ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Snow Melting Cable

One of the manufactures makes a metal plate style that slides up under the 1st row of shingles maybe 10 inches and the cable attaches to that giving you a better melt on the whole edge of the house instaead of just where the cables sit. I have seen it on the supply house counter so take a look before you buy just the cables.

Good thread going here, was thinking of adding that to my house as well.

But, you can add all the roof heaters you want, if the gutters freeze up solid with ice, and you still have heat loss in the house, you are still going to have icicles, and the wieght of them might pull down your gutters. I reinsulated the attic and vented it and that eliminated the Daming of the ice on the roof, but my gutters froze over from the sun melting the snow.

Any ideas on gutter heaters, some I've seen look very pricey, and I saw where there cost @.35/hr to operate.
Any clues?

Just a few easy comments...
Our local Graybar is selling basic Raychem kits at a price that breaks down to less than $2 a foot.
I can't speak for the other brands mentioned...Raychem is the only one I've seen that is self-regulating, and can be cut to length. It is also not damaged if it somehow gets crossed over itself- an important concern with older types.
The system I installed last year included lengths of cable to run into gutters and down downspouts.
I believe the reference was to an "Equipment protective device," which is essentially a GFI breaker set at 20ma. The system I put in just used GFI breakers; so far, so good.
Oddly enough, I think the NEC exempts rooftop ice-melt receptacles from GFI requirements. I say, follow the mfr. instructions.

IMO,roof de-ice cables are a pain in the a** to install...it must run down through the gutters and down spouts also to work properly...it is expensive to run...catches all the fall leaves and pine needles which make it difficult to clean the gutters.

I just borrowed a roof snow shovel from my buddy and we cleared the roof of the heavy snow in less than 2 hours. The important area to remove the snow was the last 4 feet near the gutters.In a couple of days the damn damns were gone.The pole on the snow shovel had 6 foot extensions to add in sections...I had an 18' reach.

shortcircuit