Trace heating cable to stop a roof valley freezing?

[ProDave]

Anyone come across this before?

A customer of mine in a large country house (ex care home closed as a care home about 2 years ago)

The roof comprises at least two valleys and in the last 2 winters these have become choked with ice following heavy snow and melt / freezing, resulting in water leaking into the house when it all starts to thaw (water level gets above level of lead valley due to effectively an ice dam)

This is probably exacerbated by the fact that large parts of the house are now shut down and only background heated, so less heat going up through the roof.

He's been told by someone that a solution is trace heating cable.

Now I can see this might work, installing a trace heating cable (or 2 or 3) along each valley.

Anyone tried this or any experience of it? I presume to be effective the trace heating cable has to go outside the lead valley, so would need to be 100% watertight as it would be immersed during rain or snow. How would you fix it the the lead valley? etc etc.

Any thoughts? He's waiting for me to get back to him with a proposal.

Here's the first thing I found by googling http://www.heattracing.co.uk/upload/Trace_Heating_Roof_Gutter_Trace_Heating_Thermon.pdf

 

[Doc Hudson]

TLC sell some trace heating kits of various sizes.

Doc H

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Or RS.

Doc H

 

[kmaccui]

there is a type of tape that you wrap around pipes so how about putting metal conduit on the roof and wrap it around that to stop the snow building up.

 

[Sidewinder]

I have seen systems specifically for this, but when & where escapes me at the moment, I have to go and sort the van out for Monday, I'll try to have a look later!

 

[M107]

A couple of contacts from my cousin who is in the ufh supply game.

template: home

Warmfloor Solutions - Heat Smart Self Regulating cable - Heat Tracing

 

[Sidewinder]

Try here for ideas Raychem are one of the big players in the market.

R&D are a local co to me specialising in this kit.

I "think" it was here I saw it!

Welcome to RD Trace Heating

 

[ProDave]

Thanks

I have found a few people selling self regulating heating tape (the colder it gets, the more heat it generates)

What I haven't yet found is any bright ideas about how to secure it to a lead roof valley. I obviously can't fix it down with cable clips.

 

[Sidewinder]

Thinking out loud Dave:

Sticky cable tie bases?

Would it need to be secured?

If it were protected and tethered at each end?

No more nails?

Lead mate?

Silicon?

Painters Caulk?

Flashband stuff?

Gripfill?

 

[batty]

Would it last in a valley you are going to have a tremendous lot of weather on it surely it would be better under the wood. Whatever you use i think it would need to be purposly made.

 

[M107]

Strips of the sticky flash band would hold it in place.

 

[roys]

Also thinking out loud what about running the trace heating tape inside a 15mm copper tube, should be nice fit, I have just measured across a Raychem self regulating tape and it is 11 mm, then you would need a lot less fixings as it would be rigid. Maybe all round band round the tube and then extended so that it goes under the tiles, with the tube in the valley.