Heat Tape

Heat Tape is a device that is used to warm up water lines and sewage lines so that they do not freeze during the winter.

The name "Heat Tape" is a misleading term, as it is not really tape, but rather a cord.

I feel the need to stress this fact, as many new home owners do not understand the term, nor do they understand why they may need it.

Description

This is the shitty kind. Don't buy it.

This is the good stuff that lasts a long time. But it is harder to install, and may need a Pro.

Heat tape is an electrical cord that can be sheathed in black plastic, orange plastic, or a steel mesh. There are older forms of heat tape that are blue or yellow, but if you run into that stuff, chances are it isn't working.

Additionally, heat tape has a 3 pronged plug so that it can be connected to the home's electrical system, usually at a GFCI plug. On the other end of the plug is usually a cap that is glued into place when the heat tape is installed.

It must be noted that there are certain types of heat tape that have a sensor which will regulate the heat that the installed heat tape produces depending on the outside temperature. Those types of heat tape almost never work.

There are ways around this sort of stupid heat tape, and I may offer a solution to this problem later on in the article.

Heat tape is warm. It should never be hot, and when you touch it, it should give off a dull throbbing feeling. It is important to note that heat tape should never glow like the elements inside a toaster. If your heat tape is doing that, your house is probably on fire.

Heat tape usually hovers around 60 degrees F. It should also maintain that temperature no matter what the conditions the weather may throw at it. Unfortunately, when the world plunges below -20° everything can go wonky and there are no promises that anything will work, including you.

Installation

"Pool Noodle" style insualtion. Use this to cover the Heat Tape.

Modern heat tape should never be wrapped around water lines (like a spiral). It should be held in place on the bottom of a home's water lines with one of several ways of affixing it to the water line. Usually, this is done with black plastic electrician's tape, but other non flammable items can be used.

Once the heat tape is secured to the home's water line, it must be insulated. This can be done with several types of insulation from craft-backed fiberglass to the styrofoam "pool noodle" style insulating tubes.

It is important to keep all sections of the water line and the heat tape covered with unbroken insulation. Failure to do this can result in your water line freezing up.