Frost King HC12A Automatic Electric Heat Kit Heating Cables, 12-Feet, Black, Ft

We have small fruit trees and they get damaged in the winter storms we keep getting in Houston. This was a life saver, we managed to keep the temperature at reasonable levels. Worked well along-side covering the plants/trees

This Frost King 6ft heat cable works exactly as it supposed to work!I have a pipe that has frozen and split two times in a 10 year period in a non-heated crawl space area. As you can see from the pictures that this last time I made the repair I located the pipe 2 inches away from the outside wall and used the thicker walled "Type L" copper pipe. The Frost King heat cable was very flexible (after I tested it and it had warmed up) to easily tie-wrap to the pipe every 3.5 - 4 inches. After it was tied to the pipe, I trimmed the tie-wrap "tails" and covered the pipe and heat cable with Frost King cotton pipe insulation. Then I covered the spiral seems of the cotton insulation with aluminum duct tape to keep away bugs and critters that may be attracted to the cotton. The Frost King cotton insulation is Class A fire rated, so I have no worries that this install is safe... especially with aluminum furnace tape over it.When I first tried to test the heat cable by using ice packs to chill the sensor for 10-15 mins, the cable appeared to be a dud... it didn't get warm and my "Kill-A-Watt" meter showed no power usage. Then I thought that the heat cable and sensor, that have been sitting in my 90+ degree garage for a day, may be too warm internally to activate even with ice packs surrounding the sensor. So, I put the heat cable in my refrigerator, for 45 mins, to chill the whole thing down to my average crawl space temps in winter time. Then I extended the chilled cable on my counter top and covered the sensor with ice packs and wrapped a hand towel around it (just the sensor section) to let the cold do its job. Within 10 mins the watt meter showed that the cable was drawing 42 watts. I left the cable warm up for another 20mins to see how hot it would get and I could still comfortably hold it in my hand. After I removed the ice packs the cable switched off in just under 8 mins in a 70 degree kitchen... so this cable is slower to react to sudden temp changes than I had thought it would, but it works exactly like it should, since it is only keeping water flowing and preventing ice damage.

This installed relatively easily... with a few minor issues. The wire in the heating element is very fine and fragile, easily damaged and definitely subject to rodents. For now, even with a repair after the element broke, it is working. I just don't know how durable it will be. Kind of expensive if it only gets through one winter.

Winter will be here before too long, and suffering through water line breaks due to freezing is expensive and even life-threatening under certain circumstances. If you are in an RV for the winter, having a heated water hose or attaching this product to a regular water hose is a must. I attached it to a regular water hose with duct tape every 6 to 9 inches or so. Pleased to report that this heating cable is pliable and soft, making it much easier to ensure the cable stays flush with the water hose. Yes I tested it to make sure it heats up when the temperature nears freezing. Great product!

Durable high quality product with pilot light. Keeps well head from freezing automatically not wasting energy when it is not cold. Length was perfect for my well head and is more efficient than placing a 100 watt drop light in there hoping it doesn’t get broken from rain hitting it.

Works Great

Last year my pipes froze because I was using a very old heat tape. So, this past fall I bought this and have not had any problems this winter. The outside temperature went down to -4 (wind chill lower than that). I like the indicator light so you know it is working. No special wiring. Installed it myself.

Purchased and installed this unit in October of 2022, come just a few days before Christmas 2022, and the Midwest get hit with Winter Storm Elliot, (12/21-23/2022), with temperature at -6f (-11c) with wind chill values of -30f (33c). It has been one since 12/2/2022 as it on a switch-controlled socket (receptacle). No frozen main line yet, and I do not foresee one.PEX plumping pipe. You might ask yourself; will it work with PEX. simple answer is YES. However, you should place the thermostat switch on a brass or copper valve or connection, for best results. As in my case. My feed line is 3/4" PEX, from the meter to the service valve body. which is 3/4 copper with a quarter turn shutoff ball valve. I merely wrapped the PEX and attached the thermostat button to the valve body, and all is good. If your lines are only PEX and you have no copper or brass valves to attached to, use some aluminum tape and create a small base on the pipe to land the thermostat button on.Do you need to wrap the wire around the pipe of lay it flat on the pipe? Answer you can do Both. If you have chosen to wrap the wire around the pipe, do so without crossing back over the wire, as this creates a fire hazard. Lying flat along the pipe will ensure the greatest area is heated.Do I need Thermal Wrap after install? Answer is NO, but it will increase the heating efficiency of the wire. It will also protect the wire and could add 2 years of service life.When do I replace it? For safety, the wire should be replaced every 5 years, no matter its condition.

I ordered 3 of these. Be sure to plug them into a GFCI plug in. Regular plug in can be dangerous and a fire hazard. Best to get a qualified electrician to install it. People think they can do it then Ka Boom!

The heater appears to work fine. I was confused by the instructions. The instructions said you can't use the heater for a drain pipe, but when I was researching heating cables on your web site for this product it indicated that it can be used for a drain pipe to keep unfrozen. So I was a little confused when I got the heating cable and it said you can't use it for that purpose. I just assumed the package info was out of date and the online info was up to date. I used it anyways and it works fine.

Just installed them last weekend, so hope when the cold weather comes they work

This is a good cable with plenty of heat per foot. The only thing about it is there is no thermostat control...just on/off around the freezing point.

Fast delivery and working great