Dr Infrared Heater DR-9RC1006 Self-regulating Heating Cables for Pipes and roof, 6 FT, Black

The good: I used this cable to de-ice my downspouts - it cut through over 1 inch of ice in a couple hours.Not so good: These are pricey cables at over $4.00 a foot. The description says the package includes "UV resistant cable ties, Roof clips, Hanger brackets". None of these are included with the cable. I contacted Amazon customer service and they sent a replacement but the package is still missing the same parts. Not sure how you can confirm the description about the self regulating feature that adjusts the heat output depending on the outside temperature. Check out Frost King or Easy Heat for similar cables at a lower price.

Last February's once every 'hunerd-year' arctic blast destroyed the 21st-century high-$ green new deal exterior tankless water heaters in the hood. I lucked out and escaped with no damage except years of expensive landscaping turned to kindle. Besides the gillion house floods from heaters and everything else, the fiasco comes with an >90-day wait to repair and replace the units. No replacement units in a housing boom. No showers either. It's been a nightmare. It makes you think.I bought this to weave inside the $1500-some NG-fired whole house tankless water heater— tankless heaters are only hot when fired up, and that's not long. The heater is standing water like-99% of the time. That old adage to keep spigots slow dripping doesn't work. Drips don't set the heater off.In a typical season, we get maybe one hard freeze and might go years with none. This year's 5-straight days at 10°-32° came as a huge 24-hour notice surprise. The heating cables are insurance.

This is a very heavy cable with a good lead cord of almost 6 feet on my 12 foot cable. I think the "self-regulating" is minimal. This cable was very hot at room temperature, and when sprayed with freeze mist, the current draw did not increase significantly (18w upped to 20w). This drew about 65 watts when first plugged in, then went to a steady 18w once warmed up. Since it is way past freezing weather where I live I had to resort to putting this in my freezer, leaving it there for a couple of hours. The current draw stabilized at a steady 40 watts with my freezer at 5 degrees F, the cable feeling comfortably warm to the touch. My concern remains that this should draw near zero at room temperature, but that is not the case.Be aware that the "infrared" name is just that. This is a contact heating cable-there is nothing infrared about it other than the usual heat from a warm radiating body. While this is quite heavy, I doubt one would find the unusually high price commensurate with the quality. Others are available for nearly half the price.

I found this to work well, though it isn’t outstanding. It’s quite comparable to the Frost King cable I am using to prevent frost dams. This Dr. Infrared is doing what I need it to do, which is to keep a vent from freezing over when it gets well below freezing. Only four stars because it’s pricey compared to the Frost Kings.But that’s JustMe. (I received this product in exchange for an honest review, and that is what I have offered here.)

Cable is made well has a substantial cord with 3 prong ground plug.Its not winter so I can't comment on its capability to melt ice so I plugged it in and laid it out and it put out a decent amount of heat.At this time, my opinion is based on visual quality and my rudimentary temperature test.Both of which are good.4 starsI hope my humble opinion helps you in some way. Thank you for reading.

This heating cable seems to do what it is supposed to do, it gets nice and warm and will HOPEFULLY take care of an Ice Dam issue, although I wont know till winter. The cable itself heats up pretty quickly, at room temperature it get noticeably warm in under 30 seconds and never gets too hot. Hopefully it holds up for many years!

This heat wire will work well in my water pump situation. Living in a cooler winter environment with the well outside, care must be taken to prevent freeze ups. This heat tape is long enough to wrap the pipes, pump and tank. It should keep the system warm in the winter.

This is easy to use. Great for keeping my attic water pipes from freezing.