On Feb 4, 10:42*pm, Part timer wrote:

Does anyone here have experience of self-regulating trace heating
cable within domestic settings? Keen to prevent future 'occurrences'
if December's conditions are repeated, I've been looking at my options
to protect a mixture of 15 and 22mm copper in our eaves.
I have found the following 10W/m cable:http://www.qvsdirect.com/Trace-J-Sel...g-Cable-pr-166...
What does “Maximum exposure temperatu 85°C - intermittent, 65°C
continuous” actually mean? I'm thinking along the lines of don't power
it up in free air unattached to a pipe. Am I correct?
I notice that the same company sells a connection and end seal kit:http://www.qvsdirect.com/Frostop-Con...-pr-16689.html
Is this expensive for what it is if I was to install several separate
cable runs? Could I just purchase heatshrink etc of appropriate
diameters instead.
I have read of the need for C type MCBs due to inrush currents,
thermostats, etc.

For that to be an issue you'd need to be up near the max circuit
current rating. For a 6A circuit thats 6x240=1.5kW, at 10W/m that's
150m of pipe. Sounds unlikely.

At £6.75 a metre it would in many cases be cheaper to use a clamp on
thermostat, transformer and resistance wire. If the pipe configuration
happened to be suitable, you could omit the resistance wire and use a
1 or 2 turn transformer.


Would anyone care to do a wiki page along the lines of the one on SWA:http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...erminating_SWA

Thank you very much.


NT