Toilets in unheated spaces.

[Pat]

Like lots of rural folks, I have a toilet in my shop bld. As the shop is NOT heated when unoccupied I have had partial freeze ups where water in the tank and bowl has skinned over with ice pretty good but not frozen solid (yet). I have protected all my exposed plumbing runs with thermostatically controlled heater tape and insulation but had concerns for the toilet.

Here is the solution I came up with to share here:

Put a piece of copper tubing (or other good conductor of heat) in the water with a fair section sticking up in the air. Put heater tape on the part up in the air. My tank has dips in the top in the back where a bent piece of tubing can be routed so you can have the heater hooked up AND the tank lid in place. I didn't find any heater tapes approved for imersion, hence the tubing solution.

I expect that this will prevent bursting of the fixture in a long cold snap (if the power stays on)

I'm open to suggestions if there is a simpler or better way.

Patrick

[DUMBDOG]

If the fixture is not going to be used for a while, use RV anitfreeze in the tank and bowl.

[WVBill]

I have not needed to solve this problem but here are a couple of ideas:

You can get stock tank heaters at Tractor Supply made to keep watering tanks for livestock from freezing.

I have seen coffee cup heaters in various catalogs in the past. These are small heating elements that you put into a cup of water then plug them in and they heat the water to make it ready for instant coffee. If you put one in the tank and one in the bowl and put them on timers you could probably keep the water from freexing.

Now that you've kept the water from freezing, you might need one of these to keep your - from freezing. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]


Just had another thought. How about an Aquarium heater ?

[Stoneheartfarm]

Only problem with RV antifreeze is that the stuff they sell around here is alcohol based and the alcohol can evaporate by the time winter is over. I usually use one of the environmentally friendly (notice I didn't mention what it does to the wallet), antifreezes like Sierra. Of course, that only works for traps and tanks. Pipes need to be drained and blown out with an air compressor.

SHF

[pbenven]

Could you make a small, insulated outhouse around it? Heat with a 100 watt bulb placed down low and a thermostat.

What about your pipes? I'd guess that they'd freeze before your tank/bowl would.

[Pat]

I have RV antifreeze and will be using it in my RV and my pressure washer and my pasture sprayer pump, etc. But... I use the toilet in the shop whenever the need arrises and prefer the thermostatic switched heater strip on a scrap of copper tubing. I would use 40-100 gal of antifreeze in a winter.

Pat

[Pat]

Most of those heaters are way oversized and or not thermostatically controlled. I thought of doing my own thermostat on a bird bath heater but all of the DIY solutions other that the heater tape cost more, took a lot more fussing, or had other negatives associated.

Pat

[Pat]

pbenven, Sorry, I thought I mentioned putting heater tape on all the exposed plumbing.

The toilet is in a bathroom with a util sink etc. It is easier/cheaper to use a heater tape that comes with a thermostat than to just run a 100 watt bulb all the time or put it on a thermostat. I have a BIG reflector lamp with a heat lamp bulb in it for when you have to tarry in the frigid environs for more than a few seconds.

Got our first light dusting of snow today. Melts on contact with the ground as the earth is still too warm to get an accumulation. Currently 34F and will warm up a mite in a few days. Temporary reprieve, it will get white later. If not by Christmas, then later.

Pat

[pbenven]

Sorry, Pat - only skimmed the original post and didn't notice your point about the exposed plumbing/thermo-tape.

<font color="blue">...if there is a simpler or better way</font color>

Guess there isn't.

[GaryM]

Could you wrap the heat tape around the outside of the tank? Once the tank has warmed up, it will be able to keep the water warm. If you wish, you could wrap a fiberglass batt around the tank to reduce the energy rerquired.