There are two common types of heat tapes, constant wattage and self-regulating.

The kind you find at the local hardware store is constant wattage, it may have a thermostat to turn it on and off, but when it is on, it only has one setting, HOT.

These require carful installation, and typically are only suitable in specific configurations. Typically it is recommended to not insulate them, they cannot be spiral or overlapped on themselves and are only suitable for certain pipes made of specific materials.

These heat tapes are the most common we see, and sadly are why so many home owners experience frozen pipes or even worse, damage to their homes.

A self-regulating heat tape can have a thermostat to turn it on and off, but the very material the cable is made of also senses and reacts to temperature. It allows it to be insulated, spiraled and installed on all types of plumbing pipes. As the cable gets cold, it produces heat, the colder it gets, the more heat it will produce.

This allows it to self-regulate, because if it wasn't cold out, the heat from the heat tape would limit how hot it would get, when the -40 weather comes, it has to produce more heat before it limits itself, thus provide better protections by being safer and more efficient.

We have inspected 100's of installation and have seen all sorts of issues.

Some of the common issues include:

1. Constant wattage heat tape on plastic pipes

2. Heat tape not covering 100% of the protectable area

3. Heat tape power source or extension cord inadequate for the required amperage

We recommend self-regulating heat tape that is installed in such a way that protects the pipe as it comes out of the ground and all the way into the house. The heat tape power usage should also be calculated and supply by an electrical circuit and cable that can supply the max amperage that the heat tape will require during the extreme temperatures.

By code, it is not required to heat tape the sewer line drains.

We have been to multiple service calls where the sewer line has prefect grade and can even be insulated, yet the pipe freezes solid.

It is our recommendation, if the sewer line is over 20' that it is best to install a heat tape and insulate it.

NOTE: Heat tape on sewer lines MUST be self-regulated to avoid melting through the pipe!

In theory, the sewer pipe should typically be empty so there would be nothing to freeze, but the reality we have seen is each time water travels through the freezing cold pipe, a small layer of ice is formed.

On shorter runs, having a hot shower and such can help melt this slow build up of ice, but on longer runs even the hot water can cool and freeze eventually causing a blockage sometime during the winter.

During the winter months we do offer emergency call out service to thaw, repair and protect plumbing lines.

Typically through-out the year we provide heat tape replacements as an add-on to the projects we are doing restorations on.

Out typical waterline heat tape specification is to double run a self-regulating high quality heat tape and double insulate it to ensure even in the most extreme temperature drops the system can keep the water flowing.

For sewer lines, we provide self-regulating heat tape and a single layer of insulation as they do not require as much help as the build-up of ice is always a slow formation.

We can offer assessments and reporting on the existing heat tape installations as a service, but it is recommended to replace a heat tape after 5-10 years as part of typical home maintenance.

Since having a source of water is not just some minor comfort, we have taken steps to ensure our installations are consistent with our level of excellence.

We provide documentations on our heat tape replacements to ensure all your bases are covered as part of our Quality Assurance.