In Floor Heat

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rrrusty

Senior Member
Location
Colorado
Regarding In Floor Heating Cables; The GC installed the cables, I installed the T-stat on a GFI circuit and now only 1 section of cables are working(2 sections installed); The customer is not happy and wants the GC to fix it(duh); I looked for the thread about this subject and could not find it; Any suggestions on how to find the exact location of the malfunction? I did an Ohms reading(after the problem occured) and had readings between the heating cables as well as the Gnd braid; The GC claims that readings were taken prior to pour but cant remember between which wires and what the readings were(2yrs+)Any suggestions are apprectiated
 

goldstar

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Re: In Floor Heat

rusty,

I don't believe you will ever find where the defect in the cable is :( . Is the cable shorted to the shield or is it a break in the circuit ? Do you recall how this cable was attached to the floor ? I recently installed 4 rooms worth of this stuff and it was attached to the floor with plastic clamps. Even if you could find where the defect is this cable shouldn't be spliced. If I had to take a guess I would bet that the cable got nicked somewhere in the transition between the floor and where it enters the wall.
 

brian john

Senior Member
Location
Leesburg, VA
Re: In Floor Heat

rr:

Is there any current draw when the cable is energized?

We've utilized IR to locate problems with snow matt (and usually unsuccessfully, but the customer is warned and told it is a shot in the dark).

Some cables are field repairable, but you should contact the manufacture.

On one project the electrical contractor had to install (the failure was not his fault) MI heating cable on the underside of the concrete slab. This required more watts per linear foot type cable. I also was involved in a project where the deck was saw cut for installation after a fault. BUT THESE WERE commercial installations.

Hind sight is 20 /20 BUT ALWAYS test the cable before pours, after the pour and after the finished floor goes down, CYA.
 

canadian

Member
Location
Canada
Re: In Floor Heat

We just had this problem also.Good news...we managed to fix it!We first called the company of the heating cables(Easy Heat I believe)and they sent a test kit for free.It came with 2 splice kits also.The kit did two tests depending if you had a short to ground or an open fault.We had an open fault and the test equip. basically allowed us to put a high voltage/low current charge on the two load wires in the thermostat box.This produces arcing at the break which we could not hear but this may be possible in an ideal situation.We were then instructed to lay LCD sheets on the floor..moving them every 30 sec. or so.When over the break(which will be arcing and producing a minor change in temp) the LCD sheet will change color on this spot.We spent an evening testing this with no result.We called the company the next day and they gave us the number for some expert on the subject.He said to keep the test equipment and try to borrow a thermal imaging device from our local fire dept.We did this and tested again....no problem.Could see the spot easily after leaving tester on for a half hour or so.It was on a grout line that the customer was digging into with a flat screwdriver to clean out mortar before he grouted.(We had tested just after the install of the cable and all was good.)Anyways we lifted two tiles...repaired with splice kits and the customer has warm happy feet! :)
If you need more precise info email me at inman@nbnet.nb.ca
Ross
 

rrrusty

Senior Member
Location
Colorado
Re: In Floor Heat

Thank you for all of the help; I have been in contact with Easy Heat and the fellow I spoke with gave me the same testing procedure and is very helpful; I don't feel the homeowner had anything to do with this mishap and I was not involved during the install so I could not tell you the spacing or testing or how the cables are installed; And the tile is a mat moasic pattern that is imported, so you can guess how badly the GC wants to have this repaired; If a cast iron bath tub is placed upon the tile with the floor heat under it and the tub falls onto the tile floor because one of the feet came off, would that cause a problem in the heating cable as well? A differant room, same house, same in floor heat :roll:
 
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