Heat Tape Pro is rated for wet locations and outdoor environments. It is ideally suited for outdoor pipes and can be installed in open drains, such as 4″ PVC pipes for gutter system drainage.
Do not use Pipe Freeze Pro for wet location pipe freeze protection.
Measuring the area of your roof that is affected by ice dams so you know how much heat tape to get is not overly complex, but it does have a few variables. Use our Heat Tape Measuring Guide to understand the process and print a worksheet that you can use to make sure you have all the right numbers.
Once you have all the measurements and considerations you need, use our Heat Tape Calculator to calculate the size of heat tape you should get.
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.
Heat Tape Pro and Pipe Freeze Pro are offered in many lengths from 6-foot up to 150-foot. These products are not designed to be modified, so you should pick the length you need and work with that length. These cables should not be altered and doing so would void any warranty on the product.
We offer heat tape on spools from 250-foot to 1000-foot. These spools are designed to be cut to length, made into multiple cables, etc. Heat Tape on spools needs to be hard-wired into a junction box, or have a power connection plug-in manually added to it for use. It also requires ends to be properly sealed and terminated. When working with Heat Tape on spools, a Licensed Electrician should be utilized to assure proper wiring per regional codes and standards.
We are a family-owned business with less than 10 employees that has been in business since 2016. Our experience with ice dams goes far beyond that: our founder Steve started a business diagnosing and solving Ice Dam problems on customer houses for almost 35 years.
Heat tape cables should not be installed in any permanently hidden areas.
The cable can be exposed to wetness but the thermostat must stay dry to function properly. Use Pipe Freeze PRO for pipe freeze prevention applications only.
Yes. Pipe Freeze Pro can be used on any commonly available pipe material including PEX, PVC, ABS, galvanized steel, copper and cast iron. This cable operates at somewhere between 40ºF and 90ºF so it will not melt anything.
