[der Mond]

Howdy,

Got 5 acres and a 30 Y/O home in Interior Alaska, temps range from
+90's to -60 F. 61 years old, like to DIY as much as possible.

:whistling2:Well, didn't join for the free coffee... Recently had a new 1000 gal. septic tank and deep trench leach field installed, DEC approved, and no problem with drains anymore. But since it got cold (-10 right now) my roof vent keeps freezing over at the top. Used to happen once a winter, but recently it has gone from once a week to once a day. I've been using a tent stake mounted at the end of a long pole to poke through and run around the lip to clear it, and now it just freezes over again. Anyone have any ideas why or what I can do about it? Thanks!

 

[cleveman]

Drop something in the tank which will generate some heat.

 

[DannyT]

what size is the roof vent?

 

[der Mond]

I don't know, Danny, I can't force myself up the ladder because it's near the crest of a steeply pitched A-Frame. It looks like 4" from the ground. My local contractor says put heat tape down it but people in the forums say heat tape on PVC will burn the house down. It's hard to know who knows what they are talking about.

 

[PaliBob]

Hi Mond, Welcome to the Forum
It is a good idea to include your location in your profile.
Also check out how to Post pictures in the How To section.

To add your location to your profile see more How-To

 

[SeniorSitizen]

I don't know, Danny, I can't force myself up the ladder because it's near the crest of a steeply pitched A-Frame. It looks like 4" from the ground. My local contractor says put heat tape down it but people in the forums say heat tape on PVC will burn the house down. It's hard to know who knows what they are talking about.

Those that said heat tape will burn the house down are just flapping their lips without researching. I really doubt 10 watts / ft. self regulating heat trace will burn anything. It will need to be insulated.

Maybe you can get your local contractor to do this one and we won't tell anyone it wasn't a DIY job.

http://www.rscc-heattrace.com/2700-series

 

[AtlanticWBConst.]

Greetings and Welcome to the site.

 

[der Mond]

Problem Solved

I took everything I heard and did this: It is old double-walled metal pipe with 3 3/4 " ID; I took an 18" piece of 3" PVC and attached a wide "T". Bought a 12' length of Raychem 7W/foot heat tape and made three loops with it and squeezed them up the pipe and almost out one side of the "T" so I had basically 6 loosely flopping lengths of heat tape inside from end-to-end, slid it down the vent with the "T" perpendicular to prevailing wind to enhance a vacuum effect, and plugged it in. So far it works great, no stink and two gentle plumes of steam rising into the -20 F. night sky...:thumbsup: