RV Gate Valve Heater

When we talk about gate RV valve heaters, we ask you to think about the “Spare Tire for your car or truck." You don’t use it all the time, however when you need it, you’re glad you have it!  Gate Valve Heaters are thought of in much the same way, rarely ever used except when the valve is frozen closed and you’re trying to vacate your systems. At UltraHeat, we provide our customers with highly efficient and high-quality RV dump valve heaters, so you’ll never have to deal with a gate valve issue in your RV.

Picture this, it’s extremely cold and windy outside and you’re just packed up your unit and are leaving the RV resort, before you hit the road you stop by the dump station to vacate your black and gray holding tanks like the owner’s manual recommends.  You pull out the stinky snake and have made all the hookups, and now you pull one of the dump lever handles and it won’t move; this means your RV dump valve is frozen.  To top it off, there’s another one or two other RV’s behind you waiting for you to finish, now what?  Pull out the hair dryer? Get out some wrenches and loosen the nuts and bolts holding the thing together enough to get the gate to slide?  Maybe this describes an experience you’ve had?        

The heat panels we use in our gate valve heaters are specifically designed to rapidly penetrate the thicker plastic with enough heat to thaw the frozen tracks for the gate valve, fast! Our RV gate valve heaters are intended to work primarily with “Valterra” gate valves or other models that have smooth and level flat surfaces on the exterior three sides of the gate body itself.  

The RV gate valve heaters must be controlled independently from all the other heaters, with a separate on/off switch just for the gate valves (Sold Separately). We recommend installing the switch inside a compartment close to the dump valves, covenant and away from the other Heat Panel manual control switching system.   

If needed, turn the Gate Valve heater "ON” for approximately 5 to 7 minutes, or until the valve is freed.  Turn “off” the switch and evacuate the tanks as you normally would.  These heat panels are designed for short term use, and only in freezing cold weather where the gate valve has been frozen closed.

When assessing your system, also look at how the gate valve is installed. The gate tower (the box extending off the drain pipe where the gate would slide into when opened) should be angled up toward the bottom of the RV.  It should not be installed parallel or angled down toward the ground because fluids can seep into this area and, in cold weather, freeze preventing the gate valve from opening.  Gate Valve Heaters are not designed to heat this area.  If your tower is installed parallel or at a downward angle, wrapping an UltraHeat pipe / elbow heater around the tower has been found to be very effective at preventing or thawing the tower.

An RV dump valve heater is extremely important to ensure your RV’s gate valve functions properly in the cold. You can prevent issues and possible damage to your RV by getting a high-quality RV gate valve heater from UltraHeat. Browse our gate valve heaters for sale, today.