RV edition owners

[btupy]

Are you any of you guys with rv edition ice castle fish houses using your water tanks during the winter? 

I found a bunch of tank and pipe heater pads/blankets on an RV parts catalog and was wondering if these would work so you could take showers or do dishes out on the ice. 

Any info or advice would be great. Thanks 

[dj2quick35]

i have an RV edition and have been using the tanks in the winter for about 3 years.  For me, all i really wanted was to have the toilette flush and dont care about the shower or kitchen sink.  What i do is fill the holding tank with the pink RV winterize fluid and use that instead of water.  In the spring i flush the system with holding tank cleaning to freshen and take out that pink RV winterize fluid smell.

[btupy]

Thats good to know about using just the toilet because that would also be nice. Is anyone using the full bathroom functions on the ice? I know it would be a bit of a pain to have to winterize the system again after a fishing trip but I think it would be worth it for the couple times a year I go on trips that are 4-5 days long. It would be nice to be able to take a quick shower and wash some dishes. 

[Moon Lake Refuge]

5 minutes ago, btupy said:

Thats good to know about using just the toilet because that would also be nice. Is anyone using the full bathroom functions on the ice? I know it would be a bit of a pain to have to winterize the system again after a fishing trip but I think it would be worth it for the couple times a year I go on trips that are 4-5 days long. It would be nice to be able to take a quick shower and wash some dishes. 

Not in a castle, but I can do it in my RV if needed.  My only concern would be that if something were to happen to your heat or propane out on the ice, if its cold enough you could very quickly(likely before you have time to purge the lines) have frozen lines that could blow.  Also how far do you pull your house?  In cold weather you could have issues on the drive home.  I have used the pipe tape before, it has to be heavily insulated and still only does so much.  Have seen pipes freeze even with tape on.  Just my opinion.

[btupy]

Going on a long trip is about 6-7 hours long. It may not be worth the headache just to be able to take a quick shower on the ice. I just thought I remembered someone from ice castle saying that people do it all the time without issues, but who knows how much truth is actually behind it. 

[Moon Lake Refuge]

2 hours ago, btupy said:

Going on a long trip is about 6-7 hours long. It may not be worth the headache just to be able to take a quick shower on the ice. I just thought I remembered someone from ice castle saying that people do it all the time without issues, but who knows how much truth is actually behind it. 

Its definitely doable, just have to winterize properly before you move and the risk is there if your heating system fails in any way, it would likely take a chunk of your plumbing with it.  They make portable shower kits that you can heat outside for showers.  You could probably just run a hose inside to a shower head or fix a connection on the outside.  May not be worth the effort but would give you piece of mind with your plumbing if needed.

[dj2quick35]

20 hours ago, btupy said:

Thats good to know about using just the toilet because that would also be nice. Is anyone using the full bathroom functions on the ice? I know it would be a bit of a pain to have to winterize the system again after a fishing trip but I think it would be worth it for the couple times a year I go on trips that are 4-5 days long. It would be nice to be able to take a quick shower and wash some dishes. 

i usually just run into one of the resorts and pay $5 for a quick shower and of course have to buy more bait or lures while in there too.

I did some research on the heater pads for tanks and I think they would work, but I think its too risky with the hot water tank and it freezing up.  I think a person would need a hot water on demand system that they sell for RVs to not worry about freezing.