is heater tape safe?

ChrisJ

I'm about to finish insulating my steam mains and takeoffs finally which means I may end up with new problems this winter.  One of my many crawl spaces is kind of out on its own, isolated from the main section and I'm concerned about a lonely water pipe running out near an outside wall for my downstairs toilet.



I have pulled the insulation out of the floors above all of the crawl spaces and am insulating the crawl space walls to try and keep heat in best I can and drafts out but we do get temperatures approaching -20F from time to time and that water pipe concerns me.



I'm ASSUMING heater tape is my best and cheapest option at this time as its only one pipe I'm concerned about.  But I'm concerned about it being safe.  If it is safe is there a specific brand I should go for?



Thanks,

Chris J







 

Mark Eatherton

Define "safe"...

I am sure there are documented cases of fires being caused by heat tape on plastic pipes.



The problem with heat tapes is that they are like light bulbs. They can be fine one minute, and dead the next, and you will not know it until the pipes are broken.



I have some heat tapes (Frostex) on the pipes below my mountain cabin. I also buried a sensor in a critical area of the piping, and if it gets below 40 degrees F at the pipe, I will get an email from my house warning me of the pending situation. If the surrounding air is above 40, the heat tape is off, conserving electricity. Self limiting heat tapes are the best.



Moving the insulation to the stem walls is an excellent move. Isolate the earths mass to the envelope, eliminate any uncontrolled infiltration you can find, and lessen the need for heat tape operation.



ME