PipeFreezePRO comes with one or more 30ft rolls of high-quality fiberglass tape, but you can use any tape with a temperature rating of 150º F and above. Self-adhesive aluminum foil tape can be used but avoid standard tapes, including electrical tape and duct tape because they lose their adhesion when exposed to heat. Remember, it’s imperative to cover the pipe/heat tape assembly with pipe insulation (1/2″ minimum thickness). Think four easy steps: 1) cable on pipe, 2) tape on cable, 3) insulation on pipe/cable and 4) tape on insulation.
We are building a hand guide to identify what kind of roof you have and find the clips that can/should be used with that roof-type.
View the Guide Explaining What Clips You Need Here
We have a guide on How to Measure for Purchasing Heat Tape that will help you. Once you have your measurements, you can find our Heat Tape Calculator here.
Heat Tape Pro is our line of robust, outdoor rated cable. It’s designed specifically for the demands of extreme environments including wet locations such as outdoor pipes, open drain lines and of course roof and gutter de-icing applications. Do not use Pipe Freeze Pro as it is rated for dry locations only.
Like Heat Tape Pro, Pipe Freeze Pro should not be installed on pipes that regularly heat up to over 150ºF as this may cause longterm damage to the heat cable. It therefore depends on how hot you have your water heater set to. On average, water heaters are set to about 140ºF to prevent scalding.
Radiant Solutions has the most comprehensive installation system for Heat Tape that exists. We make accessories to install heat tape on almost any kind of roof.
Click here to learn about product specifically for Natural Cedar Roofs
Including a thermostatic heat tape switch or controller in your installation will cut power to your heat tape in times it is not needed. This will lessen your environmental footprint and save you money.
Savings will always depend on the weather and how often you have temperatures above the threshold that the switch turns on your heat cable. In most situations where heat cable is needed, savings will offset the cost of the ThermaCord and then some.
The short answer is NO. Self-regulating heat cable does not turn itself on and off automatically. To do that you need to put the cable on a switched circuit or outlet or on a controller. Of course, you can also be old-school about it and simply plug and unplug as needed.
“Self-Regulating” refers to the fact that these cables are temperature sensitive. Due to their construction, these cables sense changes in temperature along their entire length, demanding more power as temps fall and less when they rise.
PipeFreeeze Pro™, Pipe Freeze Protection Solution has a built in thermostatic switch, meaning it will turn on and off on it’s own.
Heat Tape Pro™, does not contain a built-in thermostatic controller. We recommend adding the ThermaCord™ Thermostatic controller to turn your Heat Tape PRO to turn the cable on and off with changes in temperature.
Self-Regulating Heat Tape will draw variable Power depending on the ambient temperature. It draws more power when temperatures are cold and less power when temperatures are warmer. However when the self-regulating cable is plugged in, it is always working, even if only slightly drawing power in warm temperatures. Adding the temperature-controlled switch like ThermaCord to plug-in heat tape or a Thermostatic Controller with Sensor to field assembled cable, will cut the supply of power to your Heat tape when it is not needed.
This will save you energy Costs.
