Hi Boozecamp,
I've used Pirit heated hoses, but my personal experience with them has been unsatisfactory from a quality standpoint, so I can't recommend them. I've had good success making my own heated hoses using Easy Heat 30' Pipe Heating Cable.
Here's a link.
Another victim of "Pirit" hose failure:
Checking my second-season Pirit hose for proper operation the other night, I found that its thermostat had quit working. The older model orange hoses are apparently notorious for this problem. I’m not sure if the newer blue models with the “extension” thermostats last any longer - too early to tell.
Being spoiled with the convenience (not the price tag) of a heated hose, I didn’t want to cobble up a regular hose with heat tape, insulation, gorilla tape, and all that work (been there), but I also didn’t want to fork out another $250+ for a new 50’ heated hose either (especially not another Pirit). Since this one was toast anyway, I did some surgery on it - had nothing to lose at this point.
After trimming back the “bend restrictor” on the male (output) end, I snipped out the tiny square thermostat, soldered the wires back together, covered with electrical tape, shrink-wrapped, and then covered the whole end with two wraps of rubber tape. Caution: Be
very careful when cutting away the plastic "bend restrictor" material. It is fairly tough stuff, and there is a risk of nicking the hose underneath, an insulated wire, or your hand if you slip! I just scored the surface in a spiral, and then used a needle-nosed pliers to peel it away.
Then, to regulate the temperature, I plugged it into a “
EasyHeat” cube, found at Lowe’s or Home Depot for around $16, making sure the cube was hanging in a dry, exposed location under my coach, near the UDC. A short, 12 gauge extension cord connected the cube back to the GFCI outlet in the UDC. A quick look under the coach tells me if the cube is lit, indicating the hose circuit is “on”.
This setup also allows both ends of the hose to be connected in protected locations without having to use a “shortie” hose to expose the thermostat end as before. To use the GFCI outlet in the UDC, I had to use adapters on each end of the hose to flip it 180. (Note: The cube is designed for DRY applications, so caution is needed in finding a suitable outdoor location.)
Hope this will help some folks who may encounter the problem in the future.
Dave