How To Use Gutter Heaters

Run tape inside the gutter place the electrical plug close to the breaker box then work backward through your gutters until your entire system is covered.

How to use gutter heaters.

Gutter heaters will only be able to create a small melted tunnel around an immediate area. Ice dams will form above and below the melted areas. How to choose a heated gutter system. Using one of the provided eave clips attach it to the bottom edge of the last shingle.

Run the cable back up the roof in a zig zag pattern creating a triangular shape that is about 15 inches wide. Run zigzags to create 15 wide triangles running the cable from the overhang to the warm area of your roof. Additionally all heat cables should be waterproof. Additionally they may even exacerbate your ice dam issues with the constant melting and refreezing of snow in your gutters.

Which system do you chose. Take one end of the cable and begin at the corner of your roof. Installing gutter heat tape is meant for the prevention of the ice dams not for getting rid of them once already formed. Gutter heaters mean you can flick a switch and forget about the snow fall.

It is best to avoid heated gutter guards to avoid these issues. Heated cables will simply not be able to handle massive amounts of snow. If heated gutters aren t the solution then what is. Cable is available in both 120 and 240 voltages.

An inexpensive heat cable that doesn t offer water protection is not safe to use. The cable should form a loop that extends partway into the gutter. The self regulating cable delivers heat when you need it and shuts off when you don t adjusting to ambient temperatures for maximum energy efficiency. The least expensive way to go is a very simple system where a heat cable is applied to your gutters and then is run down the downspouts of your home preferably near an outlet.

Run the cable back down to the gutter at an angle and form it into a loop. The gutter heat tape or cable is run in special patterns across roofs in gutters and along downspouts where ice usually forms collects and eventually creates what are known as ice dams. Heat trace cable is safe for metal plastic or wooden downspouts and gutters and it will not overheat even if overlapped. Some heat cables may not be safe to use with certain materials so you need to know the materials used in your roof gutters and downspouts.

If leaves and other dry debris build up on top of the heat tape for gutters the eavestrough heating cable can also be a fire hazard for your home. This can cause an electrical hazard.