Or you could buy a 100 ice dam heat tape assembly from us for around 300.
How hot does gutter heat tape get.
They will be sold under brand names like easy heat and frost king.
First and foremost i t is very important to understand that heat cables do not prevent ice dams from forming or get rid of them altogether.
Heat tape for wrapping around pipes is flat and it must be installed with one of its surfaces completely in contact with the pipe to do its job.
You can buy roof and gutter cable in variable lengths and wire them yourself to a controller and plug but heat tape comes in fixed lengths and is already pre wired.
For example you could go to home depot or lowes or amazon and get a pre assembled 120 roof heat tape for around 68 00.
What exactly it is how to use it what it s useful for and so on.
To understand how they work you have to know how icicles and ice build up on your roof.
They can also save you a lot of money in repair bills come spring time.
Measure the linear feet of roof eave a that you want to protect.
The gutter heat tape or cable is run in special patterns across roofs in gutters and along downspouts where ice usually forms collects and eventually creates what are known as ice dams.
They automatically turn on when the temperature falls below 40 degrees.
At any given point depending on the temperatures outside the cable could be a range of temperatures.
Installing gutter heat tape is meant for the prevention of the ice dams not for getting rid of them once already formed.
Radiant solutions self regulating heat tape changes its heat output based on the temperatures of its surrounding environment.
Heat cables also known as heat tape or roof ice cables are often the first things that come to mind for homeowners attempting to deal with ice dams.
Heat tape will exceed 100f if unregulated.
Mainly because once the cable has heated the immediate area around it the self regulated aspect of the cable kicks in and prevents it from getting too warm.
You may need to add insulation or ventilate your attic to control the heat loss problem.
Check your attic to see where heat is escaping.
Boaphile has a duel thermostat but it is expensive and these are on off types.
Common questions about heating cable and heating tape.
We ve put together this page and the articles that are linked here to try to answer any questions you might have so you can feel confident that you re getting the right cable and using it properly.
We get quite a few questions about heating cable here at o e m.
Observe the distance to the nearest.
Heat tape for gutters comes in lengths of 30 to 150 feet long.
Measure the depth of the eave b note any valleys in the roof c that exist where the heat cable will be installed.
If there are gutters make note of the number of downspouts.
A safe guard that some hobbyist use is two thermostats.
