom used the hot water anyway all summer. The fresh holding tank is inside and stays above room temp on its own, so its fine for showers.

Heat tape etc is good but doesn't help when power is out...
Is a pain but drain water for winter storage. Especially no-one around.

Make sure you drain hot and cold tanks. Even WP if needed. Surface WP can freeze and break cast iron/brass parts.

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quote Originally posted by maryjane: He's in Michigan--not Minnesota. Abbreviation for Minnesota is Mn or Minn. Abbreviation for Michigan is Mi.

K.. i bet Michigan gets pretty cold then.

Hook up the heat tape to solar panels.

The ones under the snow, GM?

just thought of something you are just shutting off the water heater and not the house heat right? because that should be drained as well if the place is vacant and not heated, you do run the heat in the house not a big deal. but just to make sure you don't end up replacing your water heater and a floor or 2 because if the house isn't heated as in a closed camp for the winter you got to drain the water heater. As Ogres said earlier and any above ground pumps.

Steve

[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 10-19-2013).]

Drain the lines (blow them out also) or if you want, use an RV water pump and run RV antifreeze in the lines. Drain the hot water tank and run a by-pass when you put the RV antifreeze in. Don't for get traps and toilets.

Power can go out, and relying on it is a gamble.

[This message has been edited by jaskispyder (edited 10-19-2013).]

I live in MI and would never trust heat tapes. I had them on my pipes in the basement and they froze with the heat on. If your going to turn your heat off drain your pipes. It can be below zero for weeks at a time. It may be a pain to drain them, but less of one than re-plumbing your house and repairing all the water damage.

quote Originally posted by tebailey: I live in MI and would never trust heat tapes. I had them on my pipes in the basement and they froze with the heat on. If your going to turn your heat off drain your pipes. It can be below zero for weeks at a time. It may be a pain to drain them, but less of one than re-plumbing your house and repairing all the water damage.

Besides, sometimes ice storms knock out electricity for days. Draining the pipes is the surest way to winterize. You might also want to dump some of the pink RV anti-freeze (non-toxic) into the p-traps on all of your drains.

quote Originally posted by heybjorn: The ones under the snow, GM?