Re: Heating tables and anything else

From: "Plantsman" plantsman at prodigy.net> on 2001.11.19 at 23:07:03(7839) I sell commercial heat tracing cables among other things as my day job and have several concerns after having looked over the Duran website. +More 1. Of all the heat tracing cables I'm familiar with, none heat via this "carbon fiber" method. All are resistance heaters of three basic types: self-limiting, constant watt and mineral insulated. All work very differently but all are resistance heaters employing wires as either the primary heating element or bus wires to carry voltage across a matrix. 2. These people show no real specs that an engineer could use to specify the quantities of materials needed for an application. The vague description about using any voltage type & etc. are scary at best. Most cables are not designed to be buried underground unless in conduit due to the possibility of electric shock should there be a grounding problem if the cable is damaged. Most so-called soil heating cables are very dangerous unless you use a quality GFCI in case of damage while energized. They also typically don't last all that long. 3. Duran cables carry no FM or CSA approvals. The only approval they show is a UL listing for one of the insulation materials. Scary at best. I see insurance problems... 4. They offer no clue as to how to fabricate a circuit. 5. Real heat tracing cables have a decent output: 3 watts on up to over 20 watts per foot with 120VAC depending upon the cable selected for the application. Low wattage like Duran means more cable needed to achieve a desired heating effect. 6. Real heat tracing cables are expensive due to the extensive testing, certification and liability by the manufacturer. Industrial cables generally start at $3.00 per foot and don't include the price of required accessories such as thermostats, power connection and end termination kits & etc. I'd be very leery of their method without much more detailed information and or test data. If you want to see more detailed info about how the heavy duty commercial/industrial/residential cables work, please visit this website: http://www.delta-therm.com David Sizemore Kingsport, TN (Zone 6a) plantsman@prodigy.net ----- Original Message ----- To: "Multiple recipients of list AROID-L" Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 4:33 PM Subject: RE: Heating tables and anything else : Hi Brian : As far as the heating cables for the ground are concerned, they do sell them : "up north" so the "rich folks" don't have to go outside and shovel snow off : their sidewalks in winter. Seriously though, I read where they are not all : that expensive. : I looked at your duran1 website~ me being the cynic I am, I'd think twice : about a company where "Jerry and Larry" are listed as US distributors. : Interesting idea though, for the plants! : : Susan : : : : -----Original Message----- : From: brian williams [mailto:pugturd50@hotmail.com] : Hello! Well, on my quest to have the perfect growing environment for my : plants I have been looking into heating cables which can heat tables also : the ground outside to make partially hardy plants make it threw the winter. : Here is the website I think a few may find this product interesting and it : could be used for a number of things. Not to mention its only$00.02 a foot : and is very low watts. : duran2 : http://www.duraheat.com/duran2.htm : : _________________________________________________________________

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