Vegas 24.1 gray tank heating pad

[JoeDS]

I found out that the heating pad on my Vegas was installed in such a way as to be rather useless. The tank is a very unusual type. It is "L" shaped basically. Very wide and shallow in the vertical section. Extending over the frame and under the driveshaft shield then drops down and is deep where it comes up next to the Black tank. The heating pad was placed at the shallow side toward the far left where waste wont get too until the tank is around 1/2 full.


The low deep part that goes to the drain is unprotected. Consequently I'm adding a pad(s) to the deep part and put a switch to disable the factory pad unless it is over 1/2 full (manufacturer says DO NOT turn on pads unless water in the tank covers it or damage to the tank may occur)


I found out that the heating pad on my Vegas was installed in such a way as to be rather useless. The tank is a very unusual type. It is "L" shaped basically. Very wide and shallow in the vertical section. Extending over the frame and under the driveshaft shield then drops down and is deep where it comes up next to the Black tank. The heating pad was placed at the shallow side toward the center where waste wont get to until the tank is around 1/2 full.


The low deep part that goes to the drain is unprotected. Consequently I'm adding a pad(s) to the deep part and put a switch to disable the factory pad unless it is over 1/2 full (manufacturer says DO NOT turn on pads unless water in the tank covers it or damage to the tank may occur)


right view (frame- grey tank - black tank)

center view (white label is heating pad)

whole view. you can see grey tank label center left


Hard to explain, hard to get good pics too. Just for reference the top of the pic is towards the front. The far right side is where the dump valves are

[lwmcguire]

Great mod

[lwmcguire]

My Landmark had two breakers in the panel for the heat pads

I added plugs and a 35 degree thermocube and just left the breakers on when the weather was hovering below freezing

I always add a few gallons of water to the black anyway and it never hurt the gray

[gte534j]

You can add another heating pad in parallel to the existing pad if you would like. I did that already to correct the same issue. I left the other heating pad on there. You will want to use a temperature measureing device (like a lazer thermometer) to make sure the heating pads are working properly.

[JoeDS]

Originally Posted by gte534j

You can add another heating pad in parallel to the existing pad if you would like. I did that already to correct the same issue. I left the other heating pad on there. You will want to use a temperature measureing device (like a lazer thermometer) to make sure the heating pads are working properly.

I am definitely adding another pad on the low side next to the black water tank and since its wiring is just inches away will just tie onto the black tank wiring. Then when the grey tank is 1/2 full I can switch it on. I'm a little paranoid about turning it on due to the warnings from ultraheat about possible damage to the tank if liquid is not over the pad area. Of course it may be apples to oranges since our pads are Facon and may not be as hot as the Ultra heat pads. Good thought about checking with an thermometer.

[JoeDS]

Originally Posted by lwmcguire

My Landmark had two breakers in the panel for the heat pads

I added plugs and a 35 degree thermocube and just left the breakers on when the weather was hovering below freezing

I always add a few gallons of water to the black anyway and it never hurt the gray

The thermocube is normally used with 120 volt devices. Is it simply a bimetallic switch that you adapted to use with 12 VDC ?