Thermal Switch On the Motorhome Water Bay Heater
2511 Series Automatic Reset Thermal Switch
As long as we’re talking RV’s lets share this one with you. Garry N replaced the thermal switch on the water bay heater of his motorhome with a more robust one made by, you guessed it- Senasys.
For more information about our snap disc thermostats, click here.
If you’re looking to design custom snap disc thermostat, contact us!
Here’s what he told us about it:
“We used your firm’s thermal switch to replace the one installed by the factory on our 2006 motorhome. After a good deal of research, we determined the following:
1. The thermal switches installed by [the motorhome manufacturer] are rated for residential/commercial purposes, not for motorhomes. This often results in early failure. Many motorhome couples report that they need to replace their switches every year, when using their motorhomes year-round.
2. The thermal switch in our motorhome was rated to turn on our water bay heater at 25 degrees fahrenheit. Since this is below freezing, it did not protect our water bay. The replacement switch we purchased from your firm is rated to turn on at 35 degrees. After reading the motorhome manufacturer’s manual, we belive the old switch was a manufacturer’s mistake–their manual indicated our old switch should have activated somewhere between 32 and 40 degrees (36 ± 4 degrees).
3. We selected your firm’s product because the specifications at your website indicated your switch is built more durably.
So far, we have been very pleased with the performance of your company’s switch.”
Perusing some RVing blogs, it turns out there are plenty of uses for bi-metal snap disc thermostats in a motorhome. We look forward to hearing more about it! Safe Travels!
To view our standard temperature options visit our online store.
- Variety of terminal orientations
- Temperatures from 0°-350°F (-18°-176°C)
- UL rated for over 100,000 cycles
- Made in the USA
For more information about our epoxy sealed thermostats, contact our direct technical support at 715-831-6353.
Some years ago when selecting Senasys for pipe freeze protection applications I was trying to determine what the optimal triggering temperature was in order to ONLY initiate protections below a level which was sure to cause problems. In other words, I didn’t want to heat things up needlessly. That led me to this study by the U of ILL done in part to answer insurance industry questions.
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/54757 (link to pdf found on their reference website)
Look at their data yourself but the study seems to support that 32F is NOT the point of concern for pipes. Unless there is a cooling wind on exposed pipes it actually takes a sustained drop (more than a couple hours)down into the mid-20s at the pipes.
I have chosen the Senasys thermostats that act in the 30-25F range as a result of this data. Ideally I’d like my protections to kick in when the air temperature along the pipe is around 27F.
I say “air temperature” because I don’t use the pipe strapped sensors presuming the pipe & water may stay above 27F for some time… and, while that is really what I want to measure, I don’t want to assume “one spot” on a pipe represents the whole-pipe-at-risk so I prefer to be conservative and have the sensor capturing the air temperature near the pipe in the most “at risk” segment.
The study discusses a lot about the location of piping, insulation, and outside air temps. There are a lot of factors at play. But the study seems to support experience that folks living where “less” pipe & home insulation protections are in place often don’t see pipes freezing until outside air temps are sustained below 20F.
Just thought this was worth sharing as others come to Senasys for freeze protection applications. 32F is not the point to worry, it’s a bit lower.