Anyone use it?

Opinion?

Can you run it in your gutters?

I`m looking at something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Heat-ADKS-500...9395&sr=8-6

I have 3 dormers with almost no slope, and snow and ice stay up there longer than I would like. Also the front of my house is 10' from super tall pine trees facing south... and snow stays there a while, not to mention this last COLD STORM we had I had 2" ice on my shingles after a melt and refreeze and I was worried my shingles were gonna get damaged.

Share de-icing stories and info please

@ 5w per 1' 100' = 500watts = Expensive to run 24/7

If I run it during the storm, and the day after or so think that would be enough or will it need to be on all the time to be affective ?

Living in an old farmhouse, ice dams are often a problem.

I haven't seen ice damage the shingles directly; rather, the worry is that water will sit on the shingles above the dam rather than draining off. And when water sits, it will find the most minute pinholes, ultimately rotting out your roof.

In the past, I have been observed with a deliberately-dulled hatchet, on a long ladder, chopping channels in the ice dams every 18" or so to make the water drain downward instead of building up.

I think heat tape, turned on for an afternoon here and there, would do the same thing -- creating drainage channels to avert water damage.

I substantially increased the insulation in my attic eaves a few years ago. That reduced the problem substantially. Now, when the weather starts to warm up (freeze-thaw weather), I use an enormously long roof rake to peel off as much snow as I can; then I let the sun do the work of loosening the ice, and come back later with the roof rake to peel most of it off. I haven't been up with the hatchet for years.

Ice dams are usually caused by insulation problems in the attic. Fixing the insulation in our house fixed this problem for us.

I've done the dull hatchet trick too. The big thing to watch out for is if the ice dam decides to let go! Took a good ladder ride once off the front of my house. Think John Belushi in Animal House.

(biggest thought in my mind was how far I could throw the hatchet!)

I`ll have to get a picture of my roof for you guys.. it's 2 story, with no "1st story" roof. The roof starts at the first story but goes UP UP UP... you can only walk on the upper most /\ portion, and the ice builds on the even steeper lower section.

This is the first time I've seen this problem... but as mentioned with the water sitting and draining different due to ice I am concerned about my new roof. I am thinking I can use 20' or so to do each dormer and then a 100' to do my front shady area.

Compared to other parts of the country it doesn't get TOO cold here, but due to trees and shade it can stay a long while if we don't get rain, even if it does warm up to the high 30s, 40s during the day.

For the cost these seem pretty nice, but I don't want to burn down my house either, or electrocute anything. I think they need a GFCI outlet.

You're installing a giant toaster on your roof. Definitely use a GFCI.

According to the pictures, the roof-deicing units sold up here are installed in a zig-zag configuration along the bottom edge of the shingled roof. Makes sense to me, since the goal is to create drainage channels.

[Aside: I think I'll install a GFCI for the block heater on my wife's car. We have a single carport attached to the old house with no fire barrier. And the news just had a story about a block-heater-cord fire that trashed a house. Yikes. Could be $15 well spent.]

Yeah, GFCI for sure.

You can get nice ones with plates on them, and lights to show they're working for around $18 at Home Depot I believe.

If ice dams are a common occurrence in your area, there is a good chance that the building codes required your roofing contractor to place a water proof membrane on the lower portion of your roof. The steeper your roof the less chance that a large lake can physically form behind the dam. Ice dams are a big problem with low pitched roofs. Insulation is usually pinched where the roof rafters connect to the exterior walls. Many homes were built with the roof rafter cut to form a flat surface to attach to the wall. If this is the case, there is no room to place additional insulation or for proper ventilation. Ventilation is critical for wood shingle or shake roofs. In fact, most warranty claims are voided without proper ventilation.

Back in Alaska we would shovel off the roof, mostly to reduce stress.

Ice dams as mentioned previously are usually a result of insulation, rather a lack thereof.

Not a bad idea, be wary of breaking ice on a roof, even a few inches of ice has a lot of potential energy. (read broken stuff around the eaves, loss of footing etc.)