How to Install Heat Tape

Heat tape is an excellent way to make sure that your water pipes don’t freeze during the winter months. A broken water pipe can cause thousands of dollars of damage, but this can be prevented with some cheap heat tape. The heat tape is fairly easy to install and will save your home from major pipe damage.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• ground fault circuit interrupter
• waterproof insulation
• electrical tape
• heat tape

1. Check your pipes to see if they are presently leaking. You do not want to install heat tape over wet pipes. Check the places where your pipes join up especially well for leaks. Repair any leaks before installing the heat tape.

2. Begin by wrapping the heat tape around the pipe in a single layer. Alternatively, run the heat tape along the sire of the pipe.

3. Use electrical tape to hold the heat tape firmly in place. Consult your manufacturer’s guidelines for spacing details.

4. Cover the pipe and heat tape with insulation. Insulation will help protect your heat tape from the elements, increasing the life of the tape. Make sure the insulation is waterproof.

5. Plug the heat tape into a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. You should find a GFCI near the water inlet on your home. If you do not have a GFCI, you will need to install one.

Tips & Warnings

• A leaky pipe could short out the heat tape, which can cause the heat tape to quit working or even catch fire.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when installing heat tape.
• Only plug heating tape into Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters. Any other type of outlet will not work properly.
• Use only automatic heat tape with insulation around the wires. Non-automatic heat tape can damage plastic pipes.
• Never wrap heat tape back around itself. Crossed heat tape is a potential fire hazard.
• Never use heat tape near flammable materials.

[luvmyehow]

on 10/15/2009 Installing heat tape is a time consuming process which can take hours even by a professional when you include the insulation and required inspections. If you overlap heat tape it can cause a fire. If you use incorrect insulation it can cause a fire. If water contacts the tape it can cause a fire. Those are just some of the reasons people have switched to using a Redytemp in their home. The installation can be done by the homeowner and takes around 20 minutes and it uses the heated water from your water heater to prevent the pipes from freezing. Intermittently circulating the water throughout the hot and cold water lines based on the temperature you choose on the front of the unit. At 5 watts per foot of heat tape, the Redytemp can protect a whole house for a fraction of the energy. No annual inspections, no fuzes to blowout and during the rest of the year you no longer will h...