The “Silent” Failure. Why Your Heat Trace Might Be Dead Even If The Light Is On
It’s a scenario every cottage owner in the Almaguin Highlands/ Muskoka fears: It’s January 15th, it’s -30°C outside, and deep under the snow, your water line has frozen solid. Or worse—it has burst, flooding your mechanical room while you are away. The most frustrating part? You checked the switch before you left in the Fall. The little pilot light was glowing. You thought you were safe.
This is the reality of Heat Trace failure. It is silent, invisible, and one of the most common causes of winter insurance claims in our region.
What Is Heat Trace and Where Do We Use It?
In rural areas like Burk's Falls and Muskoka, our water lines often run shallow over granite or exposed bedrock where they can't be buried below the frost line. Heat Trace (or heat tape) is a resistive electrical cable tapped directly to these pipes. When powered, it generates heat to keep the water flowing, even in deep freeze conditions.
We typically install it in three critical areas:
Water Intake Lines: Running from the lake or well into your cottage.
Crawl Spaces: Unheated areas under the cottage where pipes are exposed to ambient cold.
Roofs & Gutters: To melt channels in snow and prevent ice dams from tearing off your eavestroughs.
The Danger: Why "Lights On" Doesn't Mean "Heat On"
Here is the technical truth that general handymen often miss: The pilot light on the wall switch only tells you there is power to the switch. It does not tell you if the cable is actually working.
Heat trace cables can fail for several reasons:
Internal Burnout: The resistive element inside the wire can snap or degrade over time, breaking the circuit.
Rodent Damage: Mice and squirrels in crawl spaces love to chew on warm electrical cables.
Thermostat Failure: The sensor that tells the cable when to turn on can stick in the "off" position.
In all these cases, the light on your wall might still be glowing, but the cable itself is dead cold. You won't know until the pipe freezes.
The Consequences of Failure
When a heat trace line fails in winter, the results are catastrophic:
Burst Pipes: Expanding ice can shatter copper and plastic piping, leading to massive water damage.
Loss of Water: You lose access to your well or lake water system, making the cottage uninhabitable.
Expensive Excavation: Fixing a frozen line often means digging up frozen ground or waiting until May for the thaw.
The Solution: The "Deep Freeze" Protocol
The only way to guarantee your heat trace is working is to test the physics of the circuit. This is why we created the "Deep Freeze" Protocol as part of our Northern Shield Membership.
During our Fall Winterization visit, our Licensed Electricians perform two critical tests:
Continuity Test: We verify that the wire is intact from end to end (no breaks or rodent chews).
Current Draw Test: This is the most important step. We clamp a meter onto the line to measure exactly how many Amps the cable is drawing.
If a cable is rated for 5 Amps but our meter reads 0.2 Amps, we know immediately that the cable is failing—even if the switch light is on. We catch the failure in October so you don't face a disaster in January.
Get Peace of Mind This Winter
Don't trust a pilot light to protect your property. If you aren't sure how old your heat trace is, or if it hasn't been tested by a professional recently, it’s time for a check-up.
Tall Pines Electric specializes in rural infrastructure. Contact us to schedule a system audit or join the Northern Shield program to ensure your cottage is ready for the freeze.
