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Review on ๐Ÿ”ฅ 60 Feet EasyHeat AHB-160 Cold Weather Valve and Pipe Heating Cable by Brad Jeffress

Revainrating 3 out of 5

Everything worked out fine in the end, with some variability

I bought an 80 foot item. The installation went as expected. The guide is pretty good. Of course, you need to buy some kind of tape separately to attach the cable to the pipe. I used proprietary tape (Easy Heat HCA 30ft pipe - four rolls per 160ft) but you can use any high temperature electrical tape. As always with these cables, you must route the cable plan so that the entire cable, including the thermostat module, can make contact with the pipe. The thermostat module must be attached directly to the pipe, preferably at the coldest point. As for performance. it worked. in summary. We spent a lot of time fumbling before the cable actually worked. I can't tell you if it was the point of contact in the connector, in the thermostat module, or in the end cap at the other end. I can say that it took several tries to adjust the position of the cable before it worked. That doesn't create trust. (And yes, I know it should have worked because I have an air temp sensor as well as spot checks with an IR gun.) When it started working, it kept the pipe temp between 38 and 48. F. Please note that the tape does not run continuously; it turns on and off depending on the desired temperature. Do yourself a favor and get an outside air probe and stick it under the insulation to monitor the temperature of the pipe. Or buy a Kill-A-Watt Energy Monitor (P3 P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor) to see if the cable is working. If the thermostat goes off overnight you're not there, but Kill-A-Watt is there to meter consumption. I wish the thermostat module wasn't flat hard plastic. It would be better if it was rounded concave to fit snugly on the tube; even better if it's soft so you can press it against the surface of the pipe and create a better thermal contact point.

Pros
  • Price
Cons
  • Mostly ok but...