Do heat tapes work to prevent frozen pipes?

[oosik]

Our house in Anchorage had circulating hot water heat and had RV antifreeze in the system - it was a local code requirement. Also - we had a small circulating pump that ran all the time to circulate the water and prevent freezing. It was on a short loop and would turn off when the furnace kicked on and the main circulating pump cut in. Install a small fan that will blow the room heat up into the space where the pipe freezes.

That must be an AWFULLY exposed area - as your outside temps go down - your inside thermostat calls for more heat - furnace kicks on - hot water circulates.....???

 

[4get gto]

Heat tape work great. Just insulate as others have said. Don't worry about power going out. If it does you'll have more worrys than that little section of pipe! One thing I've seen is these don't get real warm to the touch. Sometimes you don't think they're working. They only come on at a preset temp. So they do keep you guessing sometimes.