I finally have my heated water hose made. I ended up using a 10' water hose from Camping World, wrapped with EasyHeat 'self-regulating cable' (the heater wire), then insulated with foil-covered 1" fiberglass, surrounded by foam pipe insulation.
The heater element was bound to the hose using EasyHeat-brand tape for the application; the fiberglass was secured with black electrical tape (belts to keep it in place); and the exterior was sealed along the seam with black duct tape, then belted for additional strength and to keep the tape seam from splitting.
Right now, I'm in testing phase, but I'm concerned that the heating element isn't actually self-regulating as I would expect it to be. In my view, it should come on only when it's cold (say below 45 degrees), though it comes on any time it is plugged in. Since EasyHeat provides no specs for what "self-regulating" means (that I have found), it could be working as planned.
However, even though the cable is only 3 Watts/foot, I don't really want it on all the time. I'm likely to use an EasyHeat thermostat electrical plug to make sure that it only powers on at 38 deg F. The cable heats fast and efficiently enough that 38 deg F should be sufficient time before freezing.
I also protected the water inlet on the RV with a spigot protector, modified to accommodate the insulated hose. It looks like it's ready for an arctic expedition, which at temps of -20 deg F in the Winter here, I'm sure I'll appreciate.
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