RED DOOR
Tiny Homes
Water Supply ​
When going tiny, something as simple as plumbing water to your home becomes a logistical disaster if not thought through. Traditional homes (here in Canada at least), bring in their fresh water supply through the foundation, and most importantly below the frost line. This gives a typical home convenient and easy access to a fresh, pressurized water supply no matter what the climate.
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Tiny homes are altogether different. We don't have the luxury of accessing our water supply below ground because we do not have basements or foundations. So how do you access water without it freezing? There are a couple of options:
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Internal Water Storage
Having internal water storage means that you have some sort of water retaining bladder or holding tank within the home that you draw your fresh water from. These can be the same under trailer storage tanks that Rvs use, or a bladder incorporated into the interior of the home somewhere, (such as under a bed or raised floor section)
Benefits:
-Good for off-grid applications with no access to city hookups
-will not freeze if placed inside the home
-will not freeze entire body of water if outside the home; only top few inches of water will freeze (similar to a lake or pond)
-low power consumption requirements
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Drawbacks:
-More complicated and costly to implement
-Makes the trailer significantly heavier when full
-Have to occasionally fill tank
-Requires electric pump to pressurize water
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City Water Supply
Having access to city water greatly simplifies the construction of the home. Since the water is already pressurized, all the home requires is an inlet water line and spigot to attach the hose to.
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Benefits:
-Simplified construction of the home
-Keeps the trailer lighter
-No need to fill an onboard storage tank continuously
-No need for a pump to pressurize water
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Drawbacks:
-Must be in urban area with city water hookups to utilize it
-Will freeze a normal hose in the winter
-Heated hoses add electrical load to the home
-Hoses can be more unsightly than a hidden holding tank
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So, what is best for you? well.. it really depends on your circumstances. If you live in an urban area with access to city hookups than a hose is the way to go! Its less expensive and easier toimplement. However if you're looking to take your home off grid then a holding tank will likely be the ideal solution. It all comes down to your needs and available resources.
Keep Your Hose from Freezing!
So if you're like us and you're making use of city water for your water supply, how do you keep it from freezing all winter long? It seemed like a daunting task at first; I mean, you need running water for bathing, drinking, cleaning dishes ect.
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So we turned our attention to heated water hoses. There are a few to chose from, but with a lot of research and reading through reviews we decided on the Pirit* Heated Water hose. This hose is one of the most economical yet well made choices that we researched. It incorporates the heating element right in the very construction of the hose. The heating element is actually extruded into the PVC plastic that the hose is constructed of; making for a tough, durable one piece design. It also includes a thermostat so that you only use energy as needed, when the temperature dips below 4'C or so.
Our first unit was one of their older designs, with the orange coloured PVC; and it actually ended up failing prematurely after about a month of use. Luckily, Pirit has a great warranty and replaced the hose for us through the retail location we purchased it from, with one of their new, blue coloured models. This new unit works as advertised. It has all of the bugs of their first design worked out. We have had this hose hooked up to our home since November without failure. It turns itself on and off as needed, and kept the water flowing to our THOW down to as low as -24'C this winter.
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As you can see in the picture below, our 100' hose works wonderfully. It even melts a path in the snow!
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At around CND $150 for the 25 foot hose and four available lengths, it makes for an economical and versatile solution! Hose sizes with their Amazon links are listed below! Check them out if you require flowing water in freezing temps for your THOW, or any application.
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12 Foot Hose
25 Foot Hose
50 Foot Hose
100 Foot Hose
